In Part 1 of this article, I laid out a general framework for achieving whole-person holiness. In this part and in Part 3 of the article, I will focus on specific daily activities that will help us reach this goal. As you will see, the activities that I am about to describe are both practical and simple. They do not require extraordinary feats, but they do require grace and our cooperation with it. Therefore, keeping God at the center of all we do is imperative. This will become easier with practice. So, let’s begin with the most important things we can do to dispose our souls to more grace.
Confession and the Eucharist
Every Catholic should know that the sacraments of Confession and the Eucharist have the most profound impacts on our walks with God. Confession is where we find God’s mercy and strength. If we walk into the confessional separated from God because of mortal sin, we walk out in communion with Him, ready to reengage the enemy and strive toward the holiness to which God calls us.
The Eucharist is, of course, Jesus Christ Himself, the perpetual Sacrifice who continues to give Himself to us. When we consume Him, we receive His life, and His life unites us to both God and to one another. He is the vine from whom we, the branches, receive His life-giving blood. Therefore, attending Sunday Mass and at least one Mass during the week, receiving the Eucharist worthily at each Mass, will help us tremendously to conform our lives to His. The most beautiful people I have met are daily Mass attendees. Coincidence? I think not!
As I was preparing this article, I started reading Fr. Robert Spitzer’s book, Five Pillars of the Spiritual Life. Regarding Confession and the Eucharist, he writes:
In my view, the most powerful conduit of grace in such [difficult] times is the combination of the Holy Eucharist and the sacrament of Penance. There is something about the combination of the graces in these two sacraments that restores resolve, builds patience and peace, grants courage and strength, and manifests the presence of Christ in our lives so powerfully that we resist any urge to give up the pursuit of life in Christ.
For more biblical evidence for the Eucharist and Confession, please read this article and this article.
Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving
Prayer is how we communicate with God. We lift our hopes, fears, worries, joys, goals, works, and even our seemingly insignificant thoughts to Him throughout the day. And He will take our biggest fears and joys, our seemingly insignificant works and thoughts, and turn them into opportunities for grace.
Pray before getting out of bed. Even a short—Thank you for a good night’s rest, Heavenly Father. I love you—before you do anything else will help keep God at the forefront of your mind throughout the day.
Also, pray before having important or potentially volatile discussions with people. My wife and I recently believed a local business owner was giving us the run-around because he did not want to fulfill his obligations under a warranty that came along with a service he provided. Before I called him, I asked God to make the conversation fruitful and to help us be civil to one another. During the first five minutes of the phone call, we talked about the issues I saw with his work. But, for the next 40 minutes, we talked about Jesus, the Eucharist, Confession, Mass, and the Catholic Church. It was a beautiful conversation. A couple of days later, he came over to the house, and we talked for another 45 minutes. Ultimately, he agreed to fix the issue at no cost, but I was sincerely more excited about our conversations than I was about him fixing the problem. God is amazing!
Fasting with prayer is prayer on steroids. Fasting for spiritual purposes (though you may certainly do this for physical wellbeing also) tells God that we are willing to exchange a bodily necessity for time with Him. During the times we would normally dedicate to cooking and eating or going out for a meal, we instead spend that time with God praying and reading Scripture. Some people advise the faithful to do this for a full day every week. Others say once a month or even quarterly. My advice is not to stress about it. Doing it when you believe it’s the right time and with joy is far better than stressing about a schedule.
Almsgiving, which is giving to those in need, helps us to use unrighteous mammon to help those who do not have the material goods they need for daily life (see Luke 16:9-13). Find a good Catholic charity and create the habit of giving to them. Buy meals for homeless people or give them the money they need to buy meals. Many years ago, a priest told me to start tithing and almsgiving about five percent of my income and increase the percentage over time. This was wonderful advice because it helped me to part with an amount of money that I could handle. As time went on, I was able to part joyfully with more and more. The main thing to remember is that God loves a cheerful giver. So, give cheerfully rather than reluctantly.
Think Before Acting and Reacting
We easily develop the habit of doing things without considering what God wants us to do or how He wants us to do it. However, we must develop the habit of turning to God in both prayer and thought to consider His will for us. In doing so, we will give our minds the time to consider the pros, cons, and impacts of our actions. By looking at Christ and the saints, we can choose the right course of action that better accords with God’s will.
Also, think before reacting. If you’re married, you know how valuable this advice is. I’m still working on it, but I know from experience that it works. In all honesty, I would say that my wife is better at this than me. However, I will win in the long run…LOL. Seriously, when we think before we react, our minds have a moment to catch up to our emotions and properly govern them. Without this, we will likely make matters worse and even turn a simple discussion into and unnecessary argument.
Don’t Worry About What Other People Think
Sometimes we can do good things but worry about how other people perceive our actions. Even something as simple as making the sign of the cross before eating in public can make us feel like others are watching and/or judging us. At the end of the day, who cares! We are Christians of the highest sort because we are Catholic Christians. So, do the right thing because God is watching and because He’s helping us to do it. By doing the right thing habitually, the worries diminish and eventually disappear.
Also, remember that by doing the right thing, you will likely be a source of encouragement for those who are either young in the Faith or for some who do not know Jesus at all. Everything we do, say, and think matters because God makes us in His image and likeness. Therefore, we must be like Him and reflect Him properly to others.
Author’s Note: Read these articles for more on the Sacraments, meriting more grace, and moral perfection in this life.
Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash
