Real Holiness

1st Sunday of Advent As we begin this new Church Year we are reminded by Paul "to be blameless in holiness".  What does holiness really mean?  What does holiness really look like?  Holiness is not something far out there or high up beyond our reach; I would argue that holiness is something close to us…too close…uncomfortably close.  Holiness is doing all of the normal things we do with and for the Lord, living in God's kingdom and spreading God's kingdom in and through the daily situations and interactions of our lives.  That's our mission, that's real holiness, and that can be attained by anyone — which is why it's scary: because it means I no longer have an excuse!   "God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission." ~ St. John Henry Newman