Secret to holiness and fulfillment: Homily for January 6, 2022

Sometimes when we think about how to become holy, we think it is a challenging endeavor. We need to to dramatic things. We need to go to foreign countries and be missionaries who risk their lives for the faith. While it may be that some will be called to live holiness in this way, the real truth is more simple. Today's readings give the more important observation. The secret to holiness is to love. Beloved, we love God because he first loved us. This is an often forgotten sentence spoken by God. We love not because we first choose to love, but rather because God first chose to love us. The secret to holiness is that simple. We love because we are loved. God loves us. God loves us more than we can ever know or understand. God loves us unconditionally. God made us in His own image and likeness. That means that when we are at our best, we imitate God. We too can love, and we ultimately strive to love because God loves us. We are at our best when we strive to love and recognized that we are loved.