Spiritual Corner - What is Perfect Holiness?

The spirit of cultivating virtue in the past is indeed rare to be found among humanity in today's global village.

To talk about virtue cultivation has become a joke among the atheists today. Take a look at the authoritarian leaders, blinded by their boundless ambitions in developing sophisticated technologies and advanced weapons, just to make themselves more and more powerful. They take pleasure in practicing self-centered, selfish and inhuman directives, disregarding the consequences, leading to the death of others.

We, who believe our God is the only one true God, seem to have very limited ability to promote virtue, we have no influence to the wider environment; just like a flock of little lambs, in the midst of adverse living environment; what does God want us to do? What can we do for God?

Nevertheless, the small flock of lambs must cultivate virtue, cultivate perfect holiness! But what is perfect holiness?

Perfect holiness is to recognize that our God is kind, almighty and immensely great, at the same time acknowledging our nature is poor, lowly and the tendency towards evil. Cultivating perfect holiness lets us love God even unto death, despite being confronted with all kinds of stormy and adverse circumstances, facing temptations, experiencing spiritual dryness, sickness, being persecuted and confronted with hostility!

Perfect holiness is also about divine self-denial; not just obedience to our superiors, acknowledging their positions as representatives of God; but for the sake of loving God, submitting to all our brothers and sisters and all creation.

Perfect holiness is also about completely forsaking personal desires in order to fulfil God’s will, despite being in good times or bad; and doing everything to promote the honor and glory of God, with no other intention but to please Him, because God desires to be loved and He deserves the love and service from His creations.

The above is extracted from the “Daily Readings for the Dominican Sisters of the Order of St. Francis’ Rules of Conduct”.

It is needless to say that cultivating virtue, achieving perfect holiness, is not an easy task. For the love of God and to please Him, let us support and encourage each other in our pursuit of virtue and holiness.

Yours,
Sr. Magdalena Yang