Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Apple Podcasts
Subscribe to “The Examen” for free on Google Play
Who is the holiest person you know? Is it someone in your family? Maybe a parent or grandparent, aunt or uncle? Is it a teacher, a mentor, a counselor, a spiritual director? Is it someone who helped you through a tough time?
Now that you remembered that person remember think about what it was like to be in their presence. It probably felt comforting, and because of that probably loved spending time with that person.
A few weeks ago someone in our office met a hero of hers, an artist and an author, and she was bowled over by how kind and patient and compassionate he was. Holiness, I think, is naturally attractive to us. It’s one way that God draws us closer. It’s also a way that God encourages holiness in us—by making us want to be more and more like those people whose lives we admire so much. Whenever I think about this I think about what it must have been like to be around Jesus. The Gospels say that there were almost always crowds around him. To my mind, that wasn’t just because they wanted to hear his preaching and see his healing, but because of him, because of what it was like to be near such holiness. It must have been overwhelming. So pay attention to those holy people in your life: they’re drawing you closer to God. And closer to the person you’re meant to become.
