Monday of the First Week of Lent
"The LORD said to Moses, 'Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.'" - Leviticus 19:1-2,11-18
In times of searching, we may receive advice and instruction, but how often is the response, “be holy.” It is not a phrase we often hear in media, our work, or even with friends; and, yet, do we not sometimes feel its call?
What does it mean to be Holy? To be holy means to honor the sacred. It starts with an attentive and willing spirit seeking to hold in reverent awareness that which is of God. To be holy means to live in relation to the Eternal Truth and Source, our Creator, in all things and each encounter.
When we stand on holy ground, when we reverence something…a moment in nature, the silence born of a seeking heart, a raindrop, a glance from the eye of a stranger, we are changed. When we seek to live in relation to the holy, the whole, the Good, a clarity comes. We live at a deeper level.
In Chapter 19 of Leviticus, of which the opening lines start this reflection, Moses listens to the Lord, then tells the people what it means to be holy. Eventually he moves from prescriptive steps to heart-centered action: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
We see in the reading that holiness moves from spirit to idea to action. This reflects the Franciscan Contemplative tradition.
St. Francis once felt very lost in the world. He sat in solitude, and began to seek relationship with our Creator. He found peace. He embraced the leper, and learned to call all brother and sister.
Today, be open to the sacred. Take a moment to hold something or someone in reverent attention. Notice a person, or an item—no matter how simple—and let it be a moment of encounter. Be intentional about creating a sacred moment in your work and when you arrive home.
Mary Beth WisniewskiAssociate Director of Wellness CenterCardinal Stritch University
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