Holiness is not reserved to the religious, something humans do

Intermountain Catholic

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Father Wayne Dawson, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Paso Robles, Calif. speaks about holiness during the Immaculate Mary Eucharistic Divine Mercy Conference in Park City Sept. 6. He said every person has the potential of being holy because we were made in the image and likeness of God and that we have many responsibilites, including to speak up. IC photo by Priscilla Cabral

PARK CITY — "Saints and sinners have the same desire to love and be loved. As humans, it is innate in our being to experience love," said Father Wayne Dawson, pastor of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Paso Robles, Calif. and speaker at the Immaculate Mary Eucharistic Divine Mercy conference that was held at the Yarrow Hotel in Park City Sept. 4–6.

The difference between saints and sinners is that they seek satisfaction in different ways and places. Sinners intend to find satisfaction with finite objects, said Fr. Dawson.

"They become frustrated with a greater desire that is unmet… because it is impossible for a finite reality to fulfill our infinite containment of God.

"Saints cannot satisfy their hearts with finite material. As, St. Augustine (of Hippo) said, ‘My heart is restless, oh Lord, until it rests in you.’"

The priest defined holiness as the response to God’s gifts, an endeavor to which every human being is called.

"Holiness isn’t reserved to the religious. It is something we as human beings do. God gives us the grace to be open to his love."

Being holy implies assuming the responsibility that we are our brothers and sisters keepers, said Fr. Dawson.

"I must be concerned about abortion, the murder of my unborn brothers and sisters. I have to be concerned about the senseless killing of war… and about the children dying of starvation because I am a human being; I was created in the image and likeness of God. I do have the responsibility to speak up against discrimination, against injustice. I may not be quiet; I cannot be quiet because in the book of Genesis – when Cain killed Abel – it says, ‘The blood of your brother cries out for justice to me,’" he said.

Joseph, Mary’s husband is a true example of what it means to be holy, said Fr. Dawson.

"He was the rock upon which the holy family stood. He sacrificed everything for his family. That is a man, a real man, which means to listen to God and respond to him. Joseph made his family holy because he knew how to protect his family spiritually, physically, and morally."

God gives everyone who is baptized a threefold gift, said the priest.

"We are priestly because we offer our lives to God. We are kingly because we recognize the dignity that comes from being made in the image and likeness of God, our creator. I am not afraid because I am kingly. I am also a prophet because I must speak out against injustice. Like Mother Theresa, we must have a real living determination to reach holiness."

Fr. Dawson then shared how God’s love and teachings reached him one hot afternoon in an isolated village in Zimbabwe. He and another priest were traveling in the African country enjoying the scenery and the air conditioning in their truck under the imposing sun when they noticed a distant, little village.

"There was a little boy, maybe 10 years old, selling fruit. So, we eventually stopped."

He started to pick some bananas and some peaches. He also looked at some apricots for a while, but did not buy any. The priests were in their truck about to leave, when the boy knocked on their window. Fr. Dawson told the boy he did not want anything else, but the boy insisted. When Fr. Dawson finally opened the window, the boy told him he could have the apricots as a gift.

"I was numb. I started crying. I then realized I knew what it means that Christ gives sight to the blind. The boy recognized my need, but I was blind to the need of anyone else because I was so caught up in myself. So, I was ashamed that the little boy had to give me sight. He was so much more than I was, so much bigger than I was. As God enters our lives, we hear what we ordinarily would not hear, and experience what you and I would normally not experience," said Fr. Dawson.

Holiness is not just about opening our eyes, ears, mouths, and hearts to God. It is about opening them to our neighbor, and sharing the gifts we have been given.

"In the Holy Land, there are two seas: the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee. They have the same rock and soil because both their water comes from the Jordan River. The Sea of Galilee has aquatic life and flora, but the Dead Sea really lives up to its name. They have the same source, but what makes one the Dead Sea and the other one the Sea of Galilee? Only one of them has an outlet. One of them gives off what it receives," said Fr. Dawson.

It is not easy, neither impossible to achieve holiness. Fr. Dawson said Pope John Paul II and Nelson Mandela are examples of people in our generation who have given off what they have received. Mandela decided to forgive those who unjustly incarcerated him for almost 30 years.

"I was always free," said Mandela when he was asked why he had invited the security guards and the government officials who had kept him behind bars to the banquet inaugurating him as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

"Mandela said he was not going to become a prisoner of bitterness and anger," said Fr. Dawson. " He said he was not to become a slave, ‘I was always free because of God and I will remain free because of him.’"

Pope John Paul II taught Pope Benedict XVI, then Cardinal Ratzinger, what it means to respond to God’s call when he would make extreme efforts only to pray to God and give his blessing to those who waited outside his Vatican window, said Fr. Dawson.

"Pope Benedict said that when he realized the late pope’s level of commitment he asked himself, ‘How can I say to this man I want to retire when, with his illness, he continues to do what God has asked him?’"

Fr. Dawson said he had the great honor of meeting Mother Theresa, an undeniable example of holiness, in person when he was in a huge crowd following her.

"I somehow ended up closer to her. I can’t explain it but miracles happen," he said.

When the then seminarian was beside her, he asked her to bless him. Mother Theresa looked directly at the kneeled young man, touched his head and said, "Stay close to Jesus always in the Eucharist."

"Brothers and sisters, as Mother Theresa said, stay close to Jesus in the Eucharist. Bring it to fulfillment," said Fr. Dawson.

Other conference speakers included Father John Putka, a priest of the Society of Mary and member of the Department of Political Science at the University of Dayton; Father Patrick Winslow; and John Gilliam, sculptor.