Holiness is simple

Here’s a question for you: Is holiness complicated, or is it simple?

Jesus tells us that holiness shows itself in simplicity, in acts such as giving a cup of cold water to a little one (Mt 10:42), or even in just sitting quietly in trust, like lilies of the field (Mt 6:28).

But if holiness is so simple, why does it seem so elusive? This is a critical question for people of Faith because we are universally called to holiness. In Lumen Gentium, we read, “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love.”

Well, “the perfection of love” is complicated, too, right? Or is it? We rarely plan on loving, after all; we slip into it as a natural thing, an extension of goodness — our own and what we see in another. But perhaps the simple desire to be loving encourages simple holiness.

Recently, I was blessed to observe (and experience) the simplicity of lived holiness during a visit to the Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus in Gower, a small town in the middle of corn fields near Kansas City, Mo. There, Mother Abbess Cecilia Snell and the Benedictine Sisters of Mary, Queen of the Apostles live, pray, work, and provide generous hospitality to all comers. I had arrived to give the sermon; I received far more than I expected.

Of course, the absolute highlight of my visit was the Mass, accompanied by the storied, angelic music that is foundational to these Benedictines. It was as if I had been transported beyond that space and time to something eternal, and that was, for me, a form of eucharistic revival!

That evening, I was invited to pray Compline, the final prayer of the day, with the sisters, and I took a seat next to the mortal remains of their foundress, Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster.

In May of 2023, seeking to transfer her body to a shrine within the abbey’s oratory, the sisters unearthed her grave only to discover that — quite astoundingly — Sister Wilhelmina’s unembalmed remains were incorrupt, and her habit still pristine though covered with moss. Such a phenomenon is rare. The church recognizes that such things can occur in nature, but also considers that sometimes incorruptibility may be viewed as a sign of holiness and divine favor in preparation for the resurrection of the body. An investigation is ongoing, but this event only adds to the otherworldliness of this beautiful place on earth.

Benedictine hospitality forms the women of Ephesus. It is part of their spiritual DNA to make room for a guest. The Rule of St. Benedict requires it, but so does the context of their life together; they know their space on earth to be a gift from God, that their time is likewise a gift, all of it meant to be shared. And as a guest, I have never experienced such generosity and joy in a setting of such simplicity. To talk and laugh with the sisters, their golden retriever at my feet while I enjoyed chocolate ice cream made in-house that very day (and with milk from their own cows) was the essence of simple joy and holy Christian fellowship.

I gleaned an important answer to our question at the abbey in Gower: that holiness IS simple — that indeed, a holy life is marked by simplicity grounded in love of God! One need not be called to the monastic life to find this, either. Our lives, our homes, our parishes, our communities can likewise embrace such a path if we hold on to frequent prayer and remember the presence of Jesus — who promised to remain with us, always. They can become places where we recognize signs of God’s goodness, and how we have been made in the likeness of God, and so we live as Christ, giving ourselves as a gift to one another.

In my grandmother’s modest dining room there was a plaque bearing these words, “Christ is the head of this home, the unseen guest of every meal, the silent listener to every conversation.”

The Benedictines need no such sign; according to their Rule, they receive everyone as Christ — with great joy, gratitude and simplicity — and their home seems to shimmer with holiness. Perhaps that is why they are bursting at the seams with vocations, and establishing three (three!) foundations with scant funds and complete trust. Because God is holy, and he is never outdone in generosity.

How simple is that?

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