By Dom Cingoranelli, Catholic Stand, 17 December AD 2017
DOM CINGORANELLI – Dom is a Benedictine-educated cradle Catholic—a revert to the faith—and an Oblate of St. Benedict. …
Can I be detached from the things of this world? Can I love God first and foremost, and be detached from anything that gets in the way of my loving Him? Do I truly and really want only His will in my life? These questions pose significant challenges for us (at least they have for me) in our quest for a closer relationship with God. We each have choices to make. We can fill our hearts with attachments to created things, other people, and affections. Or we can open our hearts to the unique, infinite love of God, and His will.
Our Call to Holiness—to Be Detached
As sojourners through this short life on earth, we all are called to holiness. In Chapter 5 of Lumen Gentium, we are told, “…it is evident to everyone, that all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity…In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in His footsteps and conform themselves to His image seeking the will of the Father in all things.” LG 40 § 2 ….
Pope John Paul II at old Yankee Stadium, New York City, October 4, 1979... This work is from the U.S. News & World Report collection at the Library of Congress. According to the library, there are no known copyright restrictions on the use of this work. This photograph is a work for hire created between 1952 and 1986 by staff photographers at U.S. News & World Report: