Here is the beginning of our Old Testament reading for today, from Leviticus: ‘And the Lord said to Moses, “Say to all the congregation of the people of Israel, you shall be holy; for I the Lord your God am holy”’.

Pope St John Paul II said: ‘Everyone in the Church, precisely because they are members, receive and thereby share in the common vocation to holiness. In the fullness of this title and on equal par with all other members of the Church, the lay faithful are called to holiness: “All the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity”. “All of Christ’s followers are invited and bound to pursue holiness and the perfect fulfilment of their own state of life”. The call to holiness is rooted in Baptism and proposed anew in the other Sacraments, principally in the Eucharist. Since Christians are reclothed in Christ Jesus and refreshed by his Spirit, they are “holy”. They therefore have the ability to manifest this holiness and the responsibility to bear witness to it in all that they do. The apostle Paul never tires of admonishing all Christians to live “as is fitting among saints”’.

May we, today, be ‘refreshed by the Spirit’, and move forward on the path to holiness, in charity. May God bless you this day.