Pastor

From the Pastor's Desk

Most Reverend
Thomas A. Donato

       Good is the politically correct thing for people to say about themselves.
But what does "good" mean? To measure goodness, you need some criteria
and it usually comes down to a general sense of keeping the law, not
intentionally harming anyone, and trying to be a tolerant (good) neighbor.
These values are arbitrary and we judge our behaviors and ourselves based
on what we interpret to be good.
       But as believers in Christ, we are not called to be good people! We are
called to be holy people. And there is a difference. When we strive to be
holy, we are measuring ourselves by the message and the model of Christ.
Our call is to imitate Christ, to become his body, to carry on his mission and
his work. For us, it is more important to be holy than to be good. When we
measure holiness, it is not arbitrary. We measure ourselves against Christ
himself. Goodness really depends upon my own perspective, how I choose
to measure it. Holiness depends on Christ's perspective.
       In the church, we learn and practice holiness. We hear God's word,
receive his sacraments and in so doing, strengthen our share of grace, which
is God's life-the very stuff of holiness. Growing in holiness leads us to
celebrate God's life in community. That's what church is all about. "Good"
doesn't quite make it; holiness does!

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