The Law of Holiness

“No man can serve two masters,
God and Mammon.”
“Be perfect
as your Heavenly Father
is perfect.”
“If you want
to be perfect
sell all you have,
give it to the poor
and follow Me.”
–New Testament.
“These are hard words,”
says Robert Louis Stevenson.
“but the hard words
of a book
were the only reason
why the book was written.”

In his encyclical
on St. Francis of Sales
the Holy Father says:
“We cannot accept the belief
that this command of Christ
concerns only
a select and privileged group.
and that all others
may consider themselves
pleasing to Him
if they have attained
a lesser degree
of holiness.
Quite the contrary is true,
as appears from the generality
of His words.
The law of holiness
embraces all men
and admits
of no exception.”

There is a rub
between the rich
who like
to get richer
and the poor
who don’t like
to get poorer.
The rich,
who like
to get richer,
turn to the Church
to save them
from the poor
who don’t like
to get poorer.
But the Church
can only tell the rich
who like
to get richer,
“Woe to you rich,
who like
to get richer,
if you don’t help the poor
who don’t like
to get poorer.”