Why 'Desire' Unlocks Your Path to Holiness

Welcome to our daily Advent retreat! Today, we reflect on the wisdom of St. Alphonsus, who reminds us of the essential desire to become a saint: "No saint has ever become a saint without having a desire for sanctity."

Transcript

Welcome back to Advent daily it's good to see you today's St Alphonsus reminds us of the importance of Desiring to become a saint he says no saint has ever become a saint without having a desire for sanctity as wings are necessary to fly so holy desires are necessary to the soul in order to advance in the way of perfection in order to advance on the way of perfection on the way of sanctity it will require D to s and that means hardship and it will make it easier to endure those hardships when we want to become a saint now some people will think what do you mean I have to endure hardships in order to become a saint well it's true Jesus says unless uh if you want to be my disciple you must pick up your cross daily and follow me in order to grow in Union with him we have to get rid of everything that separates ourselves from him uh just think of just the discipline of waking up in the morning to pray what does desire do you have to fight against well for some you got to fight your desire of this just wanting a coffee instead of running to the coffee maker in the morning you have to die to self re in those passions and sit down and spend time with Jesus by lifting your heart and mind to prayer so in other words you have to punish your desires a little bit punish the desire for coffee so that you can spend time with Christ now some would argue you can do both at the same time I'm not going to get into that but you know the point here it requires discipline and look at it this way an Olympic Athlete they have to punish themselves don't they in order to win the gold they have to reign in the desires of junk food so that they eat right so they have to discipline the pallet they have to get enough sleep and so they have to discipline how they use their time just like a saint does they discipline the use of their time in order for the to order themselves towards the glory of the gold um they punish their bodies through workouts training running lifting weights some people call that great punishment on the body again because they've ordered themselves towards the glory of the gold now isn't the the training easier when that athlete knows the gold is possible imagine how hard that discipline and Tra is when they know it's absolutely Out Of Reach and how much easier it is when they know it's really really possible likewise You by God's grace and his love and mercy have been called to the glory of God to share in his divine nature and this is really possible but in order to achieve that we're going to have to suffer a little bit we're going to have to punish our desires punish our selfishness we're going to have to train we're going to have to discipline how we use our time in order to achieve that goal of sanctity the glory of God and how much easier it will be to discipline ourselves if we want Union with Jesus Just Like An Athlete if they want the glory of the gold it'll be easier for them to train and just like us a disciple of Christ if we desire Union with Jesus it's going to be easier to endure that hardship which is necessary in order to achieve that Union with him St alonsus writes but what is the effect of this holy desire St Lawrence Justinian answers IT Supplies strength and makes the pain easier to be born hence the same Saint adds that he has already vanquished who has a great desire to Vanquish he who wishes to reach the top of a high mountain will never reach it if he has no desire to do so this will give him courage and strength to undergo the fatigue of ascending otherwise he will halt at the foot wearied and discouraged so to ascend the mountain you have to have the desire to ascend the mountain to become a saint you need to have the desire to become a saint otherwise weariness will kick in now you might be thinking but wait a minute what if I don't have a desire and I want that desire well the good news is this if you feel like you don't have the desire but you want that desire it's already a sign that the desire of sainthood is within you by the grace of God but St alonsus adds a very practical note here tell me do you desire to become a saint if you do not desire it then certainly you will never become a saint if you have not the desire ask Jesus Christ for it ask Mary for it some pretty practical advice here from St alonsus well just ask if you want that desire it reminds me of Matthew 7 Jesus says ask and you shall receive seek and you shall find knock and the door will be open to you if it is God's desire for us to become a saint then it should be his will also that we desire it does that not make sense so so when you go to God and you ask for the desire of sanctity you can have confidence that he will give you that desire so just ask I know that sounds kind of simplistic but uh sometimes it's the simple things that we forget let us pray behold oh my God here I am my heart is ready oh God my heart is ready see I am prepared to do all that thou shalt require of me oh Lord what will thou have me do tell me what thou desirest of me I will obey thee in all things I am sorry for having lost so much time in which I might have pleased thee and I have not done so I thank thee that still thou give me time to do it oh no I will not lose any more time I will and I desire to become a saint not to obtain from thee greater glory and delights I desire it that I may love thee more that I may please thee in this life and in the next