Glorifying God in the ordinary moments of daily life

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

By virtue of our baptism, we are all called to holiness. The universal call to holiness is not reserved for extraordinary people doing extraordinary things. We might think that holiness is reserved only for great missionaries, martyrs, or founders of religious orders. While the Church rightly honors these saints, she also reminds us that holiness is not reserved for a select few. Holiness is the vocation of every baptized Christian.

In Lumen Gentium, the Second Vatican Council teaches us: “Thus 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.” (Lumen Gentium, 40) The Catechism of the Catholic Church echoes this teaching: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” (CCC 2013)

This universal call to holiness is rooted in the words of our Lord Jesus Himself as He said: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) At first, this command may seem impossible. Yet Our Lord Jesus does not ask us to achieve perfection through our own efforts. Rather, He invites us to unite our human will to His so that, little by little, His grace may transform us through the ordinary acts of daily life.

Every time we pray the Lord’s Prayer, we ask, “Thy will be done.” The Catechism teaches that through this petition we are asking “to unite our will to that of His Son, so as to fulfill His will, His plan of salvation for the life of the world.” (CCC 2860)

Holiness is not primarily about accomplishing extraordinary things for God. But glorifying God through every single act of our daily life. In this way we fulfill the first petition contained in the Our Father prayer, “hallow be thy name.” In this way we allow our Lord to accomplish His saving work within us as we freely unite our will to His.

For most of us, this union with Christ is lived not in dramatic moments but in the quiet faithfulness of ordinary life. It is found in a parent patiently caring for a child, a worker performing his or her duties with integrity, a spouse choosing forgiveness over resentment, a student striving to do what is right, everything that is good and in keeping with our vocation can be united to the Will of Our Lord and offered for the glory and praise of God.
The Catechism reminds us that, “Christ enables us to live in Him all that He Himself lived, and He lives it in us. “By his Incarnation, He, the Son of God, has in a certain way united Himself with each man.” We are called only to become one with Him, for He enables us as the members of His Body to share in what He lived for us in His flesh as our model.” (CCC-521)

All our simple acts, united to the Will of Christ and offered in love, become the ordinary means by which God is glorified and an occasion for us to be sanctified.

One who understood this way of living was Brother Lawrence, the seventeenth-century Carmelite lay brother whose little book The Practice of the Presence of God has inspired many Christians for generations. Assigned to work in the monastery kitchen, he discovered that peeling potatoes, cleaning vegetables, washing dishes, and preparing meals could become acts of prayer. Because he continually sought the presence of God and desired only to do His Will, even the most ordinary tasks became occasions of profound communion with the Lord.

Brother Lawrence teaches us that holiness is not found by escaping ordinary life but by inviting God into it. Every chore, every conversation, every responsibility, and every hidden sacrifice can become an opportunity to say with Christ, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). As our will becomes united to His, Christ continues His work of salvation in us, shaping our hearts to love as He loves.

Dear brothers and sisters, as we continue our journey of faith, I encourage you to unite yourselves more fully to Christ’s Will in the ordinary circumstances of daily life in your own vocation whether you are married, single, or consecrated to religious life.

May we cultivate a constant awareness of the presence of God in every moment of our day. As Brother Lawrance reminds us, we can “do all for the love of God.” When we unite our will to the Will of Our Lord, even the most ordinary moments of daily life become opportunities to glorify God, to grow in holiness, and to become the saints God calls us to be.

With Blessings,
+Fr. Gabriel Barrera.