“You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:16
We need to be holy to come before God. We need to work harder, strive longer. We need to do more, more, more. If I work hard enough, pray hard enough, I can do this. Then, I can come before God.
Haha! No way! Nothing the soul does can make it holy. Even the saint can’t be holy through his actions or prayers.
What can the soul do?
Jesus doesn’t call us because we are holy. He calls us because He knows we can’t be holy without Him.
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:13
Actually, there is something the soul can do to become holy. Turn to God, trust in Jesus. Receive the Eucharist and Sacrament of Mercy (Reconciliation). It isn’t the soul that attains a holy state. It is fully in God this becomes truth.
The greatest saints are holy saints because they depended fully upon God. They surrendered to His power, knowing they could do nothing but in Him, He can do the impossible.
“for God all things are possible.” Matthew 19:26