I'm on a quest to be holier this year — join me

It is a new year.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas and I hope it lasted for more than a day!  At this time of year it is natural for people to reflect on the year that has passed and to contemplate how they want their lives to improve in the coming year. 
With that in mind, I will share what is happening in my heart this year. I want to be holy. I have been trying for 56 years (well, may be fewer … I am 56 but I don’t really know how long I have really tried.)  
I think that we need to define what it means to be holy because I think a lot of us have an inaccurate picture of what holiness looks like. In short, to be holy means to be like God; to think like Him, love like Him, serve like Him, react like He would. In contrast, often we picture a person with their hands folded and looking to the heavens as our picture of holiness. Actually, that is a picture of a person (probably) in prayer.
I want to be holy the way the great heroes of our faith were holy. I want to not call the guy who cuts me off in traffic an idiot. I want to be more patient, more kind, more like Christ.  How do I do that?  I am not sure, but here’s what I am going to try.
1.  I acknowledge that my first gut reaction may not be the reaction I want to have. So, even if I have the negative or unholy reaction at first, I will choose with my free will to follow that with a holier sentiment like, “God bless him.  Bring him safely to his destination and fill him with your peace and love.”
2.    I will try to remember a time when I myself did the very thing that is currently aggravating me.
3.    If my negative or unholy reaction is heard by someone, I will correct it.  For example, if someone asks me for help and my first reaction is to say that I am too tired or too busy, I will examine to see if I can actually help.  If I can, I will go back to that person and tell them that I am sorry and that I can do what they asked.
If you have any other ideas, please send them to me.  Also, feel free to join me on this quest to be holier … now is the time.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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