Like Obedient Children, "Be Holy, for I Am Holy"
“Speak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy.”
There are topics that can feel overwhelming when we first return to the Church. They seem black and white, as though everyone is expected to pick a side, defend a position, or fit neatly into a category. In today's world, conversations about sexuality, identity, race, politics, and equality often become exactly that—teams competing against one another.
For me, this wasn't just theoretical. These conversations touched my own family. During and after my divorce, my former wife described herself as bisexual and embraced a very different vision of life. For a long time, I wondered how to respond. Did I need an argument? An opinion? A debate?
The longer I have lived as a Catholic, the more I have realized something surprising.
The Church is looking deeper than the culture.
When I first came back to the faith, I thought the discussion was simply, "man and woman, God said so." While that remains part of Catholic teaching on marriage, I have gradually discovered that the Church's vision reaches much further. God is not merely sorting people into categories. He is calling every person—regardless of their particular struggles, attractions, or history—toward holiness.
The command that has stayed with me all day is simple:
“Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct,
for it is written, “Be holy because I am holy.”
That command is not directed at one group. It is directed at all of us.
If I struggle with anger, I am called to patience.
If another struggles with pride, they are called to humility.
If another experiences same-sex attraction, they are called to chastity.
If I am married, I am called to faithful love.
Every Christian receives the same invitation: let Christ order our loves according to God's design.
That changes the way I see people.
Instead of asking, "Which group are they in?" I begin asking, "How is God calling this person—and me—to holiness?"
The Church has never taught me to stop loving people. She has taught me to love them enough to desire their holiness while remembering my own need for conversion. That is much harder than winning an argument online.
As a father, this matters even more.
My son does not primarily need me to have perfect answers to every cultural debate. He needs to see a father who trusts Christ, remains faithful to His Church, and treats every person with dignity while refusing to compromise the truth.
That balance isn't always easy. Sometimes I simply don't understand every mystery of God's plan.
But I have learned something freeing:
I don't have to understand everything before I can be faithful.
Like so many teachings of the Church, I can receive them with humility, continue praying, continue learning, and then return to the person God has placed in front of me today.
That is where holiness begins.
Not in winning every debate.
Not in labeling every person.
But in asking, over and over again:
Lord, how do You want me to love the person in front of me today?
The Church's doors remain open. Christ continues to call sinners—every one of us—to repentance, mercy, and communion with Him. None of us begins the journey perfectly ordered. We all come carrying crosses. Yet the invitation remains the same:
"Be holy, for I am holy."
That is not a burden meant to crush us.
It is the voice of a Father calling His children home.