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Gospel Commentary for August 29, 2025
God’s Will Is Your Holiness
Not long ago, Pope Leo XIV encouraged young people not to settle for anything less than holiness. Not to be placed on a pedestal, but because God’s call is clear and admits no compromise.
John the Baptist was like that—unyielding. Whatever the cost (and it cost him his head), he proclaimed the truth. Herod liked him, and John could have kept quiet, as many do. But he risked everything because he could not settle for less than holiness. Sometimes, holiness costs “losing your head.”
Heroic holiness, even martyrdom, is not easy. But neither is the daily holiness that goes unnoticed: patience with others’ faults, sacrificing so others may live better, defending truth and justice, keeping hope and joy in hard times. It may not look glamorous, but it is heroic in its perseverance and faithful endurance. Martyrdom may be rare in the West today, but in countries like Congo, Syria, and others in Africa and the Middle East, many still suffer persecution and even death for their faith.
Daily holiness, however, is needed everywhere and always. It demands a constant decision to do God’s will. Where does the strength come from? The first reading tells Jeremiah: “Gird your loins; stand up and tell them all that I command you. Do not be afraid of them… Today I have made you a fortified city, a pillar of iron, and a wall of bronze.”
And in the daily reading of this Friday we hear clearly: God’s will is your holiness. As another passage says: God’s will is that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. That truth sets the bar at nothing less than holiness.