TRANSCRIPT
[00:00:00] put this very simply for you being Capital B being right being who God made you to be is about being holy.
[00:00:13] Holy. Prioritize holiness. Orthodoxy is important, and as I always say, orthodoxy is indispensable. But it is not enough. At judgment, God is not going to ask how orthodox you were in life. He
[00:00:33] is going to assess your holiness. Your holiness is what’s going to get you through those gates.
[00:00:41] You will be, uh, questioned. I don’t know because I haven’t gone through judgment yet, but how you lived your life is all going to come to bear. The good things you’ve done, the bad things you’ve done, the amount and level at which you tried your hardest. All of those things are going to come into play. But it’s going to come down to how holy you are.
[00:01:03] Let me give you an example Something that I liked about boxing when I was boxing Is and I always put it this way everything counts Every punch to the face that you’ve ever taken Every droplet of sweat that you spent in the gym Every moment of pain that you that you experienced while you were training every second of exhaustion That you persevered in your [00:01:30] training and in previous fights.
[00:01:32] Every knockdown that you dished out or suffered. Every swing of your fist in the ring or in the gym. Everything when you step into the ring for your next fight. Everything that came before that moment counts. It counts. It contributes to the whole of who just stepped into that ring. Every moment. Every moment.
[00:02:00] It all constitutes who you are when you step into that ring. Even if you’ve lost in the past. Even if you’ve been knocked down in prior fights. Even if you tried your damnedest in the gym and you just couldn’t make your goals. On this day, or on that day, or at all. It all counts. Your successes. Your failures.
[00:02:24] Your rising. Your falling. The good and the bad of the whole experience of a fighter, all of it, all of it, steps into that ring and then your opponent has to face it and he has to face it all. And the reverse is true. You have to face all of his too.
[00:02:46] The Catholic experience is like that. At the end, listen, the goal is judgment, right? Not for judgment’s sake. Because, but because following judgment is heaven, hell or [00:03:00] purgatory, right? Or, or really ultimately heaven or hell is purgatory is temporary. Judgment, heaven, hell. That’s, that’s what we’re oriented toward.
[00:03:10] But here, what I tell you, when you stand before Jesus, it’s like a fighter going into that ring. Everything you have done in this life is going to come to bear.
In a recent episode (Episode #36, Catholic Fairy Tales), I dove into the importance of holiness in our lives and at the end of our lives. Being the person that God made you to be—being ‘who he thought up’ before placing you in your mother’s womb—requires prioritizing holiness over everything else.
Holiness: The Ultimate Measure
Being holy is fundamentally crucial. While orthodoxy is significant, it’s not enough on its own. When we face judgment, God isn’t going to measure our lives by how orthodox we were. Instead, it’s our holiness that will ultimately be evaluated—that’s what gets us through the gates of heaven.
Everything you do, good or bad, and how earnestly you lived your life plays a role in this ‘measurement.’ But in the end, it boils down to your level of holiness.
Boxing: A Parallel to Holiness
Let me illustrate this with a comparison from my personal experience while I was boxing. One thing I appreciated about boxing was that every single thing counts. A boxer isn’t the sum of his successes. He is the sum of his total experiences. His rising, falling, successes, failures, efforts—blood sweat and tears. Every punch absorbed, every drop of sweat shed in the gym, every moment of pain and fatigue endured—all these efforts contribute to who you are when you step into the ring. Every fight, every setback, and every triumph add to the total of who your opponent faces in the ring. The same concept applies to our journey as Christians. Every part of our lives, every success and failure, contributes to who we are when we stand before Jesus—just like stepping into a boxing ring. Jesus doesn’t just note your failures, he also notes your successes, as well as your efforts and your failure to make an effort. It all counts at judgement. The whole of who you are is tested.
Facing Judgment
In the end, our goal is not judgment itself but what lies beyond it—heaven (or hell, God forbid!). When you stand before Jesus, it’s akin to a fighter stepping into the ring, where everything you’ve lived will be accounted for. Everything weighs in at that moment: your actions, your holiness, and your journey as a faithful follower. In conclusion, understanding that it all counts is vital. Our everyday struggles, efforts, and moments of perseverance all matter. They shape who we are and the holiness we embody. Understanding that should urge us to embrace our journey and strive for holiness in every aspect of our lives
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