A Word of Hope: Monday of the 30th Week in Ordinary Time | Fr. Dominic Holtz, OP, coming from Rome, Italy.
"Be imitators of God, as beloved children." But isn't imitation a bad thing? We want the real thing, not a copy—and when it comes to virtue, imitating goodness sounds like hypocrisy: saying nice things in public while thinking wicked things in private, or using "goodness" to look down on others.
In today's Word of Hope, Fr. Dominic Holtz, OP, reflects on Paul's letter to the Ephesians and shows why imitation is actually how we learn to become what we're not yet. We learn to dance, to speak a new language, to write—all by imitating a teacher until the skill comes spontaneously from within. The same is true of our life in Christ. We are made new creatures in baptism, but we don't yet know how to live that way. So we start by doing the works of justice before we are fully just, and the works of mercy before we are fully merciful—thinking, speaking, and acting as Christ would have.
And one day, to our joy and surprise, we discover we're no longer imitating. By the power of his grace, we have become the very thing we were imitating.
📖 TODAY'S READINGS (Monday, 30th Week in Ordinary Time, Year II)
First Reading: Ephesians 4:32–5:8
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 1:1–4, 6
Gospel: Luke 13:10–17
⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:04 Imitation isn't always seen as a positive thing
0:18 Imitating goodness: hypocrisy and prudishness
0:49 But imitation isn't always bad
0:53 Learning to dance, to speak a language, to write
1:16 Imitation is necessary for human growth
1:25 From the surface to the heart: how imitation becomes real
1:53 What Paul tells the Ephesians—and us—about life in Christ
2:01 Transformed in baptism, but not yet knowing how to live it
2:23 Do the works of justice and mercy before you feel just or merciful
2:39 Think, speak, and act as Christ would have
2:55 The joyful surprise: no longer imitating, but transformed
3:12 Fully alive in Christ and in the power of the Trinity
3:21 Closing: a word of hope
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