The call of the prophet Isaiah can begin to unveil the mystery to us. Whenever God communicates with a human being, the essence of that communication is a revelation of his own holiness: My eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts… Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! (Is 6:5, 3).

And our response can be none other than joyous openness to that divine glory and acceptance of its implications for the meaning and purpose of our lives.

The ineffable experience of God’s holiness lives on in the Church. Every day in the very center of the eucharistic liturgy we repeat the words, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might. Heaven and earth are full of your glory.” (cf. Is 6:3)

This treasure lives on in the Church because the holiness of God is revealed in all its fullness through Jesus Christ: For God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts so that we in turn might make known the glory of God shining on the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6).

But we—we human beings—have this treasure in earthen vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4:7).
That is why we are often afraid of the demands of the Redeemer’s love. We may try to appease our conscience by giving of ourselves, but in limited and partial ways, or in ways that we like—not always in the ways that the Lord suggests.

Yet the fact that we carry this treasure in earthen vessels serves to make it clear that its surpassing power comes from God and not from us (2 Cor 4:7).

Whenever people allow the grace of Christ to work in them and produce new life, the extraordinary power of divine love is released into their lives and into the life of the community. It transforms their attitude and behavior and inevitably attracts others to follow the same adventurous path. This power comes from God and not from us.

The One who can call you at any stage of your pilgrimage through life, wants you to have the treasure of knowing him more fully. He wants to occupy the central place in your hearts, and therefore he purifies your love and tests your courage.

The realization of his hidden but certain presence acts like a burning coal that touches your lips (cf. Is 6:7) and makes you able to repeat the eternal Yes of the Son, as the Letter to the Hebrews says: I have come to do your will, O God (Heb 10:7).

That Yes guided every step of the Son of Man. And Mary gave the very same Yes to God’s plan for her life: Let it be done to me according to your word (Lk 1:38).

Be convinced that the Gospel is the only path of genuine liberation and salvation for the world’s peoples. Your salvation, O Lord, is for all the peoples (Ps 95).

Then go and proclaim the Good News (Mt 16:15).

Excerpted from a homily at Denver World Youth Day, August 14, 1993.