“It is not by our own power, not by our own conduct, but by the will of God that we are sanctified.” St. Ignatius of Antioch

That we be holy as the Lord is holy is the will of God. This holiness is a grace from God. Holiness is the path designed for us by God from all eternity. Our role is to embrace the will of God, to cooperate with the grace of God and to walk on the path to holiness. Our role is to die to the self, the old person, still alive in us after regeneration in Baptism. The grace of adoption in which we share in the life of God doesn’t make us immediately perfect. That perfection comes at the end of life, after having put to death the consequences of sin and after having the mind of Christ more and more. The way of the Lord is purification, transformation, glorification and ultimately union with God.