Holiness/Sinlessness

St. Teresa of Avila once said that when she lived quietly in the cloister she committed very few sins, but when she became an active founder and visitor of monasteries she sinned much more frequently but grew much more in charity.

To put it paradoxically, some of the great saints have been notable sinners. The New Testament attests to this in its accounts about Peter. The list of saints whose failings are very evident is quite long (the Apostles, Augustine, Jerome--to name just a few).

One might think, erroneously, that all of these underwent a striking conversion and then remained more or less "sinless" afterwards. But that is not at all the case. The saints struggle with their sinfulness right to the end. In fact, those who speak on the matter usually attest that they grow more and more aware of their sinfulness even as they grow more conscious of the loving forgiveness of God. A person is not holy because he or she is sinless. People are holy because with utter confidence they allow God to forgive their sins, to take hold of their lives and to use them as God wills.