Alas, if only it were so easy.

At first glance, the hunger metaphor seems inappropriate. After all, hunger just happens, period. There is no decision involved in the gastric grumblings that embarrass us in a crowd. And our body sounds its alarm–“obey your thirst!”–every day without even asking our permission. But we often feel little or no desire for sanctity. Far from automatic, the desire Jesus refers to is evidently one that we must strive for and nourish by free choice.

And so the question arises, “How do I acquire a longing I don’t have? Or how do I increase my feeble desire to become a saint?” Jesus already gave us the clue: think food!

How does an infant acquire a desire for chocolate? Well,set some M & Ms in a toddler’s tray table and see if it takes much convincing. You don’t have to be Aristotle to know that we desire a thing when we perceive it as good. So for a desire to grow, we need to touch, smell, taste,see… The same goes for our life with Christ: “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 34).

Yet seldom do we stop and savor God’s gifts, but this attraction is the first step on the path to holiness. In the same way, beauty bewitched common men and made them great artists. How could Michelangelo have transfigured crude stone into the Pieta if he never contemplated the eminent works of antiquity? How could Monet have captivated us with his water lilies if he never meandered through the garden?

So here’s how to grow in hunger for holiness, in your thirst for God: Let your longings for Christ swell with every spiritual good your soul perceives. Feed these desires with fervent prayer. At the table of the Lord’s blessings, relish every morsel he dishes out. Oh, and don’t worry, at this banquet, gluttony is a virtue!