# Fr. Chad Ripperger Explains the Real Signs of Holiness An episode of [AfterMass](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1823710125), 7 May 2026, 24 min. Audio: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO7730985167.mp3 what does real holiness actually look like? in this video, i break down Fr. Chad Ripperger’s teaching on the fruits of the Holy Spirit, interior transformation, chastity, modesty, patience, charity, spiritual maturity and the difference between external religion and genuine sanctity. holiness is deeper than appearances and over time grace leaves visible effects on the soul. ## Transcript [0:00] One of the biggest misconceptions that people have [0:02] about holiness is that holiness is mostly about external [0:05] behavior and discipline or restriction. [0:07] When the Saints actually spoke about holiness as something that [0:10] transforms the interior life of a person. [0:13] Because when the Holy Spirit begins sanctifying someone, the [0:16] changes are not only external. Over time, the person begins [0:20] thinking differently and reacting differently, loving [0:23] differently, desiring differently, and even suffering [0:26] differently. Because grace starts healing [0:28] What sin disordered inside the soul. [0:31] One of the things Father Chad Riperger explains in his talk on [0:33] the fruits of the Holy Spirit is that these fruits aren't [0:36] personality traits or natural temperament. [0:38] They're supernatural effects that begin appearing in the soul [0:41] when someone consistently cooperates with grace and allows [0:44] God to purify them over time. And I think that little [0:48] difference is what matters the most, because there is a real [0:50] difference between appearing religious externally and [0:53] becoming genuinely transformed interiorly. [0:56] Because it's entirely possible for someone to know theology, [1:00] assume Catholic content constantly, even debate online, [1:03] attend mass, and still remain deeply restless interiorly. [1:07] And at the same time, there are people whose peace and charity, [1:11] clarity, patience, and stability immediately reveal that [1:15] something much deeper is happening inside them [1:17] spiritually. The Saints consistently taught [1:20] that holiness eventually becomes visible because grace leaves [1:23] effects on the soul. And honestly, I think modern [1:26] Christianity sometimes unintentionally reduces [1:30] sanctification down to behavior management while missing the [1:33] fact that Christianity is ultimately about restoration. [1:37] Grace slowly begins reordering the interior life, and the [1:40] person becomes less ruled by impulse, less emotionally [1:44] reactive, less consumed by ego, and more capable of genuine [1:48] peace, genuine charity, and genuine self possession [1:52] overtime. Because the spiritual life is [1:54] not simply about learning how to act wholly externally, it's [1:58] about becoming transformed internally through union with [2:02] God. One of the fruits that Father [2:03] Chad Riperger spends a lot of time talking about is peace. [2:07] And I think most of us understand, no, I think most of [2:11] us misunderstand Christian peace because we will usually define [2:16] peace by circumstances. If life feels stable and [2:20] relationships are going well, and then your emotions then feel [2:23] manageable, everything externally seems kind of just [2:26] under control. Everything's at Bay. [2:28] We say we have peace. But the Saints described peace [2:31] much more deeply than emotional comfort or even favorable [2:34] circumstances. Father Ripberger talks about [2:37] peace, as would Augustine of Hippo called the trink equality [2:41] of order, and I think that explains so much about why [2:44] modern life feels so internally chaotic for so many of us. [2:47] Because when the soul becomes attached to too many competing [2:51] things like validation or success, comfort, appearance, [2:55] attention, all of those things, then the interior life becomes [2:58] fragmented. Every inconvenience feels [3:01] destabilizing because peace was being built on unstable things [3:05] to begin with. And This is why you can meet [3:08] people who seem to have everything externally while [3:11] still carrying enormous interior instability, while some of the [3:16] holiest people live very simple lives and still radiate a kind [3:20] of steadiness that feels almost difficult to explain because [3:24] their identity is no longer being pulled in 100 different [3:27] directions at once. Their soul has become more [3:30] rooted in God than in circumstance. [3:33] And I think this is important because holiness doesn't mean [3:35] becoming emotionally numb or detached from reality or the [3:39] world. The Saints still suffered [3:41] deeply. Betrayal still hurt them and [3:43] grief still hurt them. Hardships still hurt them. [3:46] But their entire interior life was no longer collapsing every [3:50] time suffering entered it, because their center of gravity [3:54] had shifted towards something eternal instead of temporary. [3:57] And I think one of the clearest indicators of attachment is [4:01] whatever has the power to immediately destroy your peace, [4:04] because attachment always creates vulnerability to [4:07] disturbance. When the soul becomes overly [4:10] dependent on control or recognition or comfort or even a [4:14] relationship, peace becomes fragile. [4:17] Which is why the spiritual life isn't just about avoiding sin. [4:20] It's also about allowing God to slowly reorder the loves and [4:24] desires and attachments inside the soul until peace becomes [4:29] less dependent on what is happening around you and more [4:32] dependent on who God is. Another fruit Father Chad [4:35] Ribberger talks about is Joy. And I I think this is one of the [4:39] clear signs of whether someone's spiritual life is actually [4:42] healthy because Christian joy has very little to do with [4:46] constant excitement or emotional highs. [4:48] The Saints consistently described joy as something much [4:52] steadier because it flows from remaining rooted in God even [4:56] while life remains difficult. And I think the reason that I [5:00] love this one so much and I think it has so much weight is [5:03] because there are people who know theology extremely well. [5:06] They consume endless Christian content or whatever it is that [5:10] they're they're watching. They can debate and hold their [5:13] own, whether it's online or in person, and they can still seem [5:17] internally consumed by bitterness and pride or [5:21] negativity and even constant outrage. [5:24] And over time, that reveals something spiritually, because [5:28] the closer that someone grows toward God, the more the soul [5:31] should begin reflecting his presence interiorly. [5:35] Now, that doesn't mean that holy people never suffered. [5:37] Many Saints suffer more intensely than most people ever [5:40] will, but there is a difference between suffering while [5:43] remaining anchored in God and allowing suffering to slowly [5:47] poison your entire interior life. [5:49] One of those produces depth, clarity, and compassion, and the [5:53] other slowly hardens the soul. Father Riperger explains that [5:57] joy comes from the presence of the good, meaning that as the [6:01] soul becomes more focused on God, who is goodness itself, the [6:05] person gradually begins perceiving reality a little bit [6:08] differently. They begin noticing grace more [6:11] easily or measuring more clearly. [6:13] They begin recognizing God's presence even in ordinary life. [6:17] And I think many people today are spiritually exhausted [6:20] because their attention is constantly consumed by [6:23] comparison or outrage and distraction. [6:27] The controversies that we see, it's this endless stimulation [6:30] and this emotional reactivity day in and day out. [6:34] Eventually the soul loses its ability to rest because it never [6:38] becomes recollected interiorly. Now one thing that you [6:41] consistently notice about deeply holy people is that even when [6:45] they're serious and disciplined and fully aware of suffering, [6:49] there is still a visible steadiness and joy present in [6:52] them because their identity is no longer being built on [6:55] temporary things. And that kind of joy becomes [6:58] deeply attractive because people instinctively recognize when [7:02] someone is internally anchored instead of emotionally [7:06] scattered. Now one of the most [7:07] misunderstood words and Christianity in my humble [7:11] opinion, is charity, because usually it gets reduced to [7:16] niceness or agreeableness or even avoiding conflict when the [7:21] Church is always understood and explained charity as something [7:25] much deeper and much more supernatural than simple human [7:29] kindness. Father Chad Riperger explains [7:32] that charity is the virtue by which a person begins loving God [7:36] for his own sake and loving other people for the sake of [7:40] God. And that can change everything [7:42] when you think about that and let that dictate how you [7:45] operate. Because most of human love still [7:48] contains some degree of self-interest. [7:50] People naturally love those who affirm them or benefit them and [7:54] understand them or even agree with them. [7:56] But Christian charity becomes visible most clearly when love [8:00] continues even when there is no personal reward attached to it. [8:04] And this is where the spiritual life becomes super [8:06] uncomfortable, because charity forces a person to confront how [8:11] much of their love is still centered on themselves. [8:13] It reveals whether we genuinely desire the good of another [8:17] person or whether we simply prefer people who make our life [8:20] a little bit easier. And I think that's one of the [8:22] biggest dangers within the online Christian spaces. [8:26] Because theology can slowly become disconnected from genuine [8:30] love of souls, people begin approaching conversations more [8:34] interested in humiliating or exposing and embarrassing or [8:38] even intellectually empowering others versus helping another [8:43] person move toward what is good. One of the strongest points that [8:47] Father Ripberger makes is that holiness changes a person's [8:51] instinctive reaction toward other people. [8:53] As charity increases, the soul becomes less interested in [8:57] tearing people apart and more interested in helping them grow [9:01] in truth. And this is huge, because [9:03] charity doesn't mean removing truth in order to avoid [9:06] discomfort. The Saints were extraordinarily [9:09] truthful people, but they were also extraordinary, apparently [9:12] charitable people too, because genuine Love Actually desires [9:16] what is spiritually good for another person, even when [9:19] honesty or correction is necessary. [9:21] And I think one of the clearest signs that charity is genuinely [9:24] growing in someone is that they gradually stop viewing people [9:28] primarily through the lens of annoyance or usefulness or [9:33] ideology or even emotional convenience, and they begin [9:36] seeing souls instead. They become slower to react from [9:40] anger, slower to assume other people's motives, and more [9:44] capable of responding with patience and clarity and mercy [9:49] even in difficult situations, Because the closer someone grows [9:52] toward God, the harder it becomes to treat other people [9:56] carelessly. Now the next one is modesty and [9:59] self possession. So I think modesty is one of the [10:02] clearest examples of how modern culture has taken a deeply [10:06] spiritual concept and reduced it down to almost one single [10:10] category. Because most conversations about [10:12] modesty today focus almost entirely on clothing while [10:16] ignoring the fact that the church has always understood [10:19] modesty as something that governs a person's entire [10:22] outward conduct. Father Ripberger explains that [10:25] modesty orders external behavior so that a person speaks [10:29] appropriately, they carry themselves appropriately, and [10:32] they present themselves in a way that reflects interior order [10:36] rather than interior chaos. And once you understand modesty [10:40] this way, you begin realizing how much modern culture actively [10:44] trains people toward the opposite. [10:46] Because modesty effects speech, emotional reactions, attention [10:50] seeking, self presentation, and even the way that people [10:53] communicate online. Social media especially has [10:57] deeply distorted people's understanding of restraint. [11:00] Because modern culture will constantly reward impulsivity or [11:04] emotional spectacle and overexposure and even the need [11:08] to constantly perform yourself publicly. [11:11] But one of the most consistent signs of spiritual maturity [11:15] throughout Christian history has been increasing self possession. [11:19] So the person becomes less emotionally reactive, less [11:22] controlled by impulses, and less dependent on this external [11:25] validation because their identity becomes more deeply [11:29] rooted in God. You can usually tell when [11:31] someone has had that kind of interior stability because [11:34] there's a coherence between their interior life and their [11:38] exterior life. Their speech becomes more [11:40] measured, their reactions become calmer, and there's a steadiness [11:44] about them that feels difficult to fake because holiness [11:47] eventually affects the way that a person carries themselves [11:50] outwardly to now. The next section is on chastity. [11:54] So this was actually one of the strongest parts of the entire [11:57] because Father Riperger explains that holiness eventually changes [12:01] the appetite itself. So as someone grows closer to [12:05] God, desires gradually become more ordered and more governed [12:09] by reason and less dominated by impulse. [12:13] And I think this is difficult for modern society to understand [12:17] because people are constantly told that freedom means [12:20] unrestricted self-expression, unrestricted desire, and [12:24] unrestricted indulgence. But the Saints understood [12:27] freedom very differently. They understood freedom as the [12:30] ability to govern yourself rightly instead of being [12:34] governed by every impulse that enters your mind and body. [12:37] Because one of the greatest effects of sin is interior [12:41] disorder. A person can know intellectually [12:44] what is right while still feeling emotionally pulled [12:47] toward things that damage them spiritually. [12:49] Almost everyone experiences that tension to some degree, because [12:52] original sin wounded human nature itself. [12:55] But the more disorders the passions become, the less free [12:59] the person actually becomes, because eventually desire starts [13:02] driving the person instead of the person governing desire. [13:06] And I think this is one of the reasons that modern culture [13:08] feels so spiritually exhausted around sexuality, because people [13:12] are constantly feeding desires that were never meant to operate [13:15] without boundaries. Lust rarely stays isolated. [13:19] It affects prayer and clarity, your emotional stability, [13:22] relationships and discipline, and even the ability to [13:25] genuinely, certainly love another person rightly. [13:28] One of the things I appreciated most about Father Ripberger's [13:31] explanation is that he speaks about chastity as something that [13:34] eventually brings peace and joy into the soul, which sounds [13:38] almost foreign to modern ears because we've been taught to [13:41] associate chastity entirely with deprivation. [13:45] But the Saints consistently describe chastity as deeply [13:49] freeing, because the person gradually becomes less enslaved [13:53] to compulsive desire and more capable of loving with clarity [13:57] instead of impulse. And I think one of the most [14:00] hopeful things about the spiritual life is that grace [14:03] genuinely changes people over time. [14:05] Many Saints who later radiated this extraordinary purity once [14:10] struggled intensely before grace slowly reordered their desires. [14:14] Temptation may still exist because temptation remains a [14:17] part of human life, but the person no longer experiences the [14:20] same level of interior slavery because the heart itself has [14:24] begun healing. Now, this next one, I think, is [14:27] one of the clearest signs that someone is actually growing [14:30] spiritually, and it's the way that they begin handling [14:33] frustration and suffering and inconvenience and even criticism [14:37] and conflict, because holiness eventually changes a person's [14:41] reactions. And this is where the spiritual [14:43] life becomes extremely practical, because the real [14:46] condition of the interior life usually reveals itself through [14:50] ordinary daily situations, much more than isolated emotional [14:54] highs or spiritual moments. Father Chad Ripberger talks [14:57] about meekness and patience as fruits that flow from a soul [15:02] becoming increasingly ordered toward God. [15:04] And one thing that people often misunderstand about meekness is [15:07] that meekness has never meant weakness or passivity or lack of [15:13] conviction. Many Saints were so strong and [15:16] disciplined, they were courageous people. [15:18] And meekness simply means the person is no longer governed [15:22] primarily by reactive anger, because when anger dominates the [15:26] interior life, every inconvenience immediately feels [15:30] personal, every criticism feels unbearable, and every [15:34] frustration provokes disproportionate reactions. [15:38] Over time, the soul loses stability because emotions begin [15:41] governing the person instead of reason and grace. [15:45] And modern culture again, constantly encourages this kind [15:49] of instability because we are trained to react immediately, to [15:53] externalize every emotion publicly, and to treat emotional [15:57] intensity as authenticity. But throughout Christian [16:01] history, one of the clearest signs of maturity has been the [16:04] increasing self government and interior steadiness. [16:08] Now, that doesn't mean that holy people stop feeling emotion, but [16:11] it does mean that emotion stops ruling them. [16:14] Father Ripper explains that patience allows the soul to [16:18] remain steady even in suffering and difficulty, without becoming [16:22] internally shattered by it. And I think people often [16:25] underestimate how much spiritual immaturity reveals itself, [16:29] because suffering exposes your attachment very quickly. [16:32] It reveals how dependent we are on comfort and control, [16:36] affirmation, convenience, or even immediate gratification. [16:41] And one of the most powerful things about the Saints is that [16:43] many of them became remarkably calm under pressure because [16:47] their peace was rooted somewhere deeper than circumstances. [16:51] Even when they suffered intensely, there was still a [16:54] stability present in them because their interior life was [16:58] no longer centered entirely around preserving comfort at all [17:02] costs. Now moving on to one of the most [17:04] important points that Father Chad Ribberger makes in this [17:07] talk is that the fruits of the Holy Spirit reveal what is [17:10] actually happening inside the soul. [17:13] Because overtime, whatever governs your interior life will [17:16] eventually become visible externally. [17:19] If someone continuously feels pride or lust, vanity, [17:24] resentment, whatever it is, those things will begin shaping [17:28] your entire personality. Eventually they will affect your [17:31] speech and your relationships, reactions, your decision making, [17:35] and even the way that you carry yourself through your life. [17:39] And the reverse is also true. When someone consistently [17:43] cooperates with grace through prayer and repentance and the [17:46] sacraments and all of these things, the soul slowly becomes [17:49] reordered. The person probably wouldn't [17:52] even notice it, but the transformation is happening. [17:55] There is more peace in your life. [17:57] There's more peace that's present. [17:58] There's more clarity and more patience and even self-control [18:02] and this sense of greater freedom from certain sins that [18:06] maybe once dominated your interior life. [18:08] And I think this is really important for us to know and [18:11] self reflect, to see if you can see these fruits, because a lot [18:14] of us will become discouraged when we feel like we still [18:17] struggle with temptation or weakness. [18:20] But you have to remember that the Saints never taught that [18:23] holiness meant becoming incapable of any of these sins [18:26] of, of temptation or you know, anything like that. [18:29] Spiritual combat remains part of human life, and it will until we [18:33] take our last breath. But what changes is that grace [18:36] gradually strengthens your soul, so that disorder loses some of [18:40] its control little by little over time. [18:42] And I think this confronts one of the biggest lies in our [18:46] culture today, which is the idea that people can't actually [18:49] change. Christianity has always taught [18:51] the exact opposite. The entire gospel depends on the [18:54] reality that grace genuinely transforms human beings. [18:57] Many Saints struggled intensely with pride or lust, fear, anger, [19:02] maybe all of the above. And grace slowly reordered their [19:06] lives over time, and now they're Saints, more alive in Christ in [19:10] heaven than they were ever alive before. [19:13] So holiness isn't this personality optimization or the [19:17] self improvement. Holiness is supernatural [19:20] transformation. And that leads me to one of the [19:22] most sobering realities in the spiritual life. [19:25] It's that external religion and internal holiness are not [19:30] automatically the same thing. Because it is entirely possible [19:33] for someone to surround themselves with the religious [19:35] things and do all of the Catholic things while still [19:38] remaining deep disordered interiorly. [19:41] A person can start off their day with Bible in a year, pray their [19:44] rosary, go to daily mass where the why am I blinking? [19:50] The scapular where the scapular where their sacramentals have [19:55] their holy water, have their little water font, their holy [19:58] water font, the front door, and still remain consumed by pride, [20:02] vanity, anger, lust, bitterness. I could go on and on and on, [20:06] but. They can be consumed by all [20:08] those things if grace is not genuinely transforming their [20:11] heart. Jesus spoke so strongly against [20:13] the Pharisees throughout the gospels. [20:15] Because outward religious performance can sometimes create [20:18] the illusion of holiness while leaving the interior life [20:21] largely untouched. The danger isn't in religion [20:24] itself, because authentic religion is obviously good and [20:28] necessary, but the danger is becoming satisfied with [20:31] appearances while neglecting interior conversion. [20:34] And I think social media makes this even more dangerous because [20:38] people can become extremely skilled at presenting themselves [20:41] as disciplined or wise or traditional and spiritually [20:45] serious, while privately remaining unstable and reactive [20:49] or attention seeking or prideful, really. [20:52] And religious identity can become another form of ego if [20:56] humility is absent. And one of the clearest signs of [20:59] authentic holiness throughout church history has always been [21:03] increasing humility because genuinely holy people become [21:07] more aware of their dependence on God, not less. [21:10] They become slower to exalt themselves. [21:13] They become slower to humiliate others and slower to assume [21:17] superiority because the closer someone grows toward God, the [21:22] more clearly they begin seeing both God's holiness and their [21:25] own need for grace. Because Christianity is [21:28] ultimately not about constructing a religious image [21:32] externally. It's about becoming transformed [21:34] into the likeness of Christ internally. [21:37] And I think one of the most beautiful things about the [21:39] fruits of the Holy Spirit is that they reveal what humanity [21:43] actually looks like when grace begins restoring the soul the [21:46] way that God intended. Because when you look at [21:49] honestly, at modern life, so many people are internally [21:53] exhausted and they're emotionally reactive or even [21:56] spiritually distracted. We're all overstimulated and [21:59] anxious and restless and constantly searching for [22:03] fulfillment and things that were never capable of sustaining the [22:06] human heart in the 1st place. But the Saints point towards [22:09] something entirely different. They show us that peace and [22:13] charity, chastity, patience, joy, and interior freedom are [22:18] actually possible. Because grace genuinely [22:21] transforms human beings. The church doesn't simply offer [22:25] moral advice or self improvement. [22:27] The church offers participation in divine life itself through [22:31] grace. And I think one of the most [22:34] hopeful parts of Christianity is that sanctification is real. [22:38] People genuinely can change. They can heal, they can become [22:42] freer from sin. Because the history of the [22:45] Saints is filled with deeply imperfect people whose lives [22:48] were slowly reordered by grace over time, and that process is [22:52] usually gradual. Throughout Scripture and [22:54] throughout the lives of the Saints, God consistently works [22:58] through ordinary faithfulness and repeated repentance, [23:01] perseverance and prayer and sacraments and discipline, all [23:04] of these things long before transformation becomes fully [23:08] visible. Holiness isn't reserved for [23:11] naturally perfect people. Holiness is the work of God [23:14] within ordinary human beings who continue cooperating with grace [23:19] even while imperfect and unfinished. [23:22] And the closer that someone grows toward God, the more [23:26] internally unified they become. Thank you guys so much for [23:30] listening. That is all I have for today. [23:32] I will see you guys next time. Bye. Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them.