All too often holiness is equated simply with overcoming vice and cultivating virtue. And although this is surely central and integral to holiness it is not all that holiness entails. In his image and analogy of the vine and the branches Jesus says that every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it bears more fruit. In this we see, firstly, that holiness is never achieved as some final state of perfection in this life but by constant pruning is always open to becoming ever more perfect and more fruitful. And, secondly, integral to this perfection and fruitfulness is the growth and blossoming of the gifts, aptitudes, and talents that God has blessed each one of us with. And this shouldn’t surprise us because our sins and imperfections prevent us from realizing our full human potential and can either hinder the development of our gifts and talents or result in our utilizing them for selfish and self-serving purposes. And so it is that our sinfulness not only impacts our lives and those of the community negatively, but also deprives the community of sharing more fully in the gifts that God has blessed each one of us with. Paul and Barnabas were two saints whose holiness found expression in the full flowering of their God-given gifts—gifts that helped build up the early church. Through their intercession may we be granted the grace to imitate their example and in bearing much fruit, glorify our heavenly Father.