Universal Call to Holiness: Following the Footsteps of Christ
November 1, 2016
by Mico Pacheco
by Mico Pacheco
By virtue of our baptism, we become part of the Christian family, we become part of Christ’s Mystical Body: the Church, we become candidates to the reception of the sacraments: sharing in the table of the Eucharist, experiencing Christ’s mercy through Confession and Holy Anointing, and receiving the fullness of the Spirit in Confirmation. We become Christians, followers of Christ, keepers of his teachings and, most importantly, sharers of the faith. When we speak of Christians as “sharers of the faith”, we look into the state of life of the person. We turn our attention to two sacraments, the Sacraments of Mission and Vocation, which only one of the two can be received by a Christian. If a Christian finds a suitable partner and falls in love, he is called to a life bound through Holy Matrimony, to form a family committed to Christ. On the other hand, if a Christian hears in himself a call to perpetually serve Christ and his Church, he may be called to a life of priesthood through the Sacrament of Holy Orders. A common misconception on these two sacraments is that one is greater than the other but in truth, it is through baptism that we share in Christ’s kingly, priestly and prophetic mission. Thus, we become his followers, his disciples, responding to his call manifested in Matthew 5:48, to become perfect as the Father in heaven is perfect.
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, one of the key documents of the Second Vatican Council, speaks of a “universal call to holiness”. This means that whatever rank or status we may be in, all are called to the “fullness of Christian life and perfection of charity”. This does not pertain only to bishops, priests, nuns and missionaries, but to all people, whether single or married, catechized or not, initiated by virtue of our one baptism in the Father, Son and Spirit.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. Today we honor the great men and women of our faith who responded to the universal call to holiness. They chose to follow Christ in the midst of the urgings of the world. We remember not only the publicly acclaimed canonized saints but also those who have not yet been raised to such status.
But what does it mean to be a saint? By definition and etymology, sanctus would refer to something holy, therefore a saint, in the simplest sense, is someone who has exhibited holiness. But how does this holiness become manifested in the life of a person? In history we have seen men and women follow Christ in great and profound ways lauded by generations. We see the bravery of the apostles and the first Christians, the faithfulness of the early martyrs, the asceticism of the Desert Fathers, the great intelligence bestowed on the Fathers of the Church and the scholastic thinkers who laid foundations to Catholic teaching as we know today, the charisma of workers of charity who through their deeds motivated many Christians to care for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden, and how God manifested his mercy through the saints who are known to be wonder-workers. The saints we know manifested either one, two or three of the mentioned qualities, such as the great faith of St. Peter, the bravery of St. Paul, the charisma of Sts. Francis and Dominic, the intelligence of Sts. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure, the wonders shown by Sts. Anthony of Padua, Joseph of Cupertino and so on.
It is important to honor them. It is important to recognize what they have been to the life of the faithful and to human history. These men chose to follow Christ, whatever the risk or difficulty which may come with it. Even if they were to suffer poverty, persecution or the sword itself, what is important is to follow and echo to the world the greatness of Christ.
The traditional notion of sainthood was lofty indeed, a very high standard set on men, but saints canonized by the Church in the previous century who also belong to our day and age show that it is not impossible. We all know the Cristero Martyrs and the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, saints and blesseds who have been noted for their bravery and faithfulness to Christ in the midst of persecution, we know of St. Josemaria Escriva, who charismatically called for the sanctification on one’s work in his present state of life, St. Padre Pio who showed the mystical power of God to a modern age, St. John Paul II through whom the Church was led into the modern setting, not as a thing of the past but as a vital part of society, and the recently canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta, who showed the need for charity to counter a mindset fixed on capital, greed, and self-enrichment alone.
These holy people have shown how to be followers of Christ whatever the cost may be, to reject the promptings of desire, pleasure and mere satisfaction, in exchange for what Christ offers them. We do not worship saints. We do not adore their images, center ourselves to them and bow at their midst. We venerate and honor them as great examples of the faith, examples we must follow in order to have ourselves, as well as those around us, closer to Jesus.
Holiness today does not mean doing all those public manifestations. Holiness is faithfulness to Jesus, becoming true to our mission to share him to the world we live in, to become great examples to the Church today. We must remember that today’s worldly society needs saints, modern-day saints, holy people willing to become the face of Christ to a world stricken by the evils of greed, corruption and the loss of the sense of sin. Let us remember: holiness consists not by doing extraordinary things, but rather by DOING ORDINARY THINGS WITH EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. May our love for Jesus lead us to living holy lives dedicated to him, serving his Church, his people, leading ourselves to fullness of life in him. Amen.
Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, one of the key documents of the Second Vatican Council, speaks of a “universal call to holiness”. This means that whatever rank or status we may be in, all are called to the “fullness of Christian life and perfection of charity”. This does not pertain only to bishops, priests, nuns and missionaries, but to all people, whether single or married, catechized or not, initiated by virtue of our one baptism in the Father, Son and Spirit.
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. Today we honor the great men and women of our faith who responded to the universal call to holiness. They chose to follow Christ in the midst of the urgings of the world. We remember not only the publicly acclaimed canonized saints but also those who have not yet been raised to such status.
But what does it mean to be a saint? By definition and etymology, sanctus would refer to something holy, therefore a saint, in the simplest sense, is someone who has exhibited holiness. But how does this holiness become manifested in the life of a person? In history we have seen men and women follow Christ in great and profound ways lauded by generations. We see the bravery of the apostles and the first Christians, the faithfulness of the early martyrs, the asceticism of the Desert Fathers, the great intelligence bestowed on the Fathers of the Church and the scholastic thinkers who laid foundations to Catholic teaching as we know today, the charisma of workers of charity who through their deeds motivated many Christians to care for the poor, marginalized and downtrodden, and how God manifested his mercy through the saints who are known to be wonder-workers. The saints we know manifested either one, two or three of the mentioned qualities, such as the great faith of St. Peter, the bravery of St. Paul, the charisma of Sts. Francis and Dominic, the intelligence of Sts. Augustine, Thomas Aquinas, and Bonaventure, the wonders shown by Sts. Anthony of Padua, Joseph of Cupertino and so on.
It is important to honor them. It is important to recognize what they have been to the life of the faithful and to human history. These men chose to follow Christ, whatever the risk or difficulty which may come with it. Even if they were to suffer poverty, persecution or the sword itself, what is important is to follow and echo to the world the greatness of Christ.
The traditional notion of sainthood was lofty indeed, a very high standard set on men, but saints canonized by the Church in the previous century who also belong to our day and age show that it is not impossible. We all know the Cristero Martyrs and the martyrs of the Spanish Civil War, saints and blesseds who have been noted for their bravery and faithfulness to Christ in the midst of persecution, we know of St. Josemaria Escriva, who charismatically called for the sanctification on one’s work in his present state of life, St. Padre Pio who showed the mystical power of God to a modern age, St. John Paul II through whom the Church was led into the modern setting, not as a thing of the past but as a vital part of society, and the recently canonized St. Teresa of Calcutta, who showed the need for charity to counter a mindset fixed on capital, greed, and self-enrichment alone.
These holy people have shown how to be followers of Christ whatever the cost may be, to reject the promptings of desire, pleasure and mere satisfaction, in exchange for what Christ offers them. We do not worship saints. We do not adore their images, center ourselves to them and bow at their midst. We venerate and honor them as great examples of the faith, examples we must follow in order to have ourselves, as well as those around us, closer to Jesus.
Holiness today does not mean doing all those public manifestations. Holiness is faithfulness to Jesus, becoming true to our mission to share him to the world we live in, to become great examples to the Church today. We must remember that today’s worldly society needs saints, modern-day saints, holy people willing to become the face of Christ to a world stricken by the evils of greed, corruption and the loss of the sense of sin. Let us remember: holiness consists not by doing extraordinary things, but rather by DOING ORDINARY THINGS WITH EXTRAORDINARY LOVE. May our love for Jesus lead us to living holy lives dedicated to him, serving his Church, his people, leading ourselves to fullness of life in him. Amen.