Pope Francis on March 19, 2018 signed and addressed to the whole Catholic Church the apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness in the contemporary world, called Gaudete et exultate.
It is a magisterial document divided into five chapters which recall, as the Second Vatican Council had already underlined, the common vocation to holiness of “all the faithful of every state and condition” (LG 11).
Therefore, not only religious people, but every baptized person.
“To be saints – Pope Francis writes – it is not necessary to be bishops, priests, religious or religious. Many times we are tempted to think that holiness is reserved for those who have the opportunity to keep their distance from ordinary occupations, to devote a lot of time to prayer. It is not so. We are all called to be saints by living with love and each offering his own testimony in the occupations of every day, wherever he is. Are you a consecrated woman or a consecrated person? Be holy by living your donation with joy. You are married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ did with the Church. Are you a worker? Be holy by carrying out your work in the service of the brothers with honesty and competence. Are you a parent or grandmother or grandfather? Be holy by patiently teaching children to follow Jesus. Do you have authority? Be holy by fighting for the common good and renouncing your personal interests “(GE 14).
Holiness therefore is a goal to be achieved daily, knowing how to deny oneself, taking up one’s cross every day, as Jesus suggested, and following him (Lk 9:23).
However, it is not enough to seek it only with our intellect, as the Gnostics said, or with our will, as the Pelagians and Semipelagians claimed, but it is necessary to seek God with intelligence and will in the light of grace, a gift that Christ has earned. to humanity with his obedience to the Father, becoming similar to us in everything, except in sin, and accepting the sacrifice of the cross (cf. Phil 2: 8).
This gift is “operative” especially in the sacraments, starting with Baptism, which thanks to the work of Christ offers us the justification to be accepted with faith and to be maintained with our constant response to Christ, which enables us to act and to work ” as good stewards of God’s grace “(1 Pt 4:10).
The main attitude to adopt for a concrete response to the common vocation to holiness is that of recognizing oneself as children of God, called to live a profound confidentiality with him, feeling him as he is: Father who first loved us and wants us to be happy.
Pope Francis, in the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et exultate, indicating some characteristics of holiness in today’s world, presents us with five great characteristics of love for God and neighbor, which he considers of particular importance due to some risks and limitations of the culture of today: “The first of these great characteristics is to remain centered and steadfast in the God who loves and sustains. Starting from this inner firmness it is possible to endure, to support the setbacks, the vicissitudes of life, and also the aggressions of others, their infidelities and their defects: “If God is with us, who will be against us?” (Rom 8:31). This is a source of peace which is expressed in the attitudes of a saint “(GE 112). So we are not afraid of being consistent with the postulates of one’s faith. The second characteristic is to acquire that meekness that makes us strong in spirit, so as to avoid all violence, choosing the path of meekness. “Inner firmness, which is the work of grace, keeps us from letting ourselves be carried away by the violence that invades social life, because grace dampens vanity and makes meekness of heart possible. The saint does not waste his energy complaining about the errors of others “(GE 116).
The third characteristic is patient humility that “rejoices in the good of others as if it were his own, sincerely seeking that the latter be preferred to himself in all things” (St. John of the cross, Cautele, 13).
Pope Francis writes that “Humility can take root in the heart only through humiliations. Without them there is no humility or holiness. If you are not able to endure and offer some humiliations you are not humble and you are not on the path of holiness. ” (GE 118). Pope Francis continues rightly arguing that: “I am not saying that humiliation is something pleasant, because this would be masochism, but that it is a way to imitate Jesus and grow in union with him” (GE 120).
The fourth characteristic for embarking on the path of holiness is joy with a sense of humor.
“The saint is capable of living with joy and a sense of humor. Without losing realism, he enlightens others with a positive and hopeful spirit ”(GE 122).
St. Thomas More, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Philip Neri, but also the Poverello of Assisi himself can be an example as joyful and not devoid of humor people. If we trust in the Lord, our heart cannot allow itself to be plagiarized by sadness.
The fifth characteristic suggested by Pope Francis for the way of holiness is fervent audacity. The foundation of Christian parrhesia is well offered to us by Jesus himself when in the Gospels “he repeats to us with serenity and firmness:” Do not be afraid “(Mk 6.50). “I am with you always, to the close of the age” (Mt 28,20)…. Boldness, enthusiasm, speaking with freedom, apostolic fervor, all this is included in the word parrhesia, a word with which the Bible also expresses the freedom of an existence that is open, because it is available for God and for the brothers “(GE 129 ).
Pope Francis concludes the apostolic exhortation by hoping that, what he recalled in this document, may be useful “for the whole Church to dedicate itself to promoting the desire for holiness. We ask that the Holy Spirit instill in us an intense desire to be holy for the greater glory of God and encourage one another in this regard. Thus we will share a happiness that the world cannot take away from us ”(GE 177).
* Episcopal Vicar for the Laity and Culture – Diocese of Trieste
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