Reflection: Responding to the baptismal call to holiness (II)

Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Lev. 19,1-2)

Part (I): Reflection: Responding to the baptismal call to holiness (I) – AMETUR MSC

Answering the call of holiness is a gift of oneself.
Christians have received the call to holiness through baptism, but the question remains how to fulfill it in our day. Since there is no single measure for friendship, because it is always about living and spending time with a friend, therefore God did not imagine and set a measure or “mold” to the holiness into which everyone must enter. The results are empty heart, misunderstanding and confusion in life.

Pope Francis, in the apostolic exhortation Gaudete et Exultate, sets himself the goal of echoing once again the call to holiness, while trying to embody it in current circumstances, with risks, challenges and opportunities. Because God’s call is addressed to all, as Saint Paul emphasizes he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him. The response to this call for love is not feasible without the prayer and collaboration of the human being. The causal relationship between holiness and consecration is confirmed by Pope Francis: A Christian cannot think of his or her mission on earth without seeing it as a path of holiness, for “this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thess 4:3). The means of sanctification are very well known in the Christian tradition: prayer, the sacraments, various forms of spirituality and spiritual accompaniment.

Reflecting on holiness requires both consecration and perfection. It is common for holiness to be perceived as an unattainable and sometimes undesirable goal by average believers. Understanding holiness as the ability to master sins and respond positively to the demands of radical perfection leads to experiencing it as unattainable. To confirm this approach, the quest for perfection is guided by the perfection of God himself: So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect (Mt. 5,48). For Thérèse of the Child Jesus: Perfection consists in doing God’s will, in being what he wills us to be. It is possible that Jesus’ response to the rich young man is confusing: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to (the) poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me (Mt. 19,21). It is possible to realize the link between God’s word of perfection and life if a person possesses the following qualities: Perfect in purity of heart, perfect in compassion and love, perfect in obedience, perfect in conformity to the will of the Father, perfect in holiness – when we hear these words we can be understandably tempted to discouragement, thinking that perfection for us is impossible.

The fact that the Word of God has the strength to do, to act, to accomplish what it says or that it has a performative aspect is very ignored. However, the Word of God also has a paradigmatic force because it seeks the other half, which is life. Indeed, when one accepts to associate an event in the scriptures with a concrete life, the miraculous power is revealed that places the Christian in the work of God.

The perfection to which everyone is called is revealed in giving. God’s Son was given to every man and woman. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms that Spiritual progress entails the ascesis and mortification that gradually lead to living in the peace and joy of the Beatitudes: He who climbs never stops going from beginning to beginning, through beginnings that have no end. He never stops desiring what he already knows. The call to perfection involves self-giving supported by grace that seeks spiritual commitment and knows painful places of purification (“dark night of the soul” ), but also different paths towards an unspeakable joy. The path of holiness is personal and requires a true pedagogy of holiness, which can be adapted to individuals and incorporates many possibilities. The realization of this personal journey is always done within a concrete community that supports the one called to be holy. A saint is one who manifests a sincere desire for transformation and exemplary moral purity.

Every baptized person is called to holiness
Jesus explained very simply what it means to be holy. It is not impossible to learn about holiness, to take a course on the subject or even to study spirituality, while being absent from the personal and active participation of mind and heart. Without a sincere desire to transform information about holiness into living holiness, it is unlikely to create the strength to make serious decisions and consciously respond to the general call to holiness. This response allows the Word to become tangible and resonate throughout the Christian life. The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly warns of this dimension: The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: “Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. The way of doing things commonly evokes movement with a particular dynamic that also necessitates effort. He is the Way, if he is the mediator who reveals the Father. That is why holiness is a dynamic reality and not static.

In the reality of daily life, Christians should bear witness to the figure of the Master, as emphasized by the Beatitudes. Everything would be simpler if holiness could be secured by a certain number of rosaries, fundraisers and community engagement. It is not uncommon for one to shift the care of holiness towards other believers, imagining that they would be better placed than oneself to respond to this call, so that one sometimes postpones this heavy task at the end of one’s life. It sometimes happens that holiness is postponed to another time in life. Some see holiness as a normal path for others, which Pope Francis strongly criticizes: we are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. According to Pope Francis: Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them “the middle class of holiness”. Saint John Henry Newman was one of the first Christian thinkers to explicitly explore the link between faith, life, reality, heart, consciousness and imagination. His reflection can certainly be useful. He made the Gospel of Christ credible today. Rather than a clichéd, 19th-century romantic heroic holiness, the beautiful but troubled life path of Newman shows us that holiness can and must be reimagined today in the light of Easter. Because of unconditional love, the risen Christ shares his life with the life of each one of us.

The desire and manner of following Christ and building a relationship with him always determine what holiness is. The path of holiness requires spiritual accompaniment and spiritual reading. Spiritual guidance and inspiration to lead an individual to follow the lives of saints are essential elements for any serious approach to personal spiritual growth. No matter how seriously one turns to the canonized saints, the people officially declared holy, one quickly discovers that the path towards holiness cannot be easily understood, which can lead to discouragement, because of the expected extraordinary virtues and perfect consecration to God. It is also possible that certain teachings of the saints, may discourage someone as unfeasible, disturbing, unreasonable, unbalanced or even false, which resembles the reaction of many to the teachings of Jesus. Regarding the saints, it is necessary to observe their life in its entirety and their inner journey of consecration, the part in which something of Jesus Christ takes shape. It is a problem of inner insight that transforms everything one has experienced, felt, wanted, what one desires and strives to achieve in order to transform oneself, to reach the depths of knowledge of immeasurable beauty, the meaning of each moment and abandonment to God. Newman has always focused on the holiness and blessing that await those who, with the help of grace, prepare their hearts and consciences to welcome God and listen to his voice. Certain qualities of such holiness manifest in the love of God and neighbor. They are recognized in patience and gentleness, joy, a sense of humor, daring and fervour, community and permanence in prayer. In this sense, four principles can be useful as a basis for a correct understanding of the spiritual path without which there is no holiness.

Union with God is completely inaccessible by human efforts alone: it is a gift that only God can give. Progress in spiritual life completely depends on His grace. God is the way and destination.

Yet, human effort is necessary. The saints call this the availability of man for union. Someone’s efforts help them receive the gifts of God. And of course, it is the grace of God that opens spaces of incredible possibilities and desires. Yet there too you shall seek the LORD, your God; and you shall indeed find him when you search after him with your whole heart and your whole soul. (Deut. 4,29).

It is important to evaluate what is necessary before accepting a task if it is to be completed successfully. In order to be able to unite deeply with God, it is necessary that a great change occur; one must purify oneself, transform oneself, and heal from all wounds, painful impacts, as well as personal sins: It is necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14,22).

The path of holiness must be rooted in the sanctity of the Church itself, that is to say, without the ecclesial foundation, holiness can hardly be understood in the Church and in society.

Bernard Mongeau, MSC. Dominican Republic Province