![\"Holiness](\"http:\/\/ametur-msc.org\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/holiness-Peter-To-Rot-450x610.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe canonization of Peter To Rot on October 19, 2025, and the opening, in May 2012, of the beatification process of Jules Chevalier, founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, offer to all Christians an opportunity to understand what holiness is, what it means for each of them in today\u2019s world, and how it can inspire them. Various areas of human existence often overshadow the understanding of holiness, and holiness can only be understood as a human commitment to the moral realm. In the Christian tradition, one can discuss what holiness is, without it being only an invitation to moral perfection. Holiness rests above all on the fact of God\u2019s election, to which each of the Christians responds by concretely changing their lives. The Church\u2019s model of Christian existence is centered around the importance of holiness. The exemplary character of holiness has the capacity to attract others, thus realizing in the life of the Church its main character of holiness which comes from God himself.<\/p>\n
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Christian holiness is achieved by uniting oneself with God, and to achieve this union, everyone must make an effort, mostly through accepting God\u2019s gifts and grace. God\u2019s great love was revealed through the history of salvation and people\u2019s lives, and holiness is a response to it.<\/p>\n
It is never-ending and always fascinating to explore the theme of holiness as it encompasses a wide range of different notions and ways of living. By participating in the grace of God, the Christian experiences holiness within himself. One of the crucial themes in the documents of the Second Vatican Council is holiness. Chapter 5 of the document Lumen Gentium made it plain that there is a Universal call to holiness in the Church. It is made clear that holiness is for all members of the Church. In number 39, it is emphasized that in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: \u201cFor this is the will of God, your sanctification\u201d. However, the question remains: what should be everyone\u2019s response to this call be? Whether it is a question of achieving personal perfection or of discovering the holiness of life in its ability to live the Gospel where one\u2019s brother or sister is, or even of building a society of love and turning towards another person by considering them as our brother, our sister, and well beyond physical or moral appearance. Love, then, is more than just a series of benevolent actions. Those actions have their source in a union increasingly directed towards others, considering them of value, worthy, pleasing and beautiful apart from their physical or moral appearances.<\/p>\n
Lumen Gentium emphasizes it: The Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher and Model of all perfection, preached holiness of life to each and everyone of His disciples of every condition. He Himself stands as the author and consumator of this holiness of life: \u201cBe you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect\u201d. Understanding and perceiving holiness is the key to personal realization. The love a person bears for God and their neighbor is the only way to recognize their depth of Christian life and the path to holiness. Building relationships with God, accepting a personal call, and surrendering to God are always matters of the heart and openness to love. This is a matter of deciding between mediocrity and the fulfillment of life with God. It is about allowing the grace of one\u2019s baptism to bear fruit on the path of holiness and openness to God.<\/p>\n
Christian life is all about choosing God constantly and unrelentingly. Let the grace of your baptism bear fruit in a path of holiness. Let everything be open to God; turn to him in every situation. Since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity. Identifying oneself with Christ and his will implies the commitment to build with him this kingdom of love, justice, and universal peace.<\/p>\n
The Biblical concept of holiness<\/strong> Gift of God, gift of oneself<\/strong> In the Christian tradition, holiness always requires a personal and concrete response on the part of the individual. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: Charity is the soul of the holiness to which all are called: it \u201cgoverns, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification. Because of love, holiness, which may seem impossible to attain, is the way in which God fulfills the plan of salvation for each person. Prayer and worship are ordinary means of expressing one\u2019s love for God. However, this love becomes false if it does not manifest itself in concrete acts of love towards the individuals encountered. That is why Pope Francis emphasizes: May you come to realize what that word is, the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world by your life. This is why the personal path of holiness is unique but also disturbing for society and neighbors. Furthermore, from a personal point of view, a person is constantly confronted with threats from the world and his own body. When theology speaks of the body, it refers to a human nature that is subject to sin. Christian education begins with the truth about God, with each person\u2019s adoration and gratitude for his greatness and goodness, and with the truth about the gift. The power to control oneself and to show sobriety, critical freedom in the face of a superficial and materialistic culture, the sincere gift of oneself to others, in favor of reconciliation and communion, emerge from this religious root.<\/p>\n A gift of God<\/strong> He also emphasizes elsewhere, more than rules and obligations, the choice that Jesus sets before us is to follow him as friends follow one another, seeking each other\u2019s company and spending time together out of pure friendship. Everything else will come in time, and even failures in life can be an invaluable way of experiencing that friendship, which will never be lost. The way of holiness is the way of friendship with Christ, and friendship is never an achievement that comes from man, but a gift. 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 \u201cmold\u201d to the holiness into which everyone must enter. His main criterion of holiness is love and relationship. According to the understanding of biblical anthropology, man was created in the image of God out of love and to love. Thus, to love and to beloved is a deep vocation and need of the human being. Therefore, the initiative that changes the dynamics of the relationship is always that of God. The path of personal holiness is not to fulfill one\u2019s duties as a human being but to discover the presence of God and to develop a relationship of love and friendship which then reflects in all areas of life. One could say that holiness, as a gift of God, makes man perfect. Indeed, God first shows the way to perfection by the fact that He creates out of love, limiting himself to make room for his creatures. In this sense, accepting to die is nothing other than giving others the joy of the world. Death is in no way a punishment for martyrs or saints. On the contrary, it is an extreme expression of love and the supreme manifestation of self-giving. Thus, holiness does not manifest itself as personal achievement but as an expression of human gratitude to God.<\/p>\n Bernard Mongeau, MSC. Dominican Republic Province<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Lev. 19,1-2) The canonization of Peter To Rot on October 19, 2025, and the opening, in May 2012, of the beatification process of Jules Chevalier, founder of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, offer to all Christians an opportunity to understand what holiness is, what it means for each of them in today\u2019s world, and how it can inspire them. 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\nIn Hebrew, the term for \u2018saint\u2019 is q\u0101d\u00f4sh (\u05e7\u05b8\u05d3\u05d5\u05b9\u05e9\u05c1), which also means \u2018separated\u2019 or \u2018pure\u2019. The Hebrew word for \u2018holiness\u2019 is q\u014ddesh (\u05e7\u05b9\u05d3\u05b6\u05e9\u05c1) and for \u2018sanctify\u2019 is q\u0101dash (\u05e7\u05b8\u05d3\u05b7\u05e9\u05c1). God is holy meaning that He is separated from earthly reality and cannot be manipulated. God is above all and nothing is like Him. God is always different, even from the expectations of holy people. This separation shows that God is immune to anything impure or associated with anything that would disgrace Him. Even though God is in the world and taking care of earthly realities, he remains distinct and is expressed through the term holy. The notion of God\u2019s holiness in the Old Testament is a fundamental invitation for a human being to turn towards the One in whose image he was created, not to be \u201cinfected\u201d by temptations. The entire book of Leviticus explains the call to uphold God\u2019s holiness, which is not only a moral specialty but also reflects the uniqueness of those who recognize their connection to Him. The LORD said to Moses, \u201cSpeak to the whole Israelite community and tell them: Be holy, for I, the LORD your God, am holy. (Lev. 19,1 2). Following God\u2019s commandments involves remembering that they are not limited to a set of rules but reflect the nature of God. Holiness is not limited to religious acts, but concerns all aspects of life, which includes its relationship to people. Regarding the attitude towards God, it should be noted that one of the forms of desire for holiness is found in Isaiah 6,3: Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts!\u201d they cried one to the other. \u201cAll the earth is filled with his glory! This cry highlights the importance of following the One who is celebrated. As the Council itself explained, this ideal of perfection must not be misunderstood as if it involved some kind of extraordinary existence, possible only for a few \u201cuncommon heroes\u201d of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the vocation of each individual. All the miracles Jesus performed in the New Testament establish his holiness. Luke writes: the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God (Lk. 1,35). Peter\u2019s confession confirms his faith in his master: He is the Messiah, the Son of the living God (Mt. 16,16) and therefore saint. Peter adds: Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God (Jn. 6,68 69). It is clearly stated by the demons that Jesus is holy. What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are \u2013 the Holy One of God! (Mk. 1,24); What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of God! (Lk. 4,34). The practical meaning of holiness, present in the Old Testament, is especially evident in Saint Paul: I urge you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. (Rom. 12,1). In the first correspondence addressed to the Thessalonians, it reads: May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5,23). Benedict XVI wrote: the whole of Christian life knows one supreme law, which St Paul expresses in a formula that recurs in all his holy writings: in Jesus Christ. Holiness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in carrying out extraordinary enterprises but in being united with Christ, in living his mysteries, in making our own his example, his thoughts, his behaviour. The measure of holiness stems from the stature that Christ achieves in us, in as much as with the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on his. This requires devoting oneself entirely to Christ in everyday life.<\/p>\n
\nModern man is observed and valued in the light of personal achievements, having in view an ideal of perfection. Therefore, the discourse on holiness and its understanding are equally influenced by a projection of the contemporary model of functioning in society. In the field of relationships with God and personal devotion, this has consequences.<\/p>\n![\"Holiness](\"http:\/\/ametur-msc.org\/website\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/holiness-blessed-el-quiche-450x825.jpg\")
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\nIt is necessary to understand that holiness is not a human achievement, but a pure gift of God, proportionate to the degree of relationship with God. This gift of God, like every gift, is understood in the Christian tradition as any other gift, welcomed, received with gratitude. Holiness is a free acceptance of God\u2019s will, so that God can act in the world in each and through each human being. Holiness is an ideal. It is, however, in modern society, increasingly considered as an old-fashioned or obsolete ideal, conditioned by a list of prohibitions whose implementation allows the achievement of holiness through personal commitment. Such an interpretation faces two difficulties: on the one hand, holiness is defined as a list of rules from which modern man seeks to free himself; on the other hand, it is believed that holiness is achieved through personal commitment and effort. Living according to the will of God is not a set of laws and regulations but rather the encounter with the person of Jesus Christ. Pope Francis clearly states this differentiation: The Church has repeatedly taught that we are justified not by our own works or efforts, but by the grace of the Lord, who always takes the initiative.<\/p>\n