The following text is from John Paul II (bold underlining is from me). It is a revolutionary text !
"30. First of all, I have
no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in
relation to holiness. Was
this not the ultimate meaning of the Jubilee indulgence, as a special grace
offered by Christ so that the life of every baptized person could be purified
and deeply renewed?
It is my hope that,
among those who have taken part in the Jubilee, many will have benefited from
this grace, in full awareness of its demands. Once the Jubilee is over, we
resume our normal path, but knowing that stressing holiness remains more
than ever an urgent pastoral task.
It is necessary
therefore to rediscover the full practical significance of Chapter 5 of the
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen
Gentium, dedicated to the "universal call to holiness". The
Council Fathers laid such stress on this point, not just to embellish
ecclesiology with a kind of spiritual veneer, but to make the call to
holiness an intrinsic and essential aspect of their teaching on the Church.
The rediscovery of the
Church as "mystery", or as a people "gathered together by the
unity of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit",15 was bound to bring with it a
rediscovery of the Church's "holiness", understood in the basic sense
of belonging to him who is in essence the Holy One, the "thrice Holy"
(cf. Is 6:3). To profess the Church as
holy means to point to her as the
Bride of Christ, for whom he
gave himself precisely in order to make her holy (cf. Eph 5:25-26). This as it were
objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized.
But the gift in turn
becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life:
"This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Th 4:3). It is a duty which concerns
not only certain Christians: "All the Christian faithful, of whatever
state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the
perfection of charity".16
31. At first glance, it
might seem almost impractical to recall this elementary truth as the
foundation of the pastoral planning in which we are involved at the start
of the new millennium.
Can holiness ever be
"planned"?
What might the word "holiness"
mean in the context of a pastoral plan?
In fact, to place
pastoral planning under the heading of holiness is a choice filled with
consequences. It implies the conviction that, 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.
To ask catechumens:
"Do you wish to receive Baptism?" means at the same time to ask them:
"Do you wish to become holy?" It means to set before them the
radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect as your heavenly
Father is perfect" (Mt 5:48).
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 "uncommon
heroes" of holiness. The ways of holiness are many, according to the
vocation of each individual. I thank the Lord that in these years he has
enabled me to beatify and canonize a large number of Christians, and among them
many lay people who attained holiness in the most ordinary circumstances of
life.
The time has come to
re-propose wholeheartedly to everyone this high
standard of ordinary Christian living: the whole life of the Christian
community and of Christian families must lead in this direction.
It is also clear however
that the paths to holiness are personal and call for a genuine "training in holiness",
adapted to people's needs. This training must integrate the resources
offered to everyone with both the traditional forms of individual and group
assistance, as well as the more recent forms of support offered in associations
and movements recognized by the Church." (John Paul II, Novo Millenio, 30-31)
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