From Catholic Online:
Pope Benedict XVI Calls the Faithful to Become Saints in a Great Mosaic of Charity
By Deacon Keith A. Fournier
4/14/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
"Often we are led to believe that sainthood is reserved to a few chosen ones... saintliness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in uniting oneself with Christ... in making His disposition ... His behavior ... our own. ... The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution of the Church, speaks clearly of the universal call to sainthood, affirming that no-one is excluded." As are many of this great teachers locutions, this was a recruiting talk. The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
Pope in a General Audience greeting the faithful
VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - "Hagiography" is the study of the lives of the saints.If it is properly done, its result should be to change us. This kind of inspiring storytelling has been a part of the Christian Church from its earliest centuries. Good hagiography not only discloses the beauty of a life lived in love for God but inspires the reader or hearer to enter into the relationship which made the holy man or woman holy. Among the multiple gifts which Pope Benedict XVI brings to his service to the universal Church is his extraordinary gift for hagiography.
For two years he has dedicated many of his Wednesday catechetical instructions to telling the stories of the Saints. His accounts are exquisite, inspiring and motivational. On Wednesday, April 13, 2011 during his general audience he addressed a crowd of over 15,000 pilgrims and concluded a two year series on the saints, by calling the faithful to become just like those who ""with their faith, with their charity and with their lives, have been beacons for many generations, and are thus also for us".
He sounded a consistent theme with this reminder "often we are led to believe that sainthood is reserved to a few chosen ones". He continued, "saintliness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in uniting oneself with Christ... in making His disposition ... His behavior ... our own. ... The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution of the Church, speaks clearly of the universal call to sainthood, affirming that no-one is excluded." As are many of this great teachers locutions, this was a recruiting talk. The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
The Christian life could be summed up in one word, relationship. When we are baptized into Jesus Christ, we enter into a relationship with the Father, in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. We also enter into a relationship with all who are joined to Jesus Christ in His Body, the Church. This relationship changes our relationship to all men and women because we now are joined, through our membership in His Body, in the ongoing redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. We now live in a communion of love that is dynamic and missionary.
The beloved disciple John wrote these words in his first letter in the New Testament "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure." (1 John 3:1-3)
By grace -and our free cooperation with it - we are being made new, transformed, into His Image and likenes. That is what holiness is all about. We shall be "like Him" as we learn to live our lives in Him and allow Him to live His life within us. This intimate relationship of communion begins at our own Baptism, where He initiated the relationship, and continues daily as we live our lives by faith, participating in the sacramental life of the Church. We are called to learn how to be immersed in prayer, in the living Word of God, and to allow the divine life called grace to work within us and through us. This is a call for every one of us, no matter what our state in life or vocation.
Even now, as we live in this real world which is corrupted by the effects of sin and filled with all of its imperfection; as we struggle in our own fight against the allure of sin and the reality of evil; we can begin to "see Him as He is" and to become "like Him" through our continued progress in the spiritual life. We are called to become a "manifestation", an "epiphany" of God in a world stumbling along in the darkness of sin. We are continually invited to renounce sin and embrace a life of sanctity. We are called to become saints.
Christian theology helps us to understand this deep mystery of God's relationship to us, our relationship to Him, our relationship with one another and our relationship with the world which He still loves. Through baptism we were "incorporated" into Christ and entered into His "Mystical Body" which is the Church. This Church is not simply a human "congregation" but rather a "Communion". We are invited to live our lives now immersed in God and for the sake of the world. The Apostle Peter wrote in his second letter to the dispersed early Christians that we become "partakers of the divine nature". (2 Peter 1:3,4) Eastern Christian theological language calls this dynamic process "theosis". It informs the heart and soul of Eastern Christian spirituality.
Christianity is not simply about "meeting Jesus", it is about the complete and total transformation of our ...
lives in Him and, eventually, the transformation of the entire universe as it is made new in Him. These insights are not simply for theologians, they are for you and me as we accept the invitation of the God of the whole universe who came into our midst as one of us in order to free us from sin and bring us into a communion of love. The saints are our models, our companions on the journey. They also intercede for us and assist us in our daily lives even now lives because they are joined with us in the great communion of the Church.
As we enter into the Holy Week, the Pope reminded us that living a holy life "is not principally the result of our efforts, as it is God ... who renders us holy, and it is the action of his Spirit which animates us from within, the same life of Christ resurrected which is communicated to us and which transforms us ... Saintliness is therefore ultimately rooted in baptismal grace, in being introduced to the paschal mystery of Christ, by which His Spirit, His resurrected life, is communicated to us. ... But God always respects our freedom and asks us to accept this gift and to live with the demands it brings, asks that we may allow ourselves to be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, conforming our will to the will of God".
He told the faithful "Do not be afraid" to search for Christian holiness, which is "beautiful and simple," do not be afraid to "aim high, or that God asks too much of us, but let yourself be guided by Him, even if we feel inadequate, He will transform us according to His love. " He asked the question we all ask, "How can it be that our way of thinking and our actions become the thought and action of Christ?" Then he directed us all to the answer.
"Once again, the II Vatican Council offers us clear guidance; it tells us that Christian holiness is none other than charity, fully experienced". He explained that charity can "like a good seed, grow in the soul and there bear fruit, the faithful must listen gladly to the Word of God and, by its grace, carry out His will through their works, participate frequently in the sacraments, above all the Eucharist and the Holy Liturgy; they must constantly apply themselves in prayer, in the abnegation of their selves, in the active service of their brothers and in the exercise of every virtue. ... For this reason the true disciple of Christ is characterized by his charity both toward God and toward his neighbor".
He explained why hagiography is so helpful when properly understood, "The Church, during the Liturgical Year, invites us to commemorate an array of saints who have fully lived in charity, and have loved and followed Christ in their everyday lives. They show us that it is possible to follow this path. ... We are all called to saintliness: it is the very measure of Christian life". Then he invited us all as we enter into Holy Week to open our lives in their entirety "to the action of the Holy Spirit, which transforms our life, so that we too may become "tesserae" in the great mosaic of sainthood that God creates throughout history".
Pope Benedict XVI Calls the Faithful to Become Saints in a Great Mosaic of Charity
By Deacon Keith A. Fournier
4/14/2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
"Often we are led to believe that sainthood is reserved to a few chosen ones... saintliness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in uniting oneself with Christ... in making His disposition ... His behavior ... our own. ... The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution of the Church, speaks clearly of the universal call to sainthood, affirming that no-one is excluded." As are many of this great teachers locutions, this was a recruiting talk. The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
Pope in a General Audience greeting the faithful
VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - "Hagiography" is the study of the lives of the saints.If it is properly done, its result should be to change us. This kind of inspiring storytelling has been a part of the Christian Church from its earliest centuries. Good hagiography not only discloses the beauty of a life lived in love for God but inspires the reader or hearer to enter into the relationship which made the holy man or woman holy. Among the multiple gifts which Pope Benedict XVI brings to his service to the universal Church is his extraordinary gift for hagiography.
For two years he has dedicated many of his Wednesday catechetical instructions to telling the stories of the Saints. His accounts are exquisite, inspiring and motivational. On Wednesday, April 13, 2011 during his general audience he addressed a crowd of over 15,000 pilgrims and concluded a two year series on the saints, by calling the faithful to become just like those who ""with their faith, with their charity and with their lives, have been beacons for many generations, and are thus also for us".
He sounded a consistent theme with this reminder "often we are led to believe that sainthood is reserved to a few chosen ones". He continued, "saintliness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in uniting oneself with Christ... in making His disposition ... His behavior ... our own. ... The Second Vatican Council, in the Constitution of the Church, speaks clearly of the universal call to sainthood, affirming that no-one is excluded." As are many of this great teachers locutions, this was a recruiting talk. The Vicar of Christ is calling the Christian faithful throughout the world to become saints.
The Christian life could be summed up in one word, relationship. When we are baptized into Jesus Christ, we enter into a relationship with the Father, in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit. We also enter into a relationship with all who are joined to Jesus Christ in His Body, the Church. This relationship changes our relationship to all men and women because we now are joined, through our membership in His Body, in the ongoing redemptive mission of Jesus Christ. We now live in a communion of love that is dynamic and missionary.
The beloved disciple John wrote these words in his first letter in the New Testament "See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure." (1 John 3:1-3)
By grace -and our free cooperation with it - we are being made new, transformed, into His Image and likenes. That is what holiness is all about. We shall be "like Him" as we learn to live our lives in Him and allow Him to live His life within us. This intimate relationship of communion begins at our own Baptism, where He initiated the relationship, and continues daily as we live our lives by faith, participating in the sacramental life of the Church. We are called to learn how to be immersed in prayer, in the living Word of God, and to allow the divine life called grace to work within us and through us. This is a call for every one of us, no matter what our state in life or vocation.
Even now, as we live in this real world which is corrupted by the effects of sin and filled with all of its imperfection; as we struggle in our own fight against the allure of sin and the reality of evil; we can begin to "see Him as He is" and to become "like Him" through our continued progress in the spiritual life. We are called to become a "manifestation", an "epiphany" of God in a world stumbling along in the darkness of sin. We are continually invited to renounce sin and embrace a life of sanctity. We are called to become saints.
Christian theology helps us to understand this deep mystery of God's relationship to us, our relationship to Him, our relationship with one another and our relationship with the world which He still loves. Through baptism we were "incorporated" into Christ and entered into His "Mystical Body" which is the Church. This Church is not simply a human "congregation" but rather a "Communion". We are invited to live our lives now immersed in God and for the sake of the world. The Apostle Peter wrote in his second letter to the dispersed early Christians that we become "partakers of the divine nature". (2 Peter 1:3,4) Eastern Christian theological language calls this dynamic process "theosis". It informs the heart and soul of Eastern Christian spirituality.
Christianity is not simply about "meeting Jesus", it is about the complete and total transformation of our ...
lives in Him and, eventually, the transformation of the entire universe as it is made new in Him. These insights are not simply for theologians, they are for you and me as we accept the invitation of the God of the whole universe who came into our midst as one of us in order to free us from sin and bring us into a communion of love. The saints are our models, our companions on the journey. They also intercede for us and assist us in our daily lives even now lives because they are joined with us in the great communion of the Church.
As we enter into the Holy Week, the Pope reminded us that living a holy life "is not principally the result of our efforts, as it is God ... who renders us holy, and it is the action of his Spirit which animates us from within, the same life of Christ resurrected which is communicated to us and which transforms us ... Saintliness is therefore ultimately rooted in baptismal grace, in being introduced to the paschal mystery of Christ, by which His Spirit, His resurrected life, is communicated to us. ... But God always respects our freedom and asks us to accept this gift and to live with the demands it brings, asks that we may allow ourselves to be transformed by the action of the Holy Spirit, conforming our will to the will of God".
He told the faithful "Do not be afraid" to search for Christian holiness, which is "beautiful and simple," do not be afraid to "aim high, or that God asks too much of us, but let yourself be guided by Him, even if we feel inadequate, He will transform us according to His love. " He asked the question we all ask, "How can it be that our way of thinking and our actions become the thought and action of Christ?" Then he directed us all to the answer.
"Once again, the II Vatican Council offers us clear guidance; it tells us that Christian holiness is none other than charity, fully experienced". He explained that charity can "like a good seed, grow in the soul and there bear fruit, the faithful must listen gladly to the Word of God and, by its grace, carry out His will through their works, participate frequently in the sacraments, above all the Eucharist and the Holy Liturgy; they must constantly apply themselves in prayer, in the abnegation of their selves, in the active service of their brothers and in the exercise of every virtue. ... For this reason the true disciple of Christ is characterized by his charity both toward God and toward his neighbor".
He explained why hagiography is so helpful when properly understood, "The Church, during the Liturgical Year, invites us to commemorate an array of saints who have fully lived in charity, and have loved and followed Christ in their everyday lives. They show us that it is possible to follow this path. ... We are all called to saintliness: it is the very measure of Christian life". Then he invited us all as we enter into Holy Week to open our lives in their entirety "to the action of the Holy Spirit, which transforms our life, so that we too may become "tesserae" in the great mosaic of sainthood that God creates throughout history".
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