CALL
TO HOLINESS
(Lumen
Gentium Chapter 5)
N.B.Pope St John Paul II regarded the
call to holiness as the most important message of Vatican II.
The
Church, whose mystery is set forth by this sacred council, is held, as a matter
of faith, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ, the Son of God, who with
the Father and the Spirit is hailed as “alone holy”, loved the Church as his
bride, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her (cf. Ephesians 5:25 –
26); he joined her to himself as his body and endowed her with the gift of the
Holy Spirit for the glory of God. Therefore, all in the Church, whether they
belong to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness,
according to the apostle’s saying: ‘For this is the will of God, your
sanctification’ (1 Thessalonians 4:3; cf. Ephesians 1:4). This holiness of the
Church is constantly shown forth in its fruits of grace which the spirit
produces in the faithful and so it must be; it is expressed in many ways by the
individuals who, each in his own state of life, tend to the perfection of love,
thus sanctifying others; it appears in a certain way of its own in the practice
of the counsels which have been usually called “evangelical”. This practice of
the counsels prompted by the Holy Spirit, undertaken by many Christians whether
privately or in a form or state sanctioned by the Church, gives and should give
a striking witness and example of that holiness.
Sanctification (Holiness)
The
Lord Jesus, Divine teacher and model of all perfection, preached holiness of
life (of which he is the author and maker) to each and every one of his
disciples without distinction: “You, therefore, must be perfect, as your
heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). For he sent the Holy Spirit to all
to move them interiorly to love God with their whole heart, with their whole
soul, with their whole understanding, and with their whole strength (cf. Mark
12:30), and to love one another as Christ loved them (cf. John 13:34; 15:12).
The followers of Christ, called by God not in virtue of their works but by his
design and grace, and justified in the Lord Jesus, have been made sons of God
in the baptism of faith and partakers of the divine nature, and so are truly
sanctified. They must therefore, hold onto and perfect in their lives that
sanctification which they have received from God. They are told by the apostle
to live “as is fitting among saints” (Ephesians 5:3), and to put on “as God’s
chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness and
patience” (Colossians 3:12), to have the fruits of the Spirit for their
sanctification (cf. Galatians 5:22; Romans 6:22). But since we all offend in
many ways (cf. James 3:2), we constantly need God’s mercy and must pray every
day: “and forgive us our debts” (Matthew 6:12).
Perfection of Love
It
is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are
called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by
this holiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society.
In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt
out to them by Christ’s gift, so that, following in his footsteps and conformed
to his image, doing the will of God in everything, they may wholeheartedly
devote themselves to the glory and to the service of their neighbour. Thus the
holiness of the people of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly
shown in the history of the Church through the life of so many saints.
The
forms and tasks of life are many but holiness is one – that sanctity which is
cultivated by all who act under God’s Spirit and, obeying the Father’s voice
and adoring God the Father in spirit and in truth, follow Christ, poor, humble and
cross-bearing, that they may deserve to be partakers of his glory. Each one,
however, according to his own gifts and duties must steadfastly advance along
the way of living faith, which arouses hope and works through love.
Bishops
In
the first place, the shepherds of Christ’s flock, in the image of the high and
eternal priest, shepherd and bishop of our souls, should carry out their
ministry with holiness and eagerness, with humility and fortitude; thus fulfilled,
this ministry will also be for them an outstanding means of sanctification.
Called to the fullness of the priesthood, they are endowed with a sacramental
grace, so that by prayer, sacrifice and preaching, and through every form of
episcopal care and service, they’ve made fulfil the perfect duty of pastoral
love. They should not be afraid to lay down their life for their sheep and, being
a model to their flock (cf. 1 Peter 5:3), they must foster a growing holiness
in the Church, also by the own example.
Priests
Priests,
who resemble the Episcopal rank, forming the spiritual crown of the bishops, partake
of the grace of office through Christ the eternal and only Mediator; they
should grow in the love of God and of their neighbour by the daily exercise of
their duty, to keep the bond of priestly fellowship, should abound in every
spiritual good and bear a living witness of God to all, imitating those priests
who, in the course of centuries, left behind them an outstanding example of
holiness, often in a humble and hidden service. Their praise lives on in God’s
Church. They have the duty to pray and offer sacrifice for their people and for
the whole People of God, appreciating what they do and imitating what they
touch with their hands. Rather than be held back by perils and hardships in
their apostolic labours they should rise to greater holiness, nourishing and
fostering their action with an overflowing contemplation, for the delight of
the entire Church of God. Let all priests, especially, those who by special
title of ordination are called diocesan priests, remember that their faithful
union and generous cooperation with the Bishop greatly helps their sanctification.
Deacon, Clerics, Laymen
The
ministers of lesser rank also partake in a special way of the mission and grace
of the high priest, and in the first place the deacons who, waiting upon the
mysteries of Christ and of the Church, should keep themselves free from every vice,
should please God and give a good example to all in everything (cf. 1 Timothy
3:8-10; 12-13). Clerics, called by the Lord and set aside as his portion and
preparing themselves for the ministerial duties under the watchful eye of the
shepherds, are bound to conform their minds and hearts to such high calling,
persevering in prayer, fervent in love, thinking about whatever is true, just and
of good repute, doing everything for the glory and honour of God. Close to them
of those laymen chosen by God, who are called by the Bishop to give themselves
fully to apostolic works, and carry out a very fruitful activity in the Lord’s
field.
Christian Married Couples, Parents, Widows, Singles
Christian
married couples and parents, following their own way, should support one another
in grace all through life with faithful love, and should train their children
(lovingly received from God) in Christian doctrine and evangelical virtues.
Because in this way they present to all an example of unfailing and generous
love, they build up the brotherhood of charity, and they stand as witnesses and
co-operators of the fullness of Mother Church, as a sign of and a share in that
love with which Christ loved his bride and gave himself for her. In a different
way, a similar example is given by widows and single people, who can also
greatly contribute to the holiness and activity of the church. And those who
engage in human work, often of a heavy kind, should perfect themselves through
it, help their fellow-citizens, and promote the betterment of the whole of human
society and the whole of creation; indeed, with their active charity, rejoicing
in hope and bearing one another’s burdens, they should imitate Christ who plied
his hands with carpenter’s tools and is always working with the Father for the
salvation of all; and they should rise to a higher sanctity, truly apostolic,
by their everyday work itself.
Poverty, Infirmity, Sickness
In
a special way also, those who are weighed down by poverty, infirmity, sickness
and other hardships should realise that they are united to Christ, who suffers
for the salvation of the world; let those feel the same who suffer persecution
for the sake of justice, those whom the Lord declared blessed in the Gospel and
whom “the God of all grace, who has called to us to his eternal glory in Christ
Jesus, will himself restore, establish, strengthen and settle” (1 Peter 5:10).
Accordingly,
all Christians, in the conditions, duties and circumstances of their life and
through all these, will sanctify themselves more and more if they receive all
things with faith from the hand of the heavenly Father and co-operate with the
divine will, thus showing fourth in that temporal service the love with which
God has loved the world.
Love of God and Neighbour
‘God
is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him’ (1
John 4:16). God has poured out his love in our hearts through the Holy Spirit
who has been given to us (cf. Romans 5:5); therefore, the first and most
necessary gift is charity, by which we love God above all things and our
neighbour because of him. But if charity is to grow and fructify in the soul
like a good seed, each of the faithful must willingly hear the word of God and
carry out his will with deeds, with the help of his grace; he must frequently
partake of the sacraments, chiefly the Eucharist, and take part in the liturgy;
he must constantly apply himself to prayer, fasting, active brotherly service,
and the practice of all virtues. This is because love, as the bond of
perfection and fullness of the law (cf. Colossians 3:14; Romans 13:10),
governs, gives meaning to, and perfects all the means of sanctification. Hence
the true disciple of Christ is marked by love both of God and of his brother.
Martyrdom
Since
Jesus, the son of God, showed his love by laying down his life for us, no one
has greater love than he who lays down his life for him and for his brothers
(cf. 1 John 3:16; John 15:30). Some Christians have been called from the
beginning, and will always be called, to give this greatest testimony of love
to all, especially to persecutors. Martyrdom makes the disciple like his
master, who willingly accepted death for the salvation of the world, and
through it he is conformed to him by the shedding of blood. Therefore, the
Church considers it the highest gift and supreme test of love. And while it is
given to a few, all however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and
to follow him along the way of the cross amidst the persecutions which the
Church never lacks.
Perfect Continence
Likewise,
the Church’s holiness is fostered in a special way by the manifold counsels
which the Lord proposes to his disciples in the Gospel for them to observe.
Towering among these counsels is that precious gift of divine grace given to
some by the Father (cf. Matthew 19:11; 1 Corinthians 7:7) to devote themselves
to God alone more easily with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:32-34) in
virginity or celibacy. This perfect continence for love of the kingdom of
heaven has always been held in high esteem by the Church as a sign and stimulus
of love, and as a singular source of spiritual fertility in the world.
Self - Emptying
The
church bears in mind too, the apostle’s admonition when calling the faithful to
charity and exhorting them to have the same mind which Christ Jesus showed, who
“emptied himself, taking the form of a servant… And became obedient unto death”
(Philippians 2:7-8) and for our sakes “became poor, though he was rich” (2
Corinthians 8:9). Since the disciples must always imitate this love and
humility of Christ and bear witness of it, Mother Church rejoices that she has
within herself many men and women who pursue more closely the Saviour’s
self-emptying and show it forth more clearly, by undertaking poverty with the
freedom of God’s sons, and renouncing their own will: they subject themselves
to man for the love of God, thus going beyond what is of precept in the manner
of perfection, so as to conform themselves more fully to the obedient Christ.
Therefore,
all the faithful are invited and obliged to holiness and the perfection of
their own state of life. Accordingly, let all of them see that they direct
their affections rightly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect
love by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is
contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty, following the apostle’s advice:
Let those who use this world not fix the abode in it, for the form of this
world is passing away (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:31, Greek text).
(By
world-wide bishops of the Catholic Church at Vatican II.)
