Seeking to Be
'Signs of Holiness in Today's World' A community that cherishes the little details of love, whose members care for one another and create an open and evangelizing environment, is a place where the risen Lord is present, sanctifying it in accordance with the Father’s plan. There are times when, by a gift of the Lord’s love, we are granted, amid these little details, consoling experiences of God. –Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #145
� fter a break over the past couple of months, I want to continue our study of Pope Francis’ recent
Apostolic Exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (“Rejoice and Be Glad”) – “On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World.” There are five chapters to the text, and we have made our way (with the generous assistance of Deacon Chris Walchuk) through Chapters 1-3: “The Call to Holiness” (Ch. 1 / January issue), “Two Subtle Enemies of Holiness” (Ch. 2 / March issue), and “In the Light of the Master” (Ch. 3 / February issue). This month, I will move on to Chapter Four of the document, “Signs of Holiness in Today’s World.” Pope Francis begins by stating and clarifying his focus in this chapter. He seeks “to mention a few signs or spiritual attitudes that … are necessary if we are to understand the way of life to which the Lord calls us.” Significantly, he is presuming that his readers are already aware of the more familiar “means of sanctification” such as, “the various methods of prayer, the inestimable sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, the offering of personal sacrifices, different forms of devotion, spiritual direction, and many others” (#110). Rather, his focus in this chapter will be on “five great expressions of love for God and neighbor … of particular importance in the light of certain dangers and limitations present in today’s culture.” He wishes, then, not to give a complete picture of what the life of holiness looks like, but to highlight particular “spiritual attitudes” that are essential on the path to holiness given our contemporary lives and experiences and the current cultural realities we encounter in our world (#111). I will touch briefly on each of these “five great expressions” of love for God and neighbor which Pope Francis sees as being at the heart of “the call to holiness in today’s world.” Perseverance, Patience and Meekness #112-121
The first “great sign” of holiness in today’s world is a “solid grounding in the God who loves and sustains us” (#112). This sounds simple and self-evident enough, but Pope Francis is very clear about the challenges we face in being so “grounded.” To be grounded in God is to draw on a “source of inner strength” that will allow us not only to “persevere” through the joys and difficulties of our lives, but also to “endure” the “hostility, betrayal and failings” of others that we encounter in our lives. We do not
Joy and a Sense of Humor #122-128
In another characteristic theme, Pope Francis cautions us against “putting on a dreary face” in our walk of faith. Like the saints before us, we are to “radiate a positive and hopeful spirit” for “Christian life is ‘joy in the Holy Spirit’ (Romans 14:17)” (#122). This is not to deny, of course, that there will be suffering and difficult times in our lives “when the cross casts its shadow.” But, ours is a “supernatural joy” that “always endures” because its source is in our “being united to the beloved” and in knowing that “we are infinitely loved” (#125). And, we should live fully in this joy – which is “lived in communion” and with a “sense of humor” – cherishing the beauty and good things of life that are “God’s gifts.” For our Creator “wants us to be positive, grateful and uncomplicated” (#126-127). Boldness and Passion #129-139
Pope Francis draws on the word, parrhesía – a Greek word that means “boldness or freedom of speech” (Merriam-Webster) – in this section to describe this aspect of holiness. He speaks of it as “an impulse to evangelize” and as “boldness, enthusiasm, the freedom to speak out, [and] apostolic fervor.” He also states that the Bible uses this word to describe “the freedom of a life open to God and to others” (#129). There are many temptations in our lives to flee from our call to evangelize, such as “individualism, spiritualism, living in a little world, addiction, intransigence, the rejection of new ideas and approaches, dogmatism, nostalgia, pessimism, hiding behind rules and regulations” (#134). And so, we must rely fully on the Holy Spirit to give us the courage to “put out into the deep (Luke 5:4), … to spend our lives in [the Lord’s] service, … [and] to put all our charisms at the service of others” (#130). We place our trust in God, who is “eternal newness. He impels us constantly to set out anew, to pass beyond what is familiar, to the fringes and beyond. He takes us to where humanity is most wounded” (#135). In Community #140-146
Along with the power and grace of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives, we need the support and friendship of others to live out the call to holiness. “Growth
in holiness is a journey in community, side by side with others” (#141). To walk alone makes it very difficult for us resist the dangers listed above (i.e., “individualism, spiritualism…”, etc.), and to witness boldly to Christ. We form our Christian community by “sharing the word and celebrating the Eucharist together” which “makes us a holy and missionary community” (#142). And, this common life in the Lord, whether lived “in the family, the parish, the religious community or any other,” is shared in small, simple, and everyday ways. We are to be “a community that cherishes the little details of love, whose members care for one another and create an open and evangelizing environment, … a place where the risen Lord is present,” and a place where “we are granted, amid these little details, consoling experiences of God.”
Lay Formation & RCIA
Todd Graff
Director of Lay Formation & RCIA tgraff@dowr.org
return “evil for evil” or seek revenge, and instead seek to maintain “patience and constancy in going good” (#112). In order to have such a spiritual attitude and disposition, it is necessary for us “to recognize and combat our aggressive and selfish inclinations, and not let them take root.” Violence and vanity are hallmarks of today’s culture in many ways, and only “inner strength, as the work of grace” will allow us to resist these and to embody a “meekness of heart” which combats these negative forces so prevalent in contemporary life (#116). And, as he so often does, our Holy Father points to humility as being at the heart of holiness. Here again, what may sound simple can be very difficult for us to live out. He teaches us that humility “takes root in the heart through humiliations,” for such humiliation allows us to share in the suffering and humiliations of God’s Son, and so to “resemble Jesus” (#118).
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In Constant Prayer #147-157
Pope Francis teaches us finally that there is no holiness without prayer. Like the saints, our lives are to be “distinguished by a spirit of prayer and a need for communion with God.” Prayer moves us out of a “narrow and stifling” focus on our own concerns and worldly desires. The practice of prayer and adoration open us to “the transcendent” in our “praise and contemplation of the Lord” (#147). In the silence of prayer, our hearts can be open to “encountering God face to face” and to hearing his voice as He speaks especially to each one of us. In this silence, we can then “discern, in the light of the Spirit, the paths of holiness to which the Lord is calling us” (#149-150). To clarify: our prayer “need not be lengthy or involve intense emotions.” Nor is it “a form of escape and rejection of the world around us.” It is simply to place ourselves “quietly in the Lord’s presence, … [to] calmly spend time with him, … [to] bask in his gaze, … [and to] let his fire inflame our heart.” Warmed by God’s “love and tenderness,” we will “then be able to set the hearts of others on fire by our words and witness” (#147, 152). To conclude this section, Pope Francis invites us back to the traditional spiritual practices of “prayerful reading of God’s word” and of celebration of the Eucharist. “Meeting Jesus in the Scriptures leads us to the Eucharist … for there the living Word is truly present.” Then, in receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, “we renew our covenant with him and allow him to carry out ever more fully his work of transforming our lives” (#156-#157). Deo Gratias! Let us ask the Lord for the grace not to hesitate when the Spirit calls us to take a step forward. Let us ask for the apostolic courage to share the Gospel with others and to stop trying to make our Christian life a museum of memories. In every situation, may the Holy Spirit cause us to contemplate history in the light of the risen Jesus. In this way, the Church will not stand still, but constantly welcome the Lord’s surprises. –Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate #139
June, 2019 w The Courier w dowr.org