CHAPTER 2

THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO HOLINESS AND

A CALL TO CHRISTIAN DISCIPLESHIP
THEO 500
CHRISTIAN VOCATION & FULFILLMENT

Earl Alexi B. Garsula

Theology/Philosophy Division
School of BMEAS
San Pedro College
Davao City
HOLINESS
Holiness is a biblical word that means “unique, set apart.”
‫ ׁשֹודָק‬ἅγιος

FIRST TWO THINGS CALLED “HOLY” IN THE

BIBLE: 1. 2.
THE “HOLY GROUND”
THE SABBATH DAY
AROUND THE BURNING
“ So God blessed the seventh day and made it BUSH OF GOD’S PRESENCE
holy, because on it He rested from all the work “ When the Lord saw him coming over to look at it
He had done in creation.” (Gen. 2:3) more closely, God called out to him from the bush,
‘Moses! Moses!’ He answered, ‘Here I am.’ God said
‘Come no nearer! Remove the sandals from your feet,
for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Ex. 3:4)

IN BOTH CASES, THE HOLINESS OF THESE THINGS IS

HONORED BY TREATING THEM WITH SPECIAL CARE,
NOT DOING ACTIVITIES THAT ARE DONE ELSEWHERE.
What is Holiness?
• An attribute of God himself
• God alone is Holy
• Shared with the Baptized
• As members of the Mystical Body of
Christ
• A gift
• A vocation
 Holiness – A Vocation
• A call to live out

• In the concrete circumstances of our lives

• Christ’s obedience

• Christ’s love

CCC 2013: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to
the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” All are
called to holiness: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
- Matthew 5:48
 A Special Kind of Love
• The perfection of faith, hope, and sharing
God’s very nature, which is love (1 John 4:8)
• Not about what you do, but with how much love
you provide.
• Love that gives freely of itself to another, that even
lays down its own priorities, interests, and very life,
for another.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
- John 15:13
 Our Longing for God
• CCC 27
– Desire written in the human heart
– God never ceases to draw man to himself

You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are

restless until they rest in thee.
- St. Augustine
By Virtue of Our Baptism
• Through Baptism we become the
adopted children of God; a partaker
of the divine nature, a temple of the
Holy Spirit
• Through Baptism we are
incorporated into the Church, the
Body of Christ
• The sacramental bond of the unity of
Christians existing among all who
are reborn
 An Indelible Spiritual Mark
• Incorporated into Christ – Baptism seals the Christian with
the character of belonging to Christ

• Incorporated into the Church – Baptismal seal enables and

commits Christians to serve God by vital participation (holy
liturgy & holy lives)

• Marked with the sign of faith – the seal of the Lord for the
day of redemption (eternal life) – seal must be kept by
faithful living of the Christian life
An Exalted Vocation – The Vocation of Man

• CCC 1699 - Life in the Holy Spirit fulfills the

vocation of man
– Made in the image and likeness of God
• Life made up of divine charity
• And human solidarity
• Life graciously offered as salvation

In this life we cannot do great things. We can

only do small things with great love. -
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
 All Are Called to Sainthood
• “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect”
(Matthew 5:48)

• St Paul addresses his letters to those who are

called to holiness or who are holy – the baptized
are saints in the making

• “Do not be conformed to this world but be

transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you
may prove what is the will of God, what is good
and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)
Is Holiness Difficult to Attain?
• No. It is impossible!
• All things are possible with God
• Invitation is ours – from God
• Relationship with God through Jesus
• Makes it possible to love with God’s love
• Daily, ordinary things with extraordinary
love
In your own, what are the challenges to living
out Universal Call to Holiness?
The Call to Holiness
• The laity
• Are marvelously called and prepared
• For all their works
• If they are accomplished in the Spirit
• Become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through
Jesus Christ
• In the celebration of the Eucharist
• Offered to the Father
 First Among Saints
• Our Immaculate Mother
• With the Holy Spirit, Mary brought forth the
greatest thing that ever was or ever will be:
– God becomes man
• A housewife & mother
• Queen of all saints, pray for us!
End here
 Lay Witnesses
Pope John Paul II:
– Canonized 245 lay people
– Beatified 215 lay people
• Models & encouragement for all
• Holiness not just for ordained and consecrated
• Manifested in ordinary circumstances
• Living the Gospel fully & faithfully in the world
• Necessary to bring secular society to Christ
WATCH: THE LIFE OF BLESSED CARLO
ACUTIS
https://youtu.be/Y5q50sFP0Gs?t=51
A Plan of Action
• Becoming a saint is not easy
• Road to heaven is narrow
• Demands training in ways of holiness
• Saints teach us to be saints ourselves
• Pope John Paul II summarized ‘training for
holiness’ in his apostolic letter, Novo Millennio
Ineunte
Program for Training in Holiness
• Life distinguished by Prayer
– Expression of our total
dependence on God and His grace
– Fruit of constant prayer is union
with God
• Regular participation in the
Eucharist
– Fundamental duty
– Essential to be truly informed &
consistent
• Regular Confession
– No growth in holiness with sin
– Call to repentance & conversion
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO
HOLINESS
1. The human person is oriented to God
- Human nature is fallen, but not corrupt/ redeemed and
graced
- God reaches out and freely invites every person to union
with Him.
- We encounter God in our humanity (sorrow, joys and ordinary
moments in life bring us closer to God).
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO
HOLINESS
2. God’s goodness permeates.
- Balanced life

- Response to God’s will (live in joy, not mourning)

- Perfection of Christian life consists in conforming our will with

that of our good Lord’s
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO
HOLINESS
3. All are called to find God.
- God’s good pleasure: to give life abundantly

- Bloom where you are planted: become the best version

of yourself and give the very best of yourself

- Jesus lives in each Christian heart open to Him.

- Thinking of God: to discover God in our neighbor, it

makes Jesus alive for us.
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO
HOLINESS
4. God in the midst of our lives.
- God’s good pleasure: to give life abundantly

- Human experience: God does not force

- Freedom is central to God’s plan: fully human and free to

love, choose & grow.

- God’s love is free and looks for a free response: love with
a pure heart (against indifference & attachment)

- “Do all things with love and nothing by constraint.” (St.

John Bosco)
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO
HOLINESS
5. Christian life is a journey of the heart.
- The heart of Jesus is the meeting place of devout souls.
- God is hidden in the midst of everyone's heart
- It is love that attracts the young to do good.
- Love what they love and they will love who (God) you
love!
 6 PRINCIPLES OF THE CALL TO HOLINESS
6. All little things in life have value.
- Little virtues: hidden process of spiritual growth
- Meet Jesus at the cross (recognize His face in all
discouragement, joys, and ordinary moments.)
- Self mortification/ fasting
- Unseen, but heroic
 Novo Millennio Ineunte
(“At the beginning of the new millennium”)

• Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II

• Addressed to the Faithful (Clergy & Lay)
• At the Close of the Great Jubilee of 2000
• Outlines priorities for the Church for the Third
Millennium
– Holiness
– Basic means to arrive at holiness
Prayer
Pope Francis I’s Apostolic Exhortations:

1. EVANGELII GAUDIUM: The Apostolic Exhortation on the

Proclamation of the Gospel in Today’s World

2. AMORIS LAETITIA: A post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Love

in the Family.

3. GAUDETE ET EXSULTATE (Rejoice and Be Glad): On the Call to

Holiness in Today’s World promulgated on April 9, 2018

• GOAL: “To re-propose the call to holiness in a practical way

for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and
opportunities" (GE 2).
Gaudete Et Exsultate: a simple and practical invitation:
1. To open ourselves to the specific and unique mission
God has created us for which lies true joy and
freedom.
2. To take us back to the Source of Holiness, Jesus
Christ;
and
3. To encourage us to look to the Beatitudes as guides
for
holiness.
 References
• “Called to Be Holy”, Most Reverend Michael J.
Sheridan, Bishop of Colorado Springs, CO, Lay
Witness, November/December 2004
http://www.cuf.org/FileDownloads/LayWitness/ND04Sheridan.pdf

• Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution

on the Church

• Catechism of the Catholic Church

2nd Edition
Publisher: Libreria Editrice Vaticana
ISBN-10: 0889972818, ISBN-13: 978-0889972810
 Group sharing
1. How do you understand the concept of holiness in
your own life, and what specific practices or habits
help you pursue it daily?

2. In what ways can we, as a community, support and

encourage each other in our universal call to
holiness?

3. What are some common obstacles you face in

striving for holiness, and how do you overcome
them?