The Call to Holiness
Perhaps ‘holiness’ might seem like a strange concept in the modern world. After all, aren’t our aims in life usually something else: to be successful, to have good friends, to be happy ...? Could it be possible that holiness is somehow connected to all the things in life that are really worth aiming for?
Holiness
“My past no longer concerns me. It belongs to divine mercy. My future does not yet concern me. It belongs to divine providence. What concerns me and what challenges me is today, which belongs to God’s grace and to the devotion of my heart and my good will.St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
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.’CCC 2013 (Quoting Matthew 5:48)
The Prodigal Son
Begin by trying to piece together the story of the Lost Son (or ‘prodigal’) from memory. It’s a well-known parable, what are the most important things to learn from it?
Read the whole of the parable from Saint Luke’s Gospel (15:11-32). Which bits of the story did you miss?
Words Matter
Think about the following words:
- perfect or perfection
- fullness
- completeness
- wholeness
- holy or holiness
How are these words used in the non-Christian world around us? How to they connect with what the Gospel offers to us?
Are we all supposed to become “saints”?
Yes. The purpose of our life is to be united with God in love and to correspond entirely to God’s wishes.
We should allow God “to live his life in us” (Mother Teresa). That is what it means to be holy: a “saint”.
YOUCAT 342
Your Saint
Think about the saint whose name you have chosen as your confirmation name. Pick out one thing about your saint that you identify with in some way.
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