The
universal call to holiness
December
7, 2001
Most Reverend
José H. Gomez
Auxiliary Bishop of Denver
Address to the
First Friday Forum at the John Paul II Center for the New Evangelization
(Five-minute
video excerpt, free QuickTime
player required)
Most of my life as
a priest has been dedicated to ministering to lay people in the Church.
A few weeks ago,
we had a meeting of the Archdiocese Pastoral Council. The main focus of
the meeting was: Vocation of the Lay Faithful in the Church. We had a
couple presentations and, at some point, the Archbishop asked the people
at the meeting that, if in their opinion, they thought that the lay people
of the Archdiocese had a clear understanding of the Dignity of the Vocation
of the Lay Faithful.
To my surprise, their
answer was "no."
One after another
said that people in the pews still do not fully comprehend the meaning
of their call as members of the Church. Many of them participate in the
activities of the Parishes, some as employees, some as volunteers, but
in their view, they haven’t grasped the consequences of having a “vocation”
– a call from God to holiness as lay people. The consensus was that those
who participate in movements or other institutions of the Church, seem
to have a deeper understanding; but that the majority of people do not.
Since then, I have been thinking much about this and have come to the
conclusion that an important part of the New Evangelization that the Holy
Father called us to at the beginning of the New Millennium is going to
be to instruct lay people on how to better understand this call to holiness.
It has been more that 35 years since the end of the 2nd Vatican Council.
It ended in 1965. One of the main themes of the Council was precisely
the “Universal Call to Holiness.” Most people do not know how to go about
making this “Call to Holiness” a reality in their lives. What is the 2nd
Vatican Council message to the lay faithful?
“All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness
of Christian life and to the perfection of charity.” (Lumen Gentium,
40)
It is a very simple
concept. We all are called to “the fullness of Christian life.” It is
the same call for all: lay people, priests, bishops, and even the Pope!
It seems to me that by now, most people are aware of this teaching of
the Council. The problem comes when we try put into practice this very
simple concept. How can I be a good Catholic and give good example at
work, at home, in my social life? What are my civic responsibilities?
What does it mean to be called to “the fullness of Christian life?”
It is a conceptual as well as a practical problem. It is a matter of ideas
and time! Most people do not know how to grow in their spiritual life
and, for most people, it means doing more for God and for the Church.
It requires time and effort. Let me talk about two things that, in my
opinion, can help anyone advance from just sitting in a pew to having
the desire to strive for “the fullness of Christian life.”
Sanctification
of work
First: On the level of ideas, there is the Theology of Sanctification
of Work. This is the basic message of Blessed Josemaria Escriva, the
Founder of Opus Dei: “You have to sanctify your work, be sanctified in
your work, and sanctify through your work” -- work “is not only the context
in which the majority of men should become holy; it is the raw material
of their holiness” (Holiness and the World, p. 74)
One of the realities -- clear characteristic -- of our society, at the
beginning of the 21stCentury is work.
Sacred Scripture
teaches that man was created to work. (Gen. 2,15) To collaborate
with God in the work of creation we all work -- it is a primary obligation
of man. To perfect ourselves, to make money, to take care of a family,
to give Glory to God:
“Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion
over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is
a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means
of helping to improve the society in which we live and the progress of
all humanity. For a Christian, these horizons extend and grow wider. For
work is a participation in the creative work of God. When he created man
and blessed him, he said: “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and
conquer it. Be masters of the fish of the sea, the birds of heaven and
all animals living on the earth.” (Gen 1,28). And, moreover, since
Christ took it into his hands, work has become for us a redeemed and redemptive
reality. Not only is it the background of man’s life, it is a means and
path of holiness. It is something to be sanctified and something which
sanctifies.” (Christ is Passing By, n. 47)
The first thing that
we need to keep in mind is that work is something that we can and should
sanctify. Work in itself is good. Sometimes people have the mistaken idea
that work is an obstacle to having a deeper prayer life or to becoming
a better Catholic. They say that they can have spiritual life in spite
of their work – and we say -- not in spite of but with and through work.
Unity of life
The second
thing, on a more practical level, is that we need to put together all
the different aspects of our life: work, family, spiritual life, rest,
social relations, etc. As you can see, we are talking about having Unity
of Life. Everything should be an occasion to become one with God. St.
Paul says: “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything
for the glory of God” -- prayer life, work, family life, recreation, social
life, everything together for the Glory of God .
In order to do that, I need to make time to pray -- to make time in my
life for God.
Try to commit yourself to a plan of life and to keep to it: a few minutes
of mental prayer, Holy Mass, daily if possible; frequent Communion; regular
recourse to the Holy Sacrament of forgiveness; visiting Jesus in the Tabernacle;
praying and contemplating the mysteries of the Holy Rosary, and so many
other marvelous devotions you know or can learn. You should not let them
become rigid rules. They should be flexible, to help you on your journey,
you who live in the middle of the world, with a life of hard professional
work and social ties and obligations which you should not neglect, because
in them your conversation with God still continues. Your plan of life
ought to be like a rubber glove which fits the hand perfectly” (Friends
of God, n,149) In this way we can make progress in our spiritual life,
our relationship with God, and our daily life. There is no distinction
between the way we live and the way we believe. There is just one life,
there is unity of life.
“I often said to the university students and workers who were with me
in the thirties that they had to know how to materialize their spiritual
life. I wanted to warn them of the temptation, so common then and now,
to lead a kind of double life: on the one hand, an inner life, a life
related to God; and on the other, as something separate and distinct,
their professional, social and family lives. We cannot lead a double life
-- there is only one life, made of flesh and spirit -- we discover the
invisible God in the most visible and material things” (Josemaria
Escriva, 1967)
This is the dignity of the vocation to the lay faithful. That
we all are called to the “fullness of Christian life.” To a life of perfection,
as much as is possible in our current state in life. It doesn’t depend
on working for the Church or spending our whole life inside the Church,
or any of the external things that we can do. Those things are of value
and there is a real need for lay people to participate in the life of
the Parishes, but there is also an urgent need for lay faithful people
in the world. Our mission is to change society, just as the first Christians
did.
“By reason of their special vocation it belongs to the laity to seek the
kingdom of God by engaging in temporal affairs and directing them according
to God’s will. They live in the world, that is, they are engaged in each
and every work and business of the earth and in the ordinary circumstances
of social and family life, which, as it were, constitute their very existence.”
(Lumen Gentium, 31)
In my opinion, the dignity of the vocation of the lay faithful is based
on the understanding of the Theology of Work – striving for perfection
where we are -- and practicing unity of life: putting together the different
aspects of our life with the foundation of strong spiritual life, a personal
plan, according to our spiritual needs.
Let me finish with some inspiring words from Blessed Josemaria Escriva,
Founder of Opus Dei, in a homily he gave on the feast of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, that are much like our reflections today on this First Friday
of December: “When we talk about the heart of Jesus, we stress the certainty
of God’s love. When we recommend devotion to the Sacred Heart, we are
recommending that we should give our whole self to Jesus.” This is what
true devotion to the heart of Jesus means. It is knowing God and ourselves.
It is looking at Jesus and turning to him, letting him encourage and teach
and guide us.” (Christ is Passing By, n,164)
May the devotion to the Sacred Hart of Jesus, help us to grow in our spiritual
life and to live our Christian vocation to the fullness.
|
