Pope Francis Invites Us All to Holiness

Pope Francis blesses a boy as he leaves his general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
(CNS photo/Paul Haring)

In a recent General Audience by Pope Francis on October 2nd the Holy Father speaks simply and beautifully about our universal call to holiness.

A final question: what can I, a weak fragile sinner, do? God says to you: do not be afraid of holiness, do not be afraid to aim high, to let yourself be loved and purified by God, do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Let us be infected by the holiness of God. Every Christian is called to sanctity (cf. Dogmatic Constitution); and sanctity does not consist especially in doing extraordinary things, but in allowing God to act. It is the meeting of our weakness with the strength of his grace, it is having faith in his action that allows us to live in charity, to do everything with joy and humility, for the glory of God and as a service to our neighbour. There is a celebrated saying by the French writer Léon Bloy, who in the last moments of his life, said: “The only real sadness in life is not becoming a saint”. Let us not lose the hope of holiness, let us follow this path. Do we want to be saints? The Lord awaits us, with open arms; he waits to accompany us on the path to sanctity. Let us live in the joy of our faith, let us allow ourselves to be loved by the Lord... let us ask for this gift from God in prayer, for ourselves and for others.

The Holy Father's invitation to us to walk on the path of sanctity with Our Lord is reminiscent of the words Pope John Paul II uttered at the World Youth Day in 2000 when he proclaimed, "Do not be afraid to be the saints of the new Millennium!  If you become who you are, you will set the whole world on fire."

To read a complete transcript of Pope Francis' General Audience from Oct 2nd please click here

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