Formation 2003-2004 - Holiness and Mission
Issue 1 – A General Introduction
Pro Sanctity Mission Statement
The Pro Sanctity Movement is a Catholic-based organization dedicated to promoting the universal call to holiness. It seeks to address the mind with theology, the heart with spirituality, and the hands with ministry. It is open to all; especially those who wish to deepen their commitment to God and share with others the message of holiness.
Please Note: The theme for 2003-2004 is Holiness and Mission, but in the spring of 2004 we will begin to develop the commemoration of the “Tenth Anniversary of the Founder’s Passing.”
The First Task for Mission – Know Your Movement
Bishop Guglielmo (William) Giaquinta - Founder of the Pro Sanctity Movement
In presenting an historical survey of the Pro Sanctity Movement, we must begin with its founder, Bishop Guglielmo (William) Giaquinta. A “founder” has been defined as someone who “lays the foundation for [something].” “Laying the foundation” describes precisely what Bishop Giaquinta has done in founding the Pro Sanctity Movement – and as an essential part of this foundation – the founding of the Secular Institute of the Apostolic Oblates. For it was out of his own prayer, reflection, interpretation, outreach, and integration of the gospel message that the Movement was born.
Father Giaquinta’s Earlier Years
William Giaquinta was born in Noto, Italy on June 28, 1914. At the age of thirteen, he was enrolled in the Minor Seminary in Rome because his parents felt he needed training in discipline and good study habits. Here he discovered his vocation and continued his studies in the Major Seminary. On March 18, 1939, he was ordained a priest in Rome. After earning his degree in Canon Law, Fr. Giaquinta served as an assistant Pastor in Madonna di Monti Parish and later as Rector of the Church of the Madonna di Loreto in Rome. During the course of the years, Father Giaquinta was also appointed to various offices in the Vicariate of Rome. As a vital part of all his ministries, whether parochial or diocesan, Fr. Giaquinta dedicated himself to writing, working with young people, giving spiritual direction through retreats, conferences, and spending many hours in the confessional. These personal interactions made him acutely aware of the great spiritual thirst shared by many people in the aftermath of World War II.
Founding of the Pro Sanctity Movement and the Secular Institute of the Apostolic Oblates
Fr. Giaquinta’s desire to quench the spiritual thirst of his people led him to offer a means of spreading the call to holiness by founding the Pro Sanctity Movement in 1947. Thus, seventeen years before the Universal Call to Holiness became the official doctrine of the Church as documented in Vatican II (Lumen Gentium – Chapter V) he proclaimed the call of all people to sanctity of life.
Much needed to be done and being unable to do it alone, (now) Msgr. Giaquinta was assisted by six women, who became the first Apostolic Oblates, an apostolate organized to spread the call to holiness. These women felt called to a life of consecration and dedication to this work and, on May 1, 1950, the first 'Bethany', or house of contemplation and apostolate was established where the six lived in community.
The Later Years of Bishop Giaquinta
In 1968, Msgr. Giaquinta was ordained Bishop and head of the Diocese of Tivoli, Italy. He chose to have this special honor conferred on November 1st, the Feast of All Saints and the day on which Pro Sanctity members celebrate the Universal Day of Sanctification. He became know for his love of God, of Christ, the Church, and love for others demonstrated so vividly in his homilies, pastoral letters, and personal pleas to both the faithful and the clergy.
Bishop Giaquinta developed a serious illness in 1984, but continued to serve his diocese until 1986 when his state of health forced him to present his resignation. He spent his final years assisting and leading all branches of the Pro Sanctity Family. On June, 15, 1994, less than two weeks before his 80th birthday, Bishop Giaquinta died in Rome, consummating a life offered for the holiness of his brothers and sisters, in total acceptance of the will of God.
Bishop Giaquinta’s Legacy for the Pro Sanctity Movement
Bishop Giaquinta was a man of keen intelligence, strong will, prayer, contemplation and great ideals. He dreamed of a world of ‘all saints, all brothers and sisters.’ He was a prophet of the Universal Call to Holiness seventeen years before it became the official doctrine of the Church. Bishop Giaquinta was also a prolific writer so that even those who did not know him received his gifts of love, patience, oblation and unceasing prayer through his meditative writings, prayers, and songs. His final illness and death was accepted with meekness and patience and was a valuable model for all who knew him.
The spirituality that Bishop Giaquinta passed on to the Pro Sanctity Family is based on a solid biblical and theological foundation. It is Trinitarian, Christological, Eucharistic, Marian, and Ecclesial. It is geared toward the sanctification of the world and, at its core, we find the mystery of God’s love for each and every person. He believed and taught that a saint is one who becomes what the Lord has called him to be. The Pro Sanctity structures that Bishop Giaquinta established are conducive to prayer, self-knowledge and self-giving. They offer means to help people develop a mature faith and grow in holiness.
Adapted from a Presentation made at Pro Sanctity’s First Midwest Regional Convention
Omaha, NE – July 26, 1998 – by Franca Salva
Two Essential Elements in the Movement
1. Christological Center of the Pro Sanctity Movement
“The spirituality of the Movement...centers on the presence of Christ. He is the Holy One of God who is recognized by the ‘unclean spirits’ (Mark 1: 24), the incarnation of God-Love as testified by John (John 14: 19; 1 John 4: 7). It is through him that the Father’s perfection is reached....It is Christ who reveals the message because he is the Word of the Father and it is he who makes the experience of the Father possible for us: ‘To have seen me is to have seen the Father’ (John 14: 9). Christ incorporates us into himself through the sacraments, remaining with us in the Eucharist. The Church as Mystical Body of Christ, is animated by his Spirit, which is holy. We are his brothers and sisters and, as Bishop Giaquinta states, almost his incarnation. All is centered in and around Christ who is the Holy One of God, revealing the Father’s holiness, calling us to the Father, imitating his holiness and love which expresses itself in a maximum way. He is the way by which we journey to holiness: ‘I am the way, the truth and the life’ (John 14: 16). Through the gift of his grace, he becomes the source of holiness for all.”
Rev. Michael F. Murphy – Dialectic of the Maximum – pp 44-45
2. Holiness in Scripture:
“Sanctify yourselves, then, and be holy; for I, the Lord, your God, am holy.”
Leviticus 20: 7
“You must be made perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Matthew 5: 48
“As obedient sons, do not yield to the desires that once shaped you in your ignorance. Rather, become holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, after the likeness of the Holy One who called you.”
1 Peter 1: 14-16
“Because you are God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with heartfelt mercy, with kindness, humility, meekness and patience. Bear with one another; forgive whatever grievances you have against one another. Forgive as the Lord has forgiven you. Over all these virtues, put on love, which binds the rest together and makes them perfect.”
Colossians 3: 12
“May the Lord increase you and make you overflow with love for one another and for all, even as our love does for you. May He strengthen your hearts, making them blameless and holy before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His holy ones.”
1 Thessalonians 3: 12-13
“God chose us in Him before the world began, to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love; He likewise predestined us through Christ Jesus to be His adopted sons – such was His will and pleasure – that all might praise the glorious favor He has bestowed on us in His beloved.”
Ephesians 1: 4-6
The Pro Sanctity Prayer (Said Daily by Pro Sanctity Members)
Jesus, Divine Master, who came down from heaven to give us the abundance of grace, increase it within us and make it become a river that overflows into eternal life.
Of your free will, you chose the agony of your passion and death, and in the Eucharist you give yourself as food for all people: help us understand the greatness of such an example.
May the fire of your love burn away the impurities of our human weakness, and give us the strength to follow the invitation to the infinite perfection of the Father.
Of faith, give us firmness; of charity, zeal; of hope, unshakable certainty. Give us the desire to be heroic in every virtue, and the trust to attain holiness with the help of Mary, your mother and our mother. Amen.
Bishop Giaquinta - Prayers – p 77
Modes of Involvement in the Pro Sanctity Movement
Friends of the Movement: Those who share our ideal in spirit, who have not yet become actively involved in the work of the Movement or who cannot attend very often. Our friends are very important to us for the encouragement their presence lends to all of our activities.
General Members: People who strive to do what they can to promote the call to holiness on a personal level; they are asked to say the Pro Sanctity Prayer daily and to renew their membership annually. We are one body with many members – where are you?
Committed Members: People who directly organize and take a leadership role in promoting the Pro Sanctity Movement using their individual skills and talents while working with other members to carry out Pro Sanctity’s mission of spreading the universal call to holiness. In addition to their annual renewal of membership and daily recitation of the Pro Sanctity Prayer, these members should attend at least one training session on the history, spirituality and ministry of the Movement. Sharing questions and reflections (such as those in this binder) further enhances their commitment.
Members with Promises or Vows: Those who have taken promises or vows as lay persons in the Pro Sanctity Family that animate the Movement and its structures. They are primarily the Apostolic Oblates and Cooperatives (women) and the Social Animators (men). Their leadership and guidance is invaluable to the Movement and the spread of the call to holiness.
Praying and Suffering Members: People who commit to praying the Pro Sanctity prayer daily and/or offering their suffering for the Movement and the intentions of the Church. These members see prayer and/or the offering of their suffering as their primary ministry. They may not be visible at our gatherings, but we know they are always with us in spirit.
Priest Friends of the Movement: Priests who assist the members and the apostolic activities of the Movement by their practical action. The Apostolic Sodales and other Priest Friends of the Movement are always there for us in a very special way as our spiritual advisors as well as our companions on the journey.
Keeping the End in Mind
In Summary, the Pro Sanctity Movement’s Specific Tasks are:
· To make known the doctrine of the Church on the call to holiness (Constitution on the Church – Chapter V).
· To develop and to spread the theology and spirituality of this call.
· To offer those who wish, the means of that will help translate into “life” the universal call to the fullness of love that is holiness.
· To help the apostles of the universal call to holiness increase in number and holiness.
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For Reflection:
- On reading the historical sketch on Bishop Giaquinta and the founding of the Pro Sanctity Movement, what was a review for me? What was new? What do I still need to know more about?
- The dictionary gives one definition of a “founder” as “one who lays the foundation for [something].” What would my definition of “founder” be? Can I describe to someone else who the founder of Pro Sanctity is?
- Am I determined to seek and find what God wants from me?