Formation 2003-2004 - Holiness and Mission

 

 

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.

 

 

 

Objective of Issue 4:  To help me keep in mind that the essence of preparation is formation, formation, formation!  (“... we must always ask the Lord to free us from the temptation of thinking we have done enough or all we could.”  Bishop Giaquinta)

 

 

Can Holiness Ever Be Planned? 

What Does Holiness Mean in the Context of a Pastoral Plan

In fact, to place pastoral planning under the heading of holiness is a choice filled with consequences.  It implies the conviction that, since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be a contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity.  To ask catechumens: “Do you wish to receive Baptism?” means at the same time to ask them: “Do you wish to become holy?”  It means to set before them the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5: 48)

Pope John Paul II – Novo Millennio Ineunte - # 30

 

Active Participation in the Sacramental Life of the Church

“Active participation in the sacramental life of the Church is essential in the formation program of the Pro Sanctity Movement....  The Church provides a sharing in God’s life through the sacraments which are privileged and powerful means to holiness.   The grace communicated through the sacraments continues to be the most immediate force in raising the human person to sanctity – to the image of God.  For the Movement, the sacraments of Reconciliation and Eucharist remain the staple of the Catholic life.  Growth in one’s relationship with God requires a reverence for, and a participation in the Eucharist as frequently as possible while striving for unity with the Godhead.”

 Rev. Michael F. Murphy – Dialectic of the Maximum –  pp 61-62

 

Overcoming Fear

“Human love frequently reaches the point of overcoming the natural instinct of shame.  Will love for God know how to conquer false fears, infantile embarrassments, innate timidity, human respect in the profession of one’s faith and dedication to the cause of Christ?”

Bishop Giaquinta – Love is Revolution – Chapter 18

 

God Gives Us Strength To Bear Hardship

“For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather of power, and love and self-control.  So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord, nor of me, a prisoner for his sake; but bear your share of the hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God.”

2 Timothy 1: 7-8

 

Preparation for Mission – Spiritual Formation

Fundamentally, preparation for mission requires spiritual formation.  That is, we must develop our faith to the point where we give of what we have with complete confidence that God will provide for us in our poverty and show us the way as we set out on our journey.  Nevertheless, putting our total trust in God does not free us from the responsibility of preparing ourselves well and approaching our mission with zeal and purpose.

Adapted from Renato Perino, S.S.P.

Call to Holiness: New Frontiers in Holiness for Today’s Religious –  p 52

 

Accept the Challenge

Vatican II stressed explicitly that God calls each person to maximum supernatural love – to holiness. Yet we need to ask ourselves how we can become holy in our day-to-day lives.  Since Christ is the ‘Way, the Truth and the Life’ (John 14: 6), if we want to be living branches that bear fruit, we must let God fill us with his own life of grace.  We cannot sit back and expect God to do it all, for we must actively strive to configure ourselves to Christ – or more accurately, to Christ Crucified.  The Cross will be the altar of this divine transformation, we the victim, Jesus the end, and Communion the means of this supernatural change.  Our ideal will be to unite ourselves to the Eucharistic Jesus in order to transform ourselves and others into the Suffering Servant of Yahweh – Jesus crucified out of his redemptive love for man.  Just as Jesus is the source of life through his immolative oblation, so we have to become a source of life for our brethren through our personal oblation.  In this way, we will start that intimate personal union with God which is a means of grace for ourselves and others, and which God will transform into the beatific union of heaven.

Adapted from Bishop Giaquinta

Formation and Apostolate: A Program of Active Spirituality –  pp1-2

 

Checklist for Preparing Myself To Be a Missionary for Holiness

·        Keeping the end in mind

·        Prayer

·        The Sunday Eucharist

·        The Sacrament of Reconciliation

·        Listening to the Word

·        Proclaiming the Word

·        Witness to Love – Life of Charity

·        Living a Spirituality in Communion

Pope John Paul II – Novo Millennio Ineunte

 

 

Prayer for Help in Making a Decision

“Lord, soon I have to make up my mind.  I’m not sure what to do.  I believe you can give me the light to make the right decision.  The most important light in my life must always be your will. Help me now in this decision. May my choice be in accordance with your will.  I ask for the wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit to choose what is right.  Amen.”

Bede North, M.S.C. –  Family Prayerbook 

Reprinted in Living Faith – April-June 2002

 

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For Reflection:

 

1.      The purpose of the Pro Sanctity Movement is to promote the universal call to holiness.  As I answer this call myself and spread it to others, am I not doing something I have planned?  Is this not why I attend formation meetings?  Do we ever reach a point where holiness becomes so natural that planning is unnecessary?

 

2.      Pope John Paul II says that saying “yes” to Baptism (either yourself or through a sponsor) is the same as saying “yes” to being open to holiness.  Have I ever thought of Baptism in this way?  Is this a concept that Pro Sanctity should stress more than it does?

 

3.      When I receive communion do I really think of it as a means of supernatural change?  Do I keep myself open to Jesus so he can transform me into a source of life for my brothers and sisters?

 

4.      What are the steps I take in making an important decision?  Is the first step to pray for help?  And thank God for his guidance after the decision has been made?

 

5.      When I think I know what God is asking of me, but am afraid of the consequences of my saying “yes,” do I try to put it out of my mind, or do I talk to God about it?

 

6.      How helpful do I think the “Checklist for preparing myself to be a missionary for holiness” will be for me? Are any items on this list more important than others?