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 7:  To urge me to find the means for my own holiness by following methods used by those I look to as models, e.g., Our Holy Father, Bishop Giaquinta, the saints, special people in my life.

 

Pro Sanctity Decalogue – Your Personal Plan for Holiness

1. Strive for perfection
2. Develop your prayer life
3. Foster your sacramental life
4. Be faithful to the teachings of the Pope
5. Offer the Pro Sanctity Prayer daily
6. Offer your sufferings in union with Jesus Crucified for the holiness of all persons
7. Offer Mass and Communion each week for the holiness of priests
8. Give some of your time to help in the apostolate for holiness
9. Aid the apostolate for holiness financially
10. Invoke Our Blessed Mother to help you live and spread God’s call to holiness

Bishop Giaquinta – Pro Sanctity Decalogue

 

All Are Called to Holiness

“...all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society.  In order that the faithful may reach this perfection, they must use their strength accordingly as they have received it, as a gift from Christ. They must follow in his footsteps and conform themselves to his image seeking the will of the Father in all things. They must devote themselves with all their being to the glory of God and the service of their neighbor.  In this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history.”

Documents of Vatican II

Lumen Gentium – Chapter V - # 40

 

Lead a Life Worthy of the Gospel of Christ

“Coming to see in the faith their new dignity, Christians are called, henceforth, to lead a life ‘worthy of the gospel of Christ.’ (Philippians 1: 27)  They are made capable of doing so by the grace of Christ and the gifts of his Spirit, which they receive through the sacraments and through prayer.”

The Catechism of the Catholic Church - # 1692

 

View Your Day as God Would View It

“View the happenings of your day as God would view them.  In all things, see God.  We are the temples of the Holy Spirit and every instant of our lives is filled with the Divine and Trinitarian presence.  It only makes sense that the Lord should influence our vision, our thoughts, our decisions, our everything, for it is in him that we ‘live and move and have our being.’ (Acts 17: 28)”

Bishop Giaquinta – Seven Helpful Ways to Remain in the Presence of God  - # 7

 

Fiat

“To God who spoke through the voice of an angel,

the Immaculate entrusted her ‘fiat.’

 

To the same God who speaks to us, over and over again,

we entrust our ‘fiat’ of love.

Bishop Giaquinta – Prayers – p 54

 

Strive for Peace and Holiness

“Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”

Hebrews 12: 14

 

The Importance of Prayer

“When we speak of a relationship with the Father and a response of total love, by necessity, it entails an interior life.  According to Bishop Giaquinta, any relationship with the Triune God cannot be simply a juridical or moralistic fact, but must become a living reality that ‘animates, vivifies, and directs’ one’s entire being.  ‘All the current problems on the various forms of prayer simply dissolve if there is a foundation of a true interior life. What counts is not the ways of dressing our prayer, but the person who prays.’ (Love is Revolution – p 102) This prayer includes deliberate mental prayer giving ‘God’s tone’ to the day.  This is central in the formation of a proper interior life....”

Rev. Michael F. Murphy – Dialectic of the Maximum – pp 56-57

 

Tools for a Personal Plan for Holiness

• Our Relationship with Mary – “...among creatures no one knows Christ better than Mary; no one can introduce us to a profound knowledge of his mystery better than his mother.... Mary is a means of learning from her to ‘read’ Christ, to discover his secrets and to understand his message.... Blessed Bartolo Longo has written: ‘Just as two friends, frequently in each other’s company, tend to develop similar habits, so too, by holding familiar converse with Jesus and the Blessed Virgin, by meditating on the mysteries of the rosary and by living the same life in Holy Communion, we can become, to the extent of our lowliness, similar to them and can learn from these supreme models a life of humility, poverty, hiddenness, patience and perfection.’”

Pope John Paul II – Apostolic Letter – Rosarium Virginis Mariae

 

• Spiritual Reading, Prayers, Reflections – Memorize lines from scripture or good spiritual books.  The effort is worth it and we can return to them any time of the day or night.  Short prayers (ejaculations like, “My Lord and my God” and “Your will be done”) are called by St. Augustine, “arrows of love shot into the heart of God.”  Pay attention to prayers like the Our Father and Hail Mary that you say every day.  Take advantage of the many moments each day when you can pause and rest in the presence of God.  Develop a Christ centered imagination – when you imagine Our Lord in the Eucharist, during his earthly life, close to you and carrying on a conversation with you, etc.  Take time for quiet prayer and adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.

Adapted from Bishop Giaquinta – Seven Helpful Ways to Remain in the Presence of God

 

• Have the Conviction of Your Own Personal Call to Holiness – “To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself in order to make her holy.  This as it were objective gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized.” (Pope John Paul II – Novo Millennio Ineunte - # 30)  “Therefore all the faithful are invited and obliged to holiness and the perfection of their own state of life. Accordingly, lest they be hindered in their pursuit of perfect love by the use of worldly things and by an adherence to riches which is contrary to the spirit of evangelical poverty, following the apostle’s advice: ‘Let those who use this world not fix their abode in it, for the form of this world is passing away.’ (1Corinthians7:31)” (Documents of Vatican II – Lumen Gentium – Chapter V - # 40)

 

• Spiritual Friends and Spiritual Direction – “Do you seriously wish to travel the road to devotion? ...If so, look for a good man to guide and lead you...Who shall find such a friend?  Humble souls who desire to make spiritual progress.”

St. Francis de Sales – Introduction to the Divine Life

 

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For Reflection:

 

1.      Am I ready to embrace God’s will and let him ‘use’ me in the way he wants?

 

2.      What role do Mary and the Saints have as models and companions on my journey to holiness?

 

3.      Bishop Giaquinta asks us to view the happenings of our day as God would view them.  Are  my days filled with the presence of God?  Does the Lord influence my vision, my thoughts, my decisions, my ‘everything’?

 

4.      Have I followed the advice of St. Francis de Sales to seek a spiritual director?  If not, am I planning to do so?  How has, or will, doing this affect holiness in my personal life?

 

5.      Spiritual friends with whom we can speak about holiness also are important to our spiritual lives.  One of the goals of Pro Sanctity is to help me meet and talk with spiritual friends.  Do I feel it has fulfilled its role in this respect?