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 9: To make us realize that evangelization need not consist of forcing the call to holiness upon another person, but rather, as Pro Sanctity members, both individually and collectively, to demonstrate the joy of living that call.

 

 

Proclaim the Gospel

“He said to them, ‘Go into the whole world and proclaim the gospel to every creature.  Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved; whoever does not believe will be condemned.”

Mark 16: 15-16

 

A New Evangelization

·        The point and the meaning of a new evangelization is that we must go into the world and proclaim with loud voices that it is only by becoming saints – or at least by striving and making every effort toward holiness – that things will change.  We need to work from within – from the inner sanctum of our hearts and consciences.

·        We must be able to recognize the obstacles and even the misconceptions surrounding the idea of holiness.  We must discover the major obstacles that hinder holiness in our times.

·        Sin is one of these obstacles, but far more widespread is the obstacle of mediocrity.  That is, the relativism affecting almost all of us, including priests, religious, and consecrated people. 

·        Our goal, then, is to make holiness practical enough to be able to counteract the vast ocean of mediocrity affecting even the realm of spiritual life

·        A ‘new’ evangelization is needed to rediscover the evangelical message in its integrity through an evangelization of holiness.  It is needed because the world has changed in culture, technology, and social/economic relations and we must present a Christianity able to understand these changes. 

·        We must not become complacent and accept the scarcity of fruits we are reaping today, but must dig deeply into the roots of contemporary problems and issues.  We must be able to find means and systems of evangelization that will yield good fruits. It begins with the planting of good seed – the good seed of holiness.

Excerpted from the writings of Bishop Giaquinta 

New Evangelization: A ‘Strong’ Proclamation – August 1995

 

 

To Walk With Christ in the New Evangelization

“We are called to reiterate the evangelical message; to contribute to the salvation of the world through those ‘fruits of holiness’ that will bloom through humble and hidden labor, merited not only by individuals but together....  We must know, love and understand this world in order to be able to evangelize it...[by creating] a culture of holiness, a mentality in which spirituality and dedication are essential values, and a civilization of love and holiness.  We need a civilization where individual holiness is not the only level, but where we are ‘saints together.’ (Bishop Giaquinta – Homily of 11/1/91)  To actualize this project, the founder indicates some basic virtues that must characterize our present time and our tomorrow: fidelity, courage, zeal, and practicality.  ‘Woe to me if I should not evangelize’ (1 Corinthians 9: 16), but also woe to me if I [do] not broaden my heart in love, stretch the limits of my generosity in self-sacrifice, and the limits of my time for a greater dedication.”

Giuliana Spigone – Together in Christ Toward the Year 2000 – pp 9-11

 

The Art of Living

“To evangelize means to show the path [toward happiness] – to teach the art of living....  Jesus said, ‘I have come to evangelize the poor’ (Luke 4:18).  This means...I will show you the path of life, the path toward happiness – rather: I am that path.  The deepest poverty is the inability [to be joyful], the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory.... The inability [to be joyful] presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy and avarice – all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.  This is why we are in need of a new evangelization – if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works.  But this art is not the object of a science – this art can only be communicated by [one] who has life – he who is the Gospel personified.” 

Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger – Adddress to Catechists and Religion Teachers – Dec 12, 2000

 

 

Proclaiming The Word – a Priority for the Church

“A new sense of mission [in the Church cannot] be left to a group of ‘specialists’ but must involve the responsibility of all the members of the People of God.  Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep him for themselves – they must proclaim him.  A new  apostolic outreach is needed which will be lived as the everyday commitment of Christian communities and groups.  This should be done, however, with the respect due to the different paths of different people and with sensitivity to the diversity of cultures in which the Christian message must be planted, in such a way that the particular values of each people will not be rejected but purified and brought to their fullness.”

Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II – Novo Millennio Ineunte

 

For Reflection:

 

1.      Bishop Giaquinta tells us that we must proclaim with loud voices the need to become saints. What practical suggestions can I offer to do that?

 

2.      In my daily life do I follow St. Paul’s exhortation to evangelize?  Do I broaden my heart in love?  Stretch the limits of my generosity for self-sacrifice? 

 

3.      Do I need a ‘Pentecost’ in my life for courage to proclaim the gospel?