Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - The Saints, holy men and women, who accompany us through the Liturgical Year as we commemorate them on their feast days, tell us clearly that the Gospel, which they proclaimed not only in words but testified also with their lives, even to the point of martyrdom and bloodshed, has the power to transform this life into a life filled with God.
The promises of the Gospel are fulfilled because they were made by God and, those who meet his desires, manifested fully in the Lord Jesus, become his children, citizens of his Kingdom and partakers in the life of grace which vivifies his Church, the visible sign of that Kingdom here on earth. Like the promises in the Beatitudes, splendidly lived by the Saints, every one of the Lord's words, echoed in the life of a disciple, bears abundant fruit, thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold (cfr. Mt 13, 8). It all depends on how the believer's behaviour, interior and exterior, is in keeping with the word of the Gospel. Similarity with Jesus is in fact holiness: the greater the imitation of Christ, the greater the holiness. This is why before proclaiming the heroic virtues of a servant of God, the Church investigates the whole of the person's testimony. Evangelical holiness, totally incarnated in life, not in theory but in practice, produces deeds of holiness, some hidden, some visible, but real, as real as virtues themselves! These good works of the saints are the splendid garments of pure linen which adorn the Church, the Bride of the Lamb (cfr. Rev 19, 8-9).
Only those who put the Gospel into practice are recognised as true disciples of the Lamb, and sit at his wedding banquet, that is, share with Him in heaven the glory, honour and power given to Him by the Father. These are the “Servants of God” who illuminate the world just as stars brighten the night, they are humanity's greatest benefactors because “No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn 15, 13). The friends of the Saints are all men and women without distinction! How wonderful to know that in Jesus, St Francis, St Dominica, St Teresa of the Child Jesus…gave their life for us as well, so we too may have the courage to become like them true friends of Jesus: loving Him unreservedly, with unconditioned love which gives all and withholds nothing. Who, except God himself in Jesus Christ, deserves such love?
In order to walk the way to holiness we have an essential relationship with the Holy Spirit so that He become a permanent Guest of our soul!
Saint Paul tells us that only through the Spirit of Jesus can we call God our Father (cfr. Rom 8, 15; Gal 4, 6). The Holy Spirit should impregnate the life of every true disciple of Jesus striving for holiness. The Holy Spirit illuminates the mind and strengthens the will to better discern good from evil, in order to always choose what is most pleasing to God. No one can win this spiritual battle which involves the whole of life, with the support, sought and welcomed, of the Power from on high.
When in the Sequence of Pentecost we say “Cleanse our souls from sinful stain, Lave our dryness with Your rain, Heal our wounds and mend our way. Bend the stubborn heart and will, Melt the frozen, warm the chill, Guide the steps that go astray ”, we ask the Holy Spirit to heal us, to free us, to convert us, to change us. Where in fact is there need of washing, healing, bending, warming, straightening, if not in the depths of the human heart, in the soul? The Holy Father, addressing young people in Sydney, gave a brilliant description of the marvellous working of the Holy Spirit to whom he had dedicated the entire World Youth Day 2008:
“The power of the Spirit never ceases to fill the Church with life! Through the grace of the Church’s sacraments, that power also flows deep within us, like an underground river which nourishes our spirit and draws us ever nearer to the source of our true life, which is Christ. Saint Ignatius of Antioch… He spoke of the Spirit as a fountain of living water springing up within his heart and whispering: “Come, come to the Father” (cf. Ad Rom., 6:1-9).Yet this power, the grace of the Spirit, is not something we can merit or achieve, but only receive as pure gift. God’s love can only unleash its power when it is allowed to change us from within. We have to let it break through the hard crust of our indifference, our spiritual weariness, our blind conformity to the spirit of this age. Only then can we let it ignite our imagination and shape our deepest desires. That is why prayer is so important: daily prayer, private prayer in the quiet of our hearts and before the Blessed Sacrament, and liturgical prayer in the heart of the Church.
Prayer is pure receptivity to God’s grace, love in action, communion with the Spirit who dwells within us, leading us, through Jesus, in the Church, to our heavenly Father. In the power of his Spirit, Jesus is always present in our hearts, quietly waiting for us to be still with him, to hear his voice, to abide in his love, and to receive “power from on high”, enabling us to be salt and light for our world” (Benedict XVI, homily in Sydney, 20th July 2008). (Agenzia Fides 18/2/2009; righe 63, parole 960)
