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The Universal Call to Holiness
"[Jesus]... proclaimed that He had come to cast a fire upon the earth and that He longed for it to burst into blaze. It was in the form of fiery tongues that the Holy Spirit of Pentecost descended upon a timorous group of men and women. Their minds and hearts having been enkindled with a burning love and ardent zeal, those who received the Spirit sparked the astonishing transformation of an unbelieving and corrupt civilization into a community of faith and love...
"So it is today: men and women in any vocation who live the revealed word as Thomas More (married man), John Vianney (diocesan priest) and Catherine of Siena (consecrated virgin) lived it , do enjoy a profound intimacy with the Lord they serve so completely and untiringly. Life-style and prayer grow or diminish together. If people today or in any age lack mystical prayer, it is not because it has been tried and found lacking. It is the Gospel that has not been tried."
Fr. Thomas Dubay, S.M., in "The Fire Within", San Francisco, Ignatius Press, 1989, p 1 & 9
posted by Holly at 1:20 PM
1 Comments:
There are not meant to be 2 or 3 'levels' of holiness - different 'callings' from God. Mrs Jones is meant to be just as holy as St Teresa of Avila. There is no false division between the vocations; no inherent holiness of the religious life over the married vocation; no obstacles within our daily lives which prevent us from reaching the heights of infused, mystical contemplation, and transforming union with God.
In fact, it's just the opposite, confirmed by Vatican II when it spoke about the 'universal call to holiness'.
Holiness IS this union with God. Holiness IS this burning fire of divine infusion of grace. It is meant for you and me - yes, ol' Mom with her little house and noisy but precious little children.
We have split the call of Jesus into a 'normal' way and a 'saint's way', and this is an error. We are all called to the same path, and the sooner we understand this, the better. We have a mission to get to God, to be united with Him and to then infect the world with His Fire.
If we do not know anything about the spiritual life, about it's stages and each stage's specific needs and demands, then we need to find out immediately. We can't drive to Rome from Bankok without a road map -- it would take much longer than necessary, and there would always be the danger of getting lost. We need to know where we are, so that we can dispose ourselves to God more readily and get where he wants us.
Are we new converts? Then there is a lot to learn.
Are we in the Purgative Way? Then we need to struggle against sin in our lives,detach ourselves from it and renounce it, and commit ourselves to the practice of prayer and self-control.
Are we in the Illuminative Way? Then we need to begin to actively practice the virtues of Jesus, detach ourselves from even good things which mean too much to us and take the place of God, and bring total order to our lives as far as this is possible.
Are we in the Unitive Way? Then we need to surrender ourselves to God fully and completely, be docile and open to his inspirations, all the while fulfilling all the duties and tasks He has requested of us in morals & faith and vocational duties.
Read. Study. Find out. Understand where you are at. Begin to advance on the path of holiness.
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