The latest document written by Pope Francis describes a century-old path walked by countless of faithful Christians before us: the path of holiness. He begins the Apostolic Exhortation quoting the Beatitudes which give the document its name, “Gaudete et Exultate – Rejoice and be glad.” In them, he argues, you find what constitutes holiness. “The Beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card,” he writes. These challenging and direct instructions from Jesus describe what it means to be a faithful Christian.
In a world where many base their fidelity to Christ either on knowledge they have attained, or works they have performed, the Pope challenges all to recognize that salvation and holiness are gifts from God. Some wrongly believe that the more facts they know about the faith, and the better they can argue and win arguments about God, the closer they are to God. Pope Francis states that this attitude based on mere knowledge tries to tame the mystery, yet taming the mystery of God is impossible. Francis writes that “the Church has always been clear that a person’s perfection is measured not by the information or knowledge they possess, but by the depth of their charity.” Truly knowing God cannot be reduced to learning facts, but rather it involves opening oneself vulnerably so that God can do His work in the soul.
Similarly, others think that the more they do, the closer they are to God. Certainly our faith calls us to action, but there is nothing you or I can do that will merit us salvation since salvation is a gift. God has loved us first, so every movement of God in the soul is initiated by Him, not me. Pope Francis points that some wrongly believe that justification is achieved by their own efforts, worshiping the human will and personal abilities. He believes that the result of this attitude is “a self-centered and elitist complacency, bereft of true love… and finds expression in a variety of apparently unconnected ways of thinking and acting.” At times excessive importance is given to certain rules, customs, or ways of acting, to the point that the faithful forget that God is greater than these things.
The path of holiness set forth by the Beatitudes opens the soul to the active working of Christ who constantly renews all things. Among the many examples Pope Francis provides to better follow the Beatitudes, he speaks of reacting with meekness and humility toward others: “regard the faults and limitations of others with tenderness and meekness, without an air of superiority, [so] we can actually help them and stop wasting our energy on useless complaining.”
He also writes that growing in holiness requires sowing peace: “the world of gossip, inhabited by negative and destructive people, does not bring peace. Such people are really the enemies of peace… It is not easy to ‘make’ this evangelical peace, which excludes no one but embraces even those who are a bit odd, troublesome or difficult, demanding, different, beaten down by life or simply uninterested. It is hard work.”
Holiness for Pope Francis requires a fervent relationship with God without forgetting that He will judge us based on how we lived our lives in relationship with others (Matthew 25). “Our worship becomes pleasing to God when we devote ourselves to living generously, and allow God’s gift, granted in prayer, to be shown in our concern for our brothers and sisters.”
“Rejoice and be glad,” writes Saint Matthew in his Gospel, “for your reward will be great in heaven.” Life in Christ brings joy and gladness achieved as a gift from God who never tires to draw to Himself each person he has created. This is ultimately not achieved with the intellect nor the will alone, but through a response to God’s initial prompting of the soul. Holiness in itself is God’s gift.
Picture from the public domain
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