miniZibaldone

Being Disciples by Rowan Williams [T]here is no contrast, no tension really, between holiness and involvement in the world. On the contrary, the most holy, who is Jesus, is the most involved, most at the heart of human experience. And we really misunderstand the whole thing very seriously if we think that holiness means being defended from our own humanity or other people’s humanity: quite the opposite. To understand this, we need to bear in mind an all-important distinction between being holy and simply being good. There’s a fine phrase in one of Evelyn Waugh’s novels, when a character is described by another: ‘She was saintly, but she wasn’t a saint.’ The character in question is indeed saintly, very strict, devout and intense, but the effect she has on those around her is to make them feel guilty, frustrated and unhappy. They feel inadequate, and I suspect that many of us experience this when we encounter people we think are saintly or Very Good—they make us feel rather worse ... In...

Holiness is a journey; holiness cannot be bought.  It can’t be sold. It cannot be given away. Holiness is a journey to God's presence that I must make: no one else can do it in my name. I can pray for someone to be holy, but he’s the one who has to work towards [holiness], not me. Walk in God's presence, in an impeccable way. From the homily "Jesus’ Kingdom of Heaven," the Pope stressed, is for "those who have the courage to go forward" and courage, he observed, is generated by "hope," the second element of the journey that leads to holiness. The kind of courage that hopes "in an encounter with Jesus."  The third element of this journey towards holiness, the Pope observed, appears in Peter’s words: "Put all your hope in that grace:”  "We cannot achieve holiness on our own,” affirmed Pope Francis.  “No, it is a grace. Being good, being saintly, going every day a little 'a step forward in the Christian life is a grace of ...

From an address to seminarians and priests However, a temptation appears on the way that must be rejected: that of “normality,” of a Pastor for whom a “normal” life is enough. Thus this priest begins to be contented with some attention received, he judges the ministry on the basis of his successes and he abandons himself to research of what pleases him, becoming tepid and without a real interest in others. Instead, for us “normality” is pastoral holiness, the gift of life. If a priest chooses to be only a normal person, he will be a mediocre priest or worse. [...]  Entrusted to you during these years is the mission to train yourselves in this dialogue of life: knowledge of the various disciplines that you study is not an end in itself, but is concretized in the colloquy of prayer and in a real encounter with persons. It does no good to be formed “in watertight compartments”; prayer, education and pastoral care are bearer stones of one building. [...]  In fact, evangelizatio...

From the homily "We are often the slaves of appearances and allow ourselves to pursue appearances: ‘But God knows the truth’. And that is so in this story... Jesse’s seven sons are presented and the Lord does not choose any of them, he lets them pass by. Samuel is in a bit of difficulty and says to Jesse: ‘The Lord has not chosen any of them, are these all the sons you have? And Jesse replied that there was still the youngest, who is tending the sheep’. To the eyes of man this boy did not count”. [...]  “We have all been chosen by the Lord to be Baptized, to be part of His people, to be saints; we have been consecrated by the Lord on the path towards sainthood. Reading about this life, the life of a child – no… not a child, he was a boy – from boyhood to old age, during which he did many good things and others that were not so good. It makes me think that during the Christian journey, the journey the Lord has invited us to undertake, there is no saint without a past and no sin...