We are still close to the Solemnity of All Saints, followed by the commemoration of the faithful departed. It is a call from the Church, our Mother, not to forget that our goal is heaven.
In n.11 of the dogmatic constitution on the Church of Vatican Council II "Lumen Gentium"We are reminded that the entire People of God is priestly, since Christ, the Lord, the Pontiff taken from among men, has made the new People of God "a kingdom of priests to God his Father" (Rev 1:6).
This priesthood is actualized through participation in the sacraments of the Church, as a means that the Lord offers us to communicate his grace in the Holy Spirit, and through the virtues.
The Lord offers us the sacraments - those abundant and efficacious means - so that all Christians, each one in his or her own way, may reach the perfection of holiness, whose model is our Father God.
We are to bear witness to Christ everywhere and at all times and give an account of our hope in eternal life and in the resurrection there, in that condition, in which the Lord has placed us (cf. 1Pt. 3:5).
But to speak of the perfection of holiness frightens us. We immediately think and say: "That's not for me!"; "I know myself!"; "I know my defects and sins well and I experience them every day!" Yes. That is true.
We all experience more or less the same thing. But that cannot be an excuse to stop struggling. The call to holiness is for all Christians.
Let us take a look at the apostles, the first to follow the Lord's call. Let us read what the Gospels tell us about them: they are ambitious, intolerant at times, boastful, sometimes pessimistic and at other times overzealous..., but in time, with the grace of the Holy Spirit and their constant struggle, they will come to give their lives for Christ.
The same thing has happened down through the centuries in those who have wanted to follow Christ. There is St. Augustine, whose conversion we know, but also St. Therese of the Child Jesus, who at times has been presented as very childish, when in reality she had a stubborn character. Her mother said: "She is of an almost invincible stubbornness.
When she says no, there is no human power that can reduce her; even if we put her in the dark room for a whole day, she would rather sleep in it than say yes" (Autobiographical Manuscripts of St. Therese) or St. Therese, "When she says no, there is no human power that can reduce her; even if we put her in the dark room for a whole day, she would rather sleep in it than say yes. Alphonsus Mary Liguoriwho, at the age of eighty, said to a person: "If we are to argue, let the table be between the two of us; I have blood in my veins".
I suggest that you read and meditate on the Apostolic Exhortation "Gaudete et Exultate", in which Pope Francis invites us to follow this path, speaking to us of the saints next door.
Let us not lose hope! Holiness consists in fighting.
If we have fallen, let us try to get up. Let us try to say to the Lord: I'm starting now! And so many, many times throughout the day and throughout life.
We do not know the road we have yet to travel. There will be falls, but with God's grace, with prayer, with the sacraments, with the example of our brothers and sisters in the faith, we will get up and keep on walking: I'm starting now!
Let us try that what we do today be done with a little more love, affection and fervor than what we did yesterday. May the Lord meet us in this way, in this struggle, which gives us peace and happiness also on this earth.
