MANILA, Philippines (Catholic Online) – There is no profession or calling that has a monopoly of holiness, said a Philippine bishop.
“Holiness is attainable by all, with God’s grace,” said
Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani Jr. of Novaliches, professor of theology at the University of Santo Thomas, Royal Pontifical and Catholic University of the Philippines.
Catholics can be holy where they are, and starting with what we are, the bishop said, noting that there have been holy rulers and politicians. In fact, he added, St. Thomas More, lord chancellor of England, who was martyred under Henry VIII, is the patron saint of politicians, and French King Louis IX is a canonized sain who was both a good ruler and a holy man.
There is no legitimate human endeavor which is not also an avenue to holiness, Bishop Bacani said.
While prayerfulness is a quality of the saints, it is charity or love which is the essence of holiness, he stressed.
Such charity can and should be practiced even in our most insignificant activities, and heroic charity can be exercised under very unheroic circumstances, he said.
In fact, one of the greatest miracles in life is for people to persevere and grow in love even when they are engaged in very ordinary and monotonous endeavors that merit no human applause and win no citations, he said.
One needs to celebrate sanctity in daily lives, Bishop Bacani said, adding that holiness is not ambition but should be goal where there need be no competition.
“Each of us is called to love God with all our mind, with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. Now, to love in this way is to be holy,” the prelate said.
No Christian is called to mediocrity, he added. Holiness indicates living a life of love refusing to be self-satisfied with what one has become, and striving to grow daily more and more in love, he said.
“For far too many of us, our moral life has been reduced to an avoidance of mortal sin. While we want maximum success in many areas of life, we are content to be minimalists when it comes to our moral life,” Bishop Bacani said.
A Christian needs to be reminded of God’s higher standards of life, he stressed.
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