September 2001 VOICE OF SHALOM

DO YOU WISH TO BE HOLY To profess the Church as holy means to point to her as the Bride of Christ, for whom he gave himself precisely in order to make her holy (cf. Eph. 5:25-26). This gift of holiness is offered to all the baptized. But the gift in turn becomes a task, which must shape the whole of Christian life: "This is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thes. 4:3). It is a duty which concerns not only certain Christians?: "All the Christians faithful, of whatever state or rank, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity". At first glance, it might seem almost impractical to recall this elementary truth as the foundation of the pastoral planning in which we are involved at the start of the new millennium. Can holiness ever be "planned"? What might the word "holiness" mean in the context of a pastoral plan? In fact, to place pastoral planning under the heading of holiness is a choice filled with consequences. It implies the conviction that, since Baptism is a true entry into the holiness of God through incorporation into Christ and the indwelling of his Spirit, it would be contradiction to settle for a life of mediocrity, marked by a minimalist ethic and a shallow religiosity. To ask catechumens: "Do you wish to receive Baptism?" means at the same time to ask them: "Do you wish to become holy?" It means to set before them the radical nature of the Sermon on the Mount: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). Pope John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte Pope John Paul II Novo Millennio Ineunte

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