Can Holiness Be a Part of Ordinary Life?

"Holiness is not perfection according to human criteria; it is not reserved for a small number of exceptional persons. It is for everyone."

"It is the Lord who brings us to holiness, when we are willing to collaborate in the salvation of the world for the glory of God, despite our sin and our sometimes rebellious temperament."

"In your daily life, you are called to make choices that ‘occasionally demand uncommon sacrifices.’ This is the price of true happiness."

"I ask you not to be discouraged...your call to holiness is a precious adornment of the Church. Believe in your vocation. Be faithful to it. ‘God has called you and he will not fail you.’"

"Redeemed man is involved in a complex dynamic. God is not satisfied with a conditional response. He wants total commitment. The communion to which he invites us is not only achieved with words; neither can it remain in the realm of feelings. A few acts of generosity are not enough to satisfy the demands arising for those who have been ontologically reborn through Christ. Paul the Apostle’s discourse on this subject is very clear: by Baptism, we have been reborn so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

"The Christian is essentially a person called to holiness and the norm for his life is Christ himself."

"Today, those who can live the Gospel consistently are swimming against the tide. This is the heroism of daily life, of living holiness at every instant and in every situation."

"What is the way to live and communicate Christ’s truth and joy without fear? The way, beloved, is the same way that Jesus took: the way of service, sharing and the gift of one’s own life."

" ‘To give my life’: this is the only ideal worthy to be lived to the end, whatever the cost. This is also the way of joy, as Jesus said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’ (Acts 20:35)."

"Those who become too concerned and upset about things to be done are no longer able to communicate the value contained in that action, that is, God’s love."

"Be humble instruments, simple and detached from yourselves and your activities. Be firmly bound to Christ and his words alone. Thus you will be able to scatter seeds of unity, reconciliation and dialogue in the various contexts where you live and work."

"What makes us holy is not work, but the action of grace within us. However, it does so over a whole lifetime and therefore within the specific limits of the daily toil by which we respond to grace."

"Serve Christ in your family and friends, and in all those you meet on life’s path."

"May you be leaven for the world, changing it from within, especially by the example of your lives."

"By shining with faith, hope and love, you will show Jesus Christ to others."

"In your daily tasks, may you never lack the leaven of Christian faith and hope."

"The poor, the sick, the elderly who have been neglected, prisoners, those with physical or psychological disabilities, those enslaved by drug addiction, those marginalized because of unemployment, the young with our horizons of hope, are numerous forms of the challenging presence of Christ himself whom we worship in the Eucharist."

"Remember always that your field of apostolate is your own personal lives. Here is where the message of the Gospel has first to be preached and lived. Your first apostolic duty is your own sanctification."

"The ‘power of the Gospel’ appears in everyday life when in every context or circumstance there are courageous Christians who are not afraid to show their convictions."

"The ‘power of the Gospel’ is shown whenever trials are patiently endured and one’s behavior gives witness to the cross of Christ."