The Bishop’s Perspective: Summertime Holiness

This past April, Pope Francis wrote all of us a beautiful reflection (known as an “Apostolic Exhortation”) on the universal call to holiness. He entitled it: Gaudete et Exsultate (Latin for “ Rejoice and Be Glad”), with the subtitle: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World. In this letter, Pope Francis addresses every one of us at the most ordinary level of our spiritual lives; he reminds us of something that is so basic and fundamental to our spiritual identity, and yet one that we may be unaware of or overlook. We remember from our religious education catechism classes that on the day each of us was baptized, we were washed clean of Original Sin and we also were incorporated into the Body of Christ. Our baptism set us on a journey of faith which will see us through all the years we live in this world, and will culminate when we pass from this life into the Kingdom of Heaven. And from the day of our baptism forward, because we are baptized into Christ, we are called to live lives of Holiness. As the Second Vatican Council teaches in the Dogmatic Constitution On the Church: Strengthened by so many and such great means of salvation, all the Faithful, whatever their condition or state, are called by the Lord — each in his or her own way — to that perfect holiness by which the Father Himself is perfect. (#11)

In paragraph 14 of Gaudete et Exsultate, Pope Francis beautifully summarizes this call: T o be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious. We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. That is a beautiful definition of holiness, as Pope Francis sees it. Holiness is “living our lives with love and bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves.” Notice that Pope Francis doesn’t say we have to be in church, or even in prayer; in everything we do — wherever we find ourselves — we are to remember who we are: people who are baptized into Christ and are members of His Body. Pope Francis gets a little more specific in that same paragraph. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by living and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain. (#14)

Keeping the Holy Father’s words in mind, I would like to suggest three summer-time activities we all might consider as we plan our more-relaxed “to-do” lists for the next few months: to play, pray and display our faith in Jesus.

Play: Making time to relax, have fun, read, go to the beach, sit on the porch, sleep in or stay up late — all of those are great ways to allow more time to play during these summer months. Taking a break from homework and other responsibilities can be life-giving. However, just as we don’t take a break from our basic responsibilities nor give up taking care of our normal physical needs, neither can we take a break from our basic responsibilities to God. Coming to Mass every Sunday (Saturday evening) is just as important during the summer time. Whether we’re going to the lake or taking a trip to another part of the world, we need to always make sure that we are making time to get to Mass and remaining faithful to our call to holiness in what we’re doing. Additionally, being able to find joy in games with others, and good fun with family and friends is truly re-invigorating. As Pope Francis says: Far from being timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, or putting on a dreary face, (we are called to be) joyful and full of good humor. (#122)

Pray: Besides making time in our summer weeks for Mass and going to Confession, summer time is ideal to make additional time for prayer as we take walks through the woods, sit at the beach, or travel in the car on trips. We can pray the Rosary together as a Family, or we can reflect on God’s goodness in the world of nature. As Pope Francis writes we should not “ ignore the need for moments of quiet, solitude and silence before God….How can we fail to realize the need to stop this rat race and to recover the personal space needed to carry on a heartfelt dialogue with God? (#29)

Display: When we are living lives of holiness, we are giving witness to our faith in Jesus every day. If we are taking our faith seriously; if we are making every effort to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we will very definitely be putting our faith in Jesus on display, not in any kind of show-off manner, but in the genuine ways we choose to pursue virtue rather than sin, and as we choose to live our lives according to the Beatitudes of Jesus, rather than the “me-attitudes” which sin inclines us to follow. Pope Francis has devoted an entire Chapter to a reflection on the Beatitudes and the Twenty-fithh Chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel (the Final Judgment) that are powerful and inspiring. In this section, he writes: The Beatitudes are like a Christian’s identity card….In the Beatitudes we find a portrait of the Master, which we are called to reflect in our daily lives. (#63) Toward the end of this chapter, Pope Francis continues: We may think that we give glory to God only by our worship and prayer, or simply by following certain ethical norms. It is true that the primacy belongs to our relationship with God, but we cannot forget that the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others. (#104) In other words, as Pope Francis said at the very beginning, whatever we do and wherever we find ourselves, we are to give glory to God — we are to display our faith in Jesus.

And so, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I pray that you will have a truly blessed, relaxing and re-invigorating summer time. May it be a time to renew all your relationships, personal and spiritual, and that these ordinary summer days will be filled with times to play, pray and display all the ways that we can keep growing in holiness in our relationships with God and with one another.

God bless you, now and always!