Holy Father Pope Francis while addressing the faithful gathered at Casa Santa Marta for his homily reminded them the significance of holiness in a Christian’s life. His Holiness Pope Francis warned Christians against remaining attached to worldly ways of thinking and behavior. The Pontiff explained that walking towards holiness means proceeding towards that grace, that encounter with Jesus Christ.
As reported by Vatican news, Holy Father Pope Francis remarked that “The call to holiness, which is the normal call, is our call to live as a Christian, namely living as a Christian is the same as saying ‘living as a saint’. Many times we think of holiness as something extraordinary, like having visions or lofty prayers or some think that being holy means having a face like that in a cameo, no!!. Being holy is something else. It is to proceed along this path that the Lord tells us about holiness.” Further, His Holiness added, “When facing difficulties, we are often tempted to look back with nostalgia at our old ways just like the People of God did in the Book of Exodus when they complained and thought back to the beautiful life they lived in Egypt. n moments of trials and tribulations, we always are tempted to look back, to look at the worldly patterns of behaviour, at the patterns that we had before setting out the path towards salvation: without freedom. And without freedom, one cannot be holy. Freedom is the condition for moving forward while looking at the light ahead of us.”
His Holiness Pope Francis concluded his homily by reminding the faithful that the Lord calls us to holiness every day. The Pontiff offered a prayer to God “to grant us the grace to understand correctly what the path of holiness is: “a path of freedom” but with “a tension of hope” on our path towards Jesus.”
