Life is a Journey
The universal call to holiness is a fundamental teaching of the Catholic Church, emphasizing that all individuals, regardless of their state in life, are called to pursue holiness and perfection in love, as articulated in Matthew 5:48. "Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.” This call is rooted in the belief that every person can achieve a deep relationship with God through their daily lives and actions. The Church provides sacraments and teachings to help individuals grow in holiness.
As part of God’s plan, every person appears at a certain time, in a certain place in the history of mankind, and then leaves, at a certain time and usually from a different place; every baptized person has been called personally to serve God and love his neighbor. The goal of our lives is personal sanctity, and the destination is Heaven. Jesus established his Church to map out the way for everyone, and he left his Holy Spirit to guarantee that the Church will not fail in that role. The Second Vatican Council emphasized that holiness is not just for clergy but for all believers.
“The Church, whose mystery is being set forth by this Sacred Synod, is believed to be indefectibly holy. Indeed Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised as "uniquely holy,” loved the Church as His bride, delivering Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her. He united her to Himself as His own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Spirit for God's glory. Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness.” [DOGMATIC CONSTITUTION ON THE CHURCH, LUMEN GENTIUM, 39]
We must become aware that it is part of God’s plan that each one of us arrived at this particular time in history. Therefore, the obligation of each person is to discover through prayer and spiritual direction what role they are expected to play in in God’s plan of salvation. Through cooperation with the grace of God, the vocation to which each one of us is called will be manifest.
Since every baptized person has been allotted a certain amount of time to serve Jesus in the quest for souls, that time must be spent seeking to do the will of God. This call from Jesus often goes unheard among Christians. Jesus wants all Christians to be dedicated to doing his work all the time.
We exist for union; we were created for union; we were redeemed for eternal union. It is only Jesus who sees the face of the Father, and it is through Jesus that we can be made ready to share in His vision of the Father. It is through our union with Jesus, our contemplation of His "face," that we are, little by little, transformed and made ready for the beatific vision, which is so much more than what we commonly understand as "seeing"; it is indeed a participation in the ecstatic knowing and loving of the Trinity, a participation in Love itself.
“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being changed into his likeness from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Cor. 3:18)
Perfect in purity of heart, perfect in compassion and love, perfect in obedience, perfect in conformity to the will of the Father, perfect in holiness — when we hear these words we can be understandably tempted to discouragement, thinking that perfection for us is impossible. And indeed, left to our own resources, it certainly is — just as impossible as it is for rich people to enter heaven, or for a man and a woman to remain faithful their whole lives in marriage. But with God, all things are possible, even our transformation.
The source of all our unhappiness and misery is sin and its effects, and the sooner the purification of sin and its effects can take place in our life, the happier we will be and the better able to truly love others. Only then will we be able to enter into the purpose God has for our life.
—Deacon Gerry Flamm
“Dear children! Today I also rejoice at your presence here. I bless you with my motherly blessing and intercede for each one of you before God. I call you anew to live my messages and to put them into life and practice. I am with you and bless all of you day by day. Dear children, these are special times and, therefore, I am with you to love and protect you; to protect your hearts from Satan and to bring you all closer to the heart of my Son, Jesus. Thank you for having responded to my call.”