There are the saints of every day, the 'hidden' saints, a sort of 'middle class of holiness'... to which we can all belong.
Interpretation
Pope Francis highlights the everyday holiness found in ordinary people, suggesting that everyone can achieve a form of sanctity in their lives.
In this quote, Pope Francis emphasizes the idea that holiness is not limited to prominent figures like canonized saints; instead, it exists among ordinary individuals who live their daily lives with kindness and virtue. He encourages a recognition of the 'hidden' saints who, through small acts of goodness and compassion, contribute to the sanctity of the world, implying that anyone can aspire to be part of this 'middle class of holiness' through their daily actions.
In practice
In a sermon about compassion, this quote can remind the congregation that everyone has the potential to be a saint in their daily lives.
We are a church of sinners but we must not be afraid of holiness. Do not be afraid to aim for holiness and turn yourselves over to the love of God. Holiness does not mean performing extraordinary things but carrying out daily things in an extraordinary way that is with love, joy and faith.
I join the March for Life in Washington with my prayers. May God help us respect all life, especially the most vulnerable.
No one must say that they cannot be close to the poor because their own lifestyle demands more attention to other areas. This is an excuse commonly heard in academic, business or professional, and even ecclesial circles. While it is quite true that the essential vocation and mission of the lay faithful is to strive that earthly realities and all human activity may be transformed by the Gospel, none of us can think we are exempt from concern for the poor and for social justice
We face so many challenges in life: poverty, distress, humiliation, the struggle for justice, persecutions, the difficulty of daily conversion, the effort to remain faithful to our call to holiness, and many others. But if we open the door to Jesus and allow him to be part of our lives, if we share our joys and sorrows with him, then we will experience the peace and joy that only God, who is infinite love, can give.
More and more people work on Sundays as a consequence of the competitiveness imposed by a consumer society.
This Christmas may we be consistent in living the Gospel, welcoming Jesus into the centre of our lives.
I do not believe that civilizations have to die because civilization is not an organism. It is a product of wills.
Sometimes a disappearance can be more haunting than an apparition.
As a rule it is circumstances that make men.
To advance the Gospel by political lobbying, by any form of pragmatism, shallow Gospel entertainment, emotional manipulation, acceptance of sin and sinners, is to cross over into the devil's work.
There is...a spiritual hunger in the world today and it cannot be satisfied...by better cars on longer credit terms.
Anti-black racism operates at a society-wide level and colludes in a seamless web of policies, practices, and beliefs to oppress and disempower black communities.
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