OFFICE FOR SOCIAL MINISTRY
“My modest goal is to propose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. (From Pope Francis’ apostolic exhortation “Rejoice and Be Glad: A Call to Holiness in Today’s World”)
“Seeing and acting with mercy: that is holiness.” Pope Francis begins his recent apostolic letter by saying, “I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbors, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence.”
Vivid images of “next-door” holiness appear every day. For example, after the recent devastating floods on Kauai and in Waimanalo and East Honolulu, residents, businesses, government leaders, military personnel and charitable organizations turned out in force to assist with clean up, rescue, recovery and emergency efforts. “Next-door saints” are still offering food, water, medicine and supplies for those stranded in the aftermath of the deluge.
Pope Francis points out, “Just as you cannot understand Christ apart from the kingdom he came to bring, so too your personal mission is inseparable from the building of that kingdom. Your identification with Christ and his will involves a commitment to build with him that kingdom of love, justice and universal peace.”
During a recent Easter Week retreat at Our Lady of Keaau on Oahu’s leeward coast, parish social ministers from around Hawaii gathered to talk story about ways to build the kingdom of God. One inspiring example of “practical holiness” came from an 83-year-old Micronesian great-great grandmother who volunteers at her parish food pantry to help feed other hungry kupuna. This “youthful heart” of a “next-door saint” is also working on ways to offer exercise and nutrition classes, and adult education sessions for diabetes prevention and fire protection.
Another example of next-door neighbor saints came during a recent diocesan staff visit to Christ Our Hope Catholic Parish in downtown Seattle located in an affordable housing complex for the formerly homeless. The pastor told a story of how during Mass one Easter, a mentally-disturbed resident suddenly started running toward the altar screaming unintelligibly. As ushers tried to restrain her, the woman’s neighbor simply reached for a lily next to the altar and handed it to her, calming the woman immediately. By responding with compassionate holiness, all were able to celebrate the Risen Christ.
In “Rejoice and be Glad,” Pope Francis points to the Beatitudes as a clear response to what one must do to be a good Christian. “The answer is clear. We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount. In the Beatitudes, we find a portrait of the Master, which we are called to reflect in our daily lives.”
In the first Beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” Pope Francis says we are all called to “peer into the depths of our hearts, to see where we find our security in life. Usually the rich feel secure in their wealth, and think that, if that wealth is threatened, the whole meaning of their earthly life can collapse. Indeed, once we think we are rich, we can become so self-satisfied that we leave no room for God’s word, for the love of our brothers and sisters, or for the enjoyment of the most important things in life. In this way, we miss out on the greatest treasure of all.”
The Beatitudes are embodied all around us. At the Sisters of St. Francis facility Our Lady of Keaau, staff and volunteers who are formerly homeless or houseless Hawaiians, now live there, using their wealth of time and talent “for the love of others,” cooking food for those still struggling to survive on the beaches, helping others fix the cars they live in, and repairing aging bungalows for hospice patients and their families temporarily staying at the center.
In the next several Talk Story columns we will be sharing more inspiring reflections from Pope Francis “Rejoice and Be Glad” and images of how the Beatitudes are embodied here in Hawaii. For the full text of “Rejoice and Be Glad,” visit http://www.officeforsocialministry.org/rejoice-and-be-glad-on-the-call-to-holiness.
Mahalo,
Your friends at the Office for Social Ministry
