CHOSEN BY THE LORD

...The Lord has chosen each one of us "to be holy and blameless before Him in love" (Eph 1:4). (2)

CONSTANT ADVANCE

The Letter to the Hebrews ... invites us to realize that "a great cloud of witnesses" (12:1) impels us to advance constantly towards the goal. These witnesses may include our own mothers, grandmothers or other loved ones (cf. 2 Tim 1:5). Their lives may not always have been perfect, yet even amid their faults and failings they kept moving forward and proved pleasing to the Lord. (3)

LIVES OF LOVE

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. (14)

A PATH OF HOLINESS

Let the grace of your baptism bear fruit in a path of holiness. Let everything be open to God; turn to Him in every situation. Do not be dismayed, for the power of the Holy Spirit enables you to do this ... In the Church, holy but made up of sinners, you will find everything you need to grow towards holiness. The Lord has bestowed on the Church the gifts of scripture, the sacraments, holy places, living communities, the witness of the saints and a multifaceted beauty that proceeds from God's love ... (15)

YOUR MISSION

A Christian cannot think of his or her mission on earth without seeing it as a path of holiness, for "this is the will of God, your sanctification" (1 Thess 4:3). Each saint is a mission, planned by the Father to reflect and embody, at a specific moment in history, a certain aspect of the Gospel. (19)

JESUS IS THE KEY

That mission has its fullest meaning in Christ, and can only be understood through Him. At its core, holiness is experiencing, in union with Christ, the mysteries of His life. (20)

ASK THE SPIRIT

Always ask the Spirit what Jesus expects from you at every moment of your life and in every decision you must make, so as to discern its place in the mission you have received. Allow the Spirit to forge in you the personal mystery that can reflect Jesus Christ in today's world. (23)

DON'T BE AFRAID

Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality or joy. On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when He created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self. To depend on God sets us free from every form of enslavement and leads us to recognize our great dignity. (32)

AIM HIGH

Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God's grace. For in the words of Leon Bloy, when all is said and done, "the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint." (34)

Source: Apostolic Exhortation Guadete et Exsultate, dated 3/19/2018)