The Fall edition of the Pilgrims’ Course starts this coming Tuesday October 29th at 6:30 pm in the Parish House, Fifth floor.
Next Sunday November 3rd we celebrate All Saints’ Sunday, one of the most joyous and hope filled celebrations of the liturgical year. I thought that it would be appropriate to prepare this celebration with a talk on what holiness is and whether we too are called to be saints, or ‘holy’.
Here is an abstract of the talk
“A saying I often heard in my youth as a monk is that “Saints are to be admired but not to be imitated”. Indeed, the way saints are usually portrayed emphasizes the heroic character of their dedication, the extraordinary character of their achievements and often the baffling extent of their self-denial. It must also be said that hagiography (the ways saints are represented in writings and figurative arts) has a tendency to hyperbole. From a theological viewpoint, holiness is not something to achieve but to welcome because only Christ is `the Holy One of God’ (Mk. 1.24) and, as Paul says, only him is “our sanctification” (1 Cor 1.30). To take an image from nature, flowers bloom to the extent that they remain exposed to the right amount of light. In the same way, holiness for us depends on how much we let ourselves to be forgiven, loved, and regenerated by the grace of God.”
The talk will be in person only.
I look forward to seeing you on Tuesday!
All blessings,
Fr Luigi Gioia
Theologian In Residence
