Holiness, as taught by our Founder, is not a distant or unattainable ideal but the core of every Christian's vocation. It is both a grace and a task, requiring us to be faithful to the love of Christ in the realities of our daily lives. With the canonization of our Founder, celebrated on October 23, we are reminded that holiness is not just for a select few, but for all Christians.
Our Founder understood that holiness is not a passive state but something that demands ongoing cooperation with God's grace. “Holiness is the fruit of love,” he wrote (Pastoral Letter, 1912, p. 47), underscoring that we must live out Christ’s love in our encounters with others, particularly the poor, both in their material and spiritual needs. The suffering of others—for instance, those who have lost their homes or lives because of the typhoons here in the Philippines, those who feel abandoned in times of crisis, the victims of wars, those who don’t try to know Christ,…—calls us to live Christ’s love authentically, bringing the hope of the Gospel. For a missionary, the call to holiness means being grounded in reality and to not ignore the needy because it’s what the Gospel invites us to. He expressed it in his personal project of life like this: “Remembering that love is nothing more than the patience, I will strive to please the Lord by carrying out faithfully every day, every moment, all my duties towards God and neighbor, in spite of all the trouble, repugnance, and difficulties I may encounter in doing so. Love is made manifest in action.” (Personal Project of Life of Saint Guido Maria Conforti by Gugliemo Camera, p. 52). Fr. Camera, of happy memory, confirmed that this was a piece of testimony from the Founder’s canonization process: He loved his neighbor. So, we can understand that holiness is not something disconnected from real life.
However, this call is not without its difficulties. Holiness, as our Founder often said, requires effort. “God offers His grace freely, but we must respond with a heart that is willing to strive daily towards holiness” (Circular letter, 1905, p. 94). This striving is not automatic, nor is it simple. It requires us to face ourselves honestly and allow Christ’s love to transform us day by day. And effort requires growing. Our Founder called us to grow in holiness through renewal and transformation. “To grow in holiness means we must profoundly renew our mind, our criteria of judgment, and our relationship of intimacy with Christ.” True holiness, then, is not an abstract concept of naivety; it is an ongoing act of faithfulness, shaped by our inner convictions and outward actions.
During my novitiate in Kinshasa in 2021-2022, I came to understand the possibility of holiness more deeply, thanks to the guidance of our novices’ master, who encouraged us to read the life of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus. Her book, The Story of a Soul, made me believe that holiness is possible for everyone, no matter how ordinary our lives may seem. St. Theresa spoke about the "small or narrow path" to holiness _not through grand acts but through humble, everyday gestures rooted in love for Christ. As she said, “I will seek out a means of getting to Heaven by a little way very short and very straight, a little way that is wholly new” (Story of a Soul, Chapter 9). Her life showed me that holiness can be found in being small, humble, and sincere in our daily actions, as she lived out an evangelical simplicity that brought her closer to God.
Our Founder echoed this same call. He believed that holiness is not only for extraordinary moments but for the ordinary routines of life, how we respond to the suffering of those around us, how we live out the Gospel, and how we remain attentive to Christ’s love in all that we do. “To be holy is to live each moment with an awareness that Christ’s love shines through us,” he wrote in his Circular Letter, 1905, p. 94. Our daily efforts, no matter how small, become opportunities for holiness when they are rooted in the love of Christ.
As we face global challenges—the countless people who still do not know Christ, the wars and killings ravaging parts of the world, particularly in Africa, such as in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where six million people have lost their lives since 1996, as well as the conflicts in Ukraine and Russia and the ongoing struggles in Israel against Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran—the call to holiness is even more urgent. These realities can make it seem as though the world is falling deeper into darkness. But Saint Guido Maria encouraged us to stay focusing on Christ as he declared: “In every encounter and situation I will keep Christ in my mind, asking myself how He would behave, think and act in similar circumstances, and I will strive to take my inspiration from him, since he is the divine model of the predestined.” (12 June 1927, Propositi, in Personal Project of Life of St. Guido Maria Conforti). Yet, it is precisely in these moments that we are called to be bearers of Christ’s love. Our Founder taught that holiness is necessary for us to be credible witnesses to the Gospel; he once said, "Holiness is the only path that leads us to true union with Christ and enables us to be effective missionaries of His love” (Homelies and speeches of Mons. Guido Maria Conforti, 1899, p. 22).
This task is not easy. Bringing the Gospel to those who do not know Christ or those who have given up their faith requires us to be trustworthy, living in such a way that others can see Christ’s love in our actions. Conversion is not something that happens automatically; it requires above all the presence of the Holy Spirit, credibility, humility, and a sincere reflection of Christ’s love in our lives. So we can understand with our Founder that Holiness is not merely a grace we receive but a path that we must walk with constant effort.
Our Founder’s canonization anniversaries, celebrated on Octobers 23, are a powerful grace for us. It reminds us that holiness is possible, not only for saints like St. Theresa but for each one of us. This call to holiness is not just a personal journey but a missionary call as well. The Founder and our texts express it beautifully: “The missionary must be attentive, first and foremost, to his own sanctification, that he may better work for the spiritual welfare of others.” It is through our striving for holiness that we become effective witnesses to the Gospel, carrying Christ’s love to those who do not yet know Him.
In these turbulent times, when the world is marked by suffering, secularization, and division, holiness becomes even more essential. It is through the small path of love—the path of St. Theresa—that we become instruments of Christ's love in a world that desperately needs it. Our Founder’s life of holiness teaches us that this path is possible for all if only we are willing to walk it, trusting in the grace of Christ to guide us.
I’d like to finish with this practical guideline found in the Personal Project of Life of Mgr. Guido Maria Conforti emphasized by Fr Camera:
“The Saints were usually formed on a fundamental rule of faith, which became for them a program of life. Following their example, I have chosen as the fundamental rule of my life to see God and Seek God in all things and in all people, considering and judging everything from this perspective. I will therefore cultivate the habit of God’s presence and I will live the supernatural life, which is the duty of every Christian soul, and even more so of a cleric” (12 June 1997 – proposit – in personal Project of Life, p. 60)
One question for you and for me as well: what is our excuse to not try?
