All saints, it's possible
Holiness is a vocation for all Christians of any condition. It is not reserved for some exceptional people or for some particular categories (priests, friars, nuns, missionaries); but it is for all disciples of Jesus, including lay people, women and men who remain in ordinary conditions of life. Saint Paul calls Christians “The saints”; but at the same time he exhorts them: “This is the will of God, your sanctification”. Saint Peter greets them with emotion "You are the holy nation, the people that God has purchased for himself... called from darkness to his admirable light". But he immediately adds: "Let your conduct among the pagans be irreproachable, so that when they see your good works they come to glorify God." And Jesus told the disciples that they are the salt of the earth, the light of the world; they were chosen to be the sign in the history of God who comes and is present, for this reason a superior sanctity is required of them: "It was said to the ancients... but I say to you". Christians are expected to show greater respect for the life and dignity of man; more marital fidelity and stability in marriage; more sincerity and transparency, more love for others, including enemies. “Be ye therefore perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
But what is Christian holiness?
It does not consist of experiences and phenomena outside the normal, which may sometimes accompany it: arduous practices of asceticism, escape from the world, prolonged meditation; miraculous healings, visions, prophecies, infused science; phenomena of ecstasy, levitation, bilocation, stigmata, luminosity. Holiness, although taking on different modalities according to the different particular vocations and according to the history and gifts of each individual person, is fundamentally identified with faith, hope and charity concretely lived every day in all relationships and activities. God calls us to holiness in our ordinary life, which can be even more important than prodigious gifts and deeds. Everything is a gift and a task. Every person and everything, every event and every situation, every joy and every suffering, family and friendship, school and work, culture and politics, free time and entertainment: everything is a possibility of good.
It seems easy, but there is a path
At first glance it even seems easy. But is not so. We need a tough fight not only against the conditioning of society, but against ourselves, our inclinations, our immediate interest. “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” You have to lose your life to get it back, die every day to be resurrected with Christ. Everyone has their own path, but the words of John Paul II apply to everyone: “Do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative and lovers of prayer; consistent with your faith and generous in service to your brothers, active members of the Church and makers of peace. To carry out this demanding life project, remain listening to his Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially from the Eucharist and Penance". The first thing, therefore, is not to be afraid of holiness. Believing that becoming a saint is beautiful and possible.
Almost a century has passed since the death of the son of Lorenzo and Maria Bianchi, the ninth of thirteen brothers. Yet Luigi Guanella is more alive and relevant than ever. He is so because he is Holy - therefore in the eternal present of God - but also because his example of man made love is very current. We are here to celebrate him, but also to learn from him to be like Jesus.
Is it you, Jesus?
A group of young managers who had finished a week of training were running through the corridors of the airport. It was Friday evening and everyone wanted to go home for the weekend. They were late. The flight had already been called. While running, without meaning to, two of them stumbled into a fruit stand and hit a basket of apples. The apples fell and scattered on the ground. Without holding back, they kept running and managed to board the plane. All but one. He stopped feeling sorry for the owner of the apples. She yelled at her friends to continue without him and warned her wife that she would be arriving on the next flight. He returned to the Terminal and saw that all the apples were still scattered on the ground. The owner of the apples was a blind little girl who was now crying, while she bent over the floor, she tried to pick the apples, without anyone stopping to help her. The man, kneeling next to her, put the apples in her basket and helped her set up the counter again. As she did so, she realized that many had been ruined by falling. He took them and put them in the basket. He then said to the little girl: "Are you okay?". She nodded her head. He put a banknote in her hand: «Take them, please. I'm for the damage we've done. I hope I didn't ruin your day." As she walked away, the little girl shouted: "Lord...". He stopped and turned to look at her. And she: «Is it you, Jesus?».
Saints of all times
The lived Gospel is the most human thing there can be. This is proven by the thousand unknown and anonymous witnesses of our communities - individuals, families and parishes - and in a splendid way by the great host of saints who have crossed the centuries and the nations of every continent.
It is enough to remember their names to immediately understand their social and humanitarian impact: Benedict of Norcia, Francis and Clare of Assisi, Camillo de Lellis, Rita of Cascia, Giovanni Bosco, Francesca Cabrini, Daniele Comboni, Teresa of Calcutta, Luigi Guanella.
All the revelation of Jesus is in the word love, which is also His commandment. Without true love, marriages fall apart, religious life fails, the law of violence dominates relationships, unhappiness spreads and the poor are increasingly hungry. Jesus didn't just explain to us what love is: I gave you the example so that you do what I did. The canonization of Luigi Guanella is the re-proposal of Christian holiness. Evangelization would run if we were holier. To those looking for miracles, the great theologian Von Balthasar would reply: “The miracle would be holiness”.
