Holiness - Bulletin 18/11/19
Holiness
Holiness is a favourite topic of Pope Francis. In 2018, he published a document entitled “Gaudate et Exultate: Apostolic Encyclical on the call to holiness in today’s world” which builds on the Second Vatican Council document, Lumen Gentium (1964), and its “universal call to holiness”. This is not reserved for a select few. It is something that we should all aspire to, with Jesus as our model.
In “Gaudate et Exultate”, Pope Francis says:
“7. 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. In their daily perseverance, I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence.”
Being holy doesn’t mean being perfect. It means striving to live for God, taking daily steps on a path to holiness through the small actions that are part of our daily interactions with each other and that conform us ever more clearly to the image of his Son. It is both a state and a process or journey. When boiled down to its purest essence, it can be best expressed in the phrase we all know, “Love your neighbour as you love yourself” together with the one that tends to be pushed to one side more easily, “Love your enemies”.
The Brothers’ Founder, Jean-Marie De La Mennais understood that we cannot achieve holiness and become like Jesus, our model and guide, in isolation. He called on the Brothers in his newly-formed teaching order to “Devenir saints en faisant des saints - Become holy (like the saints) by helping others to themselves become holy.” (The “others” here refers to the Brothers’ pupils in their schools). In other words, by helping our pupils to grow in goodness, to become better people, we are becoming better people ourselves.
I’m sure you will agree that this is something that we all can and should aspire to.
“Holiness” by Scott Underwood is one of the first modern praise and worship songs that I used in SFX Masses back in the early 2000s. It’s still one of my favourites.
“Holiness, holiness is what I long for…
So, take my heart and form it,
Take my mind and transform it,
Take my will and conform it,
To yours, to yours, O Lord.”
(original version)
(radio-friendly cover version by Sonic Flood)
Comments
A couple of years ago I worked for a teaching agency called E_Teach. They still send me stuff now and then. I received a message from them today providing insightful ideas from various educationalists about aspects of teaching. A short article entitled,
"15 traits to a successful teaching team," is very good I think.
https://www.eteach.com/blog/15-traits-of-a-successful-teaching-team?utm_source=email&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=etb2c001+candidate+newsletter+2019+november&dm_i=4UTN,97M0,150QC8,YUO4,1
When the idea of observations in classrooms first began, my colleagues and I used to do it the above way. It was a very stimulating and positive and encouraging process, then OFSTED came along and changed how to do it. Of course OFSTED knew better????
All the best,
Tony