In The Eight Doors of the Kingdom, Father Jacques Philippe quotes St. Therese of Lisieux, who said, “I don't want to be a saint by halves!” (Facebook.com/FrMatthewLC)
Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt 5:6). Our Lord also commanded us to be holy: “Be holy as your Heavenly Father is holy” (Mt 5:48).
Father Jacques Philippe, in his beautiful book The Eight Doors of the Kingdom, wrote, “The primary aspect of the hunger and thirst for justice is then simply a true desire for holiness expressed as an inseparable love of God and of neighbour: ‘I don’t want to be a saint by halves!’ St. Therese of Lisieux said.”
St. Therese (1873-1897) desired to become a saint. She strove to grow in holiness by doing ordinary little things extraordinarily well. Her “Little Way” helped to put holiness of life within the reach of ordinary people.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) was an admirer of St. Therese. She strove to satisfy the thirst of Christ by serving the poorest of the poor. In 1993, she explained the thirst of Christ in a letter. She wrote, “He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes – he is the one who always accepts you.” Our hunger and thirst for holiness help to satisfy the thirst of Christ.
St. Francis de Sales (1567-1622) taught that holiness is not only for priests and religious. His spiritual classic An Introduction to the Devout Life was written to help ordinary people grow in holiness. In the introduction of the book, he wrote, “It is an error and even a heresy to wish to exclude the exercise of devotion from military divisions, from the artisans’ shops, from the courts of princes, from family households … Therefore, in whatever situations we happen to be, we can and we must aspire to the life of perfection.”
St. John XXIII (1881-1963) had St. Francis de Sales as his life-long model. He was the Pope who convoked the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). After the death of John XXIII, the council was continued and concluded by his successor, St. Paul VI (1897-1978). One of the important messages of the Second Vatican Council is the “Universal Call to Holiness.”
The central document of the Second Vatican Council is the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. The heart of this document is Chapter 5 on the universal call to holiness. This holiness consists in the perfection of charity.
The document states: “Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: ‘For this is the will of God, your sanctification.’”
A theological writer pointed out that from Chapter 5 of Lumen Gentium we learn about two basic attitudes which foster holiness: 1) the spirit to accept all things as coming from the loving hand of God, and 2) the aim to do all things in accordance with God’s will out of love for him.
The teachings of the Second Vatican Council brought great joy to St. Josemaria Escriva (1902-1975) who founded Opus Dei to foster holiness among the faithful. The Collect of the Mass for the Memorial of St. Josemaria began with these words: “O God, who raised up your priest Saint Josemaria in the Church to proclaim the universal call to holiness and the apostolate …”
St. John Paul II (1920-2005), who canonized St. Josemaria in 2002, wrote, “The universal call to holiness is closely linked to the universal call to mission. Every member of the faithful is called to holiness and to mission.” John Paul II fostered holiness in the Church by canonizing and beatifying many holy men and women. He canonized 482 saints and declared 1m327 people “blessed.”
The French Sulpician Father Adolph Tanquerey (1854-1932) wrote, “Based upon supernatural convictions, the desire for perfection takes root and grows chiefly through meditation and prayer.”
現代聖賢響應普世成聖的召叫
基督耶穌說：「飢渴慕義的人是有福的，因為他們要得飽飫。（瑪竇福音5:6）」吾主亦命令我們要成聖，說：「所以你們應當是成全的，如同你們的天父是成全的一樣。（瑪竇福音5:48）」
在他那美麗箸作「天國的八扇門」，雅克.菲利蒲神父寫道：「飢渴慕義最基本的層面是渴望成聖，以對 天主和近人不可分割的愛來表達。聖女小德蘭說：『我不要只做半個聖人。』」
聖女小德蘭（1873-1897）為了想要成聖，努力在小事情上做到最好。她的「神嬰小道」幫助一般人在日常生活中成聖。
印度加耳各答的聖德蘭修女（1910-1997）極其欣賞小德蘭。她為滿足基督的渴求，努力服務最窮苦的窮人。1993年在一封信件中，聖德蘭修女解釋了基督的渴：「祂渴望著你；祂常愛著你 ── 即使你感到自己不配。當別人不容納你，或甚至你都不接受自己，但祂仍然常常接納你。」
聖方濟.沙雷（1567-1622）教導，成聖非只為神職及修道人員；他「成聖捷徑」一書，幫助普通人如何成聖。書中的開端寫道：「假如把敬主的熱心，從軍旅中、工匠中、貴冑中、家庭生活中剔除，是絕大的錯誤，甚至等同異端的言論…。所以，無論任何情況下，我們可以和應該矢志渡成全向生活。」
教宗聖若望二十三世（1881-1963）終生以聖方濟.沙雷為修德的楷模。他在1962年召開梵蒂崗第二次大公會議，死後由他的承繼人教宗聖保祿六世（1897-1978）繼續主持，直到1965年結束。梵蒂崗第二次大公會議其中帶出最重要的訊息，是「普世成聖的召叫」。
梵蒂崗第二次大公會議的「教會憲章」第五章，是整個文獻的中心 ──「普世成聖的召叫」── 成聖在乎成全的愛德。
文獻說明：「所以在教會內，無論處於聖統制內或聖統制下的人，都被召叫成聖；因為宗徒們說過：『天主的旨意就是要你們成聖』。」
有關這章節的文獻，曾有一位神學作家指出，兩種心態幫助促進成聖：1) 接受一切偕來自天主慈愛的手；2) 為愛天主而願意遵循天主聖意去作一切事。
梵蒂崗第二次大公會議的訓導，帶給主業會創辦人聖施禮華莫大的喜悅，他要他『主業團』的神子們，響應成聖的召喚。紀念聖施禮華彌撒中的集禱經如此作開端：「天主，祢在祢的教會裡，提拔了祢的司鐸聖施禮華，宣揚了成聖及福傳的普世召喚 …」
教宗聖若望保祿二世在2002年把施禮華神父宣聖時，寫道：「普世成聖的召喚，緊貼著普世傳教的召叫，每一位信眾都有成聖及福傳的召叶。」他突顯教會內的聖善，把482位男女宣聖，又把1327位信徒宣福。
阿道夫.坦克里神父指出：對成聖的渴望是主要植根於及成長自默想和祈禱。