Universal call to holiness

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Universal call to holiness

Universal Call to Holiness and Apostolate is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
that all people are called to be holy

SACRED

SACRED was a Cubesat built by the Student Satellite Program of the University of Arizona. It was the product of the work of about 50 students, ranging from college freshmen to Ph....
. (See Lumen Gentium

Lumen Gentium

Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. The Constitution was promulgated by Pope Paul VI on November 21, 1964, following approval by the assembled bishops by a vote of 2,151 to 5....
, Chapter V) This Church teaching states that all within the church should live holy lives and spread holiness to others. This term is used by theologians primarily to stress that a Roman Catholic cannot think that a different standard applies to those who are "saint

Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
s", or those in the religious life.

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Universal Call to Holiness and Apostolate is a teaching of the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

SACRED

Lumen Gentium

Saint

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity and is revered by most Christian churches as the Son of God and the Incarnation ....
"Be ye perfect as your heavenly father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48 - The last line of the Antithesis of the Law).

The universal call to holiness in the Roman Catholic Church is rooted in baptism

Baptism

In Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted as a full member of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered....
, a sacrament

Sacrament

A sacrament, as defined in Hexam's Concise Dictionary of Religion is "a rite in which God is uniquely active." Augustine of Hippo defined a Christian sacrament as "a visible sign of an invisible reality." The Anglican Book of Common Prayer speaks of them as "an outward and visible sign of an inward and invisible Grace." Examples of sacram...
which configures a person to Jesus Christ who is God and man, thus uniting a person with the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity

Trinity

In Christianity doctrine, the Trinity is the unity of God the Father, God the Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in monotheism. The doctrine states that God is the Triune God, existing as three persons, or in the Greek hypostasis , but one being....
, bringing him in communion with intra-trinitarian life.

John Paul II

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
states in his apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte
Novo Millennio Ineunte

Novo Millennio Ineunte is an apostolic letter of Pope John Paul II, addressed to the Bishops Clergy and Laity, "At the Close of the Great Jubilee of 2000"....
, his master plan for the new millennium, a "program for all times", that holiness is not only a state but a task, whereby Christians should strive for a full Christian life, imitating Christ, the Son of God, who gave his life for God and for his neighbor. This entails a "training in the art of prayer

Prayer

Prayer is the act of communicating with a deity or spirit in worship. Specific forms of this may include praise, requesting divine providence, confessing sins, as an act of reparation or an expression of one's emotional expression....
". According to the Pope, all pastoral initiatives have to be set in relation to holiness, as this has to be the topmost priority of the Church. The universal call to holiness is explained as more fundamental than the vocational discernment

Vocational discernment in the Catholic Church

Vocational discernment in the Catholic Church is the process in which men or women in the Catholic Church discern, or determine their vocation in the Church....
to particular ways of life such as priesthood, marriage

Marriage

Marriage is a social, spirituality, or law union of individuals. This union may also be called matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a wedding and the married status created is sometimes called wedlock....
, or virginity

Virginity

A Virgin is, originally, a woman who has never had sexual intercourse. Virginity is the state of being a virgin. The term has traditionally also been applied to men....
.

The universal call to holiness is an important element in the spirituality of Opus Dei

Opus Dei

Opus Dei, formally known as The Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, is an organization of the Catholic Church that teaches the Catholic belief that everyone is called to holiness and that ordinary life is a path to sanctity....
, which emphasizes the sanctification of the lay people.