Gaudete et Exsultate, the third apostolic exhortation written by Pope Francis, reproposes the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. “God calls us to be saints in the midst of everyday life,” the Pope writes. Saints, not superheroes. And this invitation to holiness is extended to everyone, without exception.
The saints “next door”: this is the Pope’s thesis. “I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people,” he says, “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” (n. 7).
The Pontiff praises in a particular way “the ‘genius of woman,’ as seen in feminine styles of holiness, which are an essential means of reflecting God’s holiness in this world” (n.12). He cites Hildegard of Bingen, Brigid, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux and Edith Stein as examples, underscoring that “even in times when women tended to be most ignored or overlooked, the Holy Spirit raised up saints whose attractiveness produced new spiritual vigor and important reforms in the Church” (n. 12). But the history of the Church, he points out, “is also made up of all those unknown or forgotten women who, each in her own way, sustained and transformed families and communities by the power of their witness” (ibid.).
As Daughters of St. Paul, let us take to heart the Pope’s warning to avoid getting caught up in “superficial information, instant communication and virtual reality, where we can waste precious time and become indifferent to the suffering flesh of our brothers and sisters. Yet even amid this whirlwind of activity,” he insists, “the Gospel continues to resound, offering us the promise of a different life, a healthier and happier life. (n. 108).