At the heart of the fifth chapter of Lumen Gentium is the teaching that the call to holiness is not limited to any one particular state in life, but is indeed universal, embracing all baptised Christians:

The Church, whose mystery is being set forth by this Sacred Synod, is believed to be indefectibly holy. Indeed Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised as “uniquely holy”, loved the Church as His bride, delivering Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her (Eph 5:25f). He united her to Himself as His own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Spirit for God’s glory.

Lumen Gentium, par. 39

Thus, as the Apostle affirms, everyone is called to holiness: “for this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3; see Eph 1:4). This being said, it is good to note that this holiness of the Church is continuously manifested, and needs to be manifested, in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful. This holiness is expressed in many ways in individuals who, in their respective walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity, thus causing the edification of others. For, ultimately, holiness consists in the perfection of that type of love called charity or agape.

In reflecting upon this, the Pope’s Preacher, Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, speaks the following words which we all, I believe, should reflect upon: “The first thing that needs to be done, when we speak about holiness, is to free this word from the apprehension and fear that it strikes in people because of certain mistaken ideas we have of it.” Often, we may come to associate holiness with something too arduous—almost ‘impossible’ to be reached by ‘ordinary’ individuals. Indeed, holiness can connote extraordinary phenomena and trials, but, Cantalamessa insists, “it is not to be identified with these things.” He emphasises that, “if all people are called to holiness, it is because, if understood correctly, it is within everyone’s reach and is a part of normal Christian life.” Holiness, in a sense, is an extraordinary state of being that can be reached by our ordinary-ness.

Amid all this, it is good to recall that the faithful are called by God, not because of their works (i.e., we do not primarily become holy because of the actions we commit), but according to God’s own purpose and grace. It is God who first gives us the capacity to collaborate with grace and to be able to do His will. Indeed, for we are first also justified in Jesus in the baptism of faith, through which we become sons of God and sharers in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). In this way, the Lord Jesus, the divine Teacher, remains the model of all perfection, standing as the author and consummator of this holiness of life: “be you therefore perfect, even as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

What is also beautiful to capture—and this is something that Lumen Gentium does not fail to emphasise—is the relationship between our growing in holiness and our flourishing and happiness. The Greek philosopher Aristotle, centuries earlier, had affirmed that human happiness lies ultimately in ‘contemplation’ of God. Lumen Gentium unpacks this and reveals to us that this happiness culminates in our union with Christ and in our role as adopted children of God. The Church, in this light, is seen as a means through which our ‘joy’ is fully achieved—in that it is through the Church and her Sacraments that our God-image (i.e., our potential to love and to know) is fully actualised and fulfilled! And there are different paths and vocations to reach this holiness. The single life, religious life, married life, consecrated life, and the priesthood, all are paths which help lead to this:

The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one—that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the Spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth. These people follow the poor Christ, the humble and cross-bearing Christ in order to be worthy of being sharers in His glory. Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith, which arouses hope and works through charity.

Lumen Gentium, par. 41

But throughout all this, we must keep in mind that sanctity and holiness are not only achieved by those whom the Church declares as Saints. Raniero Cantalamessa reminds us that:

Saints are like flowers: there are more of them than just the ones that get put on the altar. How many of them blossom and die hidden after having silently perfumed the air around them! How many of these hidden flowers have bloomed and bloom continually in the Church!

Raniero Cantalamessa, The Universal Call to Holiness, Second Advent Sermon (December 11, 2015)