What is the Universal Call to Holiness?

Throughout these last few weeks I have been discussing the Universal Call to Holiness and how we can complete it. I have related many things to it but I have never completely focused an entire post to it. The Universal Call to Holiness is built and based off of Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. Scripture states, “In the Church everyone does not proceed by the same path, nevertheless all are called to sanctity and have received equal privilege of faith through the Justice of God.” The term used to show this mission is the universal call to holiness.

There are very many ways to respond to the call in the way that God intends us to respond. There are five responses that are proper and. Jesus taught us them so that we will be able to accept God which will lead us to heaven or paradise with God. The five responses are active and regular participation in the liturgy of the Church, especially the Holy Mass; Frequent reception of the sacraments, particularly the Sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation; A well-informed life of prayer as a focal point of each day; The practice of sacrifice and self-denial; The sanctification of ordinary life- family life, professional work, and all human relationships; and Our witness and apostolate in the Church community and in society.

Priesthood

I believe that all people in the world are called to do something. Whether it be to be a married person or to join to priesthood, we all have something we are called to do by God. As a priest says in the video, “it is not natural to be a priest, it is supernatural.” Another priest said that priesthood is anti-cultural. It is hard to overcome the pressures of society. Many people may be being called to be a priest or something else and they are just not hearing the call because all of the world’s distractions such as TV, movies, sports, cellphones, computers, parties, and many more things are blocking them. Not that any of those things are bad, they must be used in moderation and not be put in front of or before your relationship with God. All of us needs to keep our ears open and listen for the call that God is sending us. While he might not be clear with His message about what He wants you to do at this moment, at some point in our lives, it will become clear and that is the time we need to pay attention and listen to whatever call God gives us. The priesthood is an incredible calling that not all people are called to, but those who are called to the priesthood need to heed that calling and follow God because He has a plan for us all. Priests do m any things, such as being a counselor, but they are also a leader among their congregation and to all people who hear him. It is an important calling or job and if you are called to be a priest you need to take that calling. I found it touching when the priest got out of his car and blessed Matthew, the 17-year-old boy injured badly in a car crash. This shows priests are not only “on duty” while they are preaching or in their Church, but they are called to help people everywhere at any time. 

Stress

All teenagers who are currently attending a school right now are facing the one of the most stressful things all year...finals. Finals are a test at the end of the semester over everything you have covered throughout that semester. Every person in high school, middle school, or college are facing, about to face, or have already faced this difficult and very stressful task. It takes a lot of studying and the tests really affect your grade. This test usually causes stress to everybody facing them. Stress can be very harmful to the people it affects and those who care about that person.

What does the Bible say about stress? The Bible does not say anything specific about stress but it does constantly remind us about God is always with us. Sometimes when you are under stress you feel all alone and that can be the hardest thing to deal with but if you know God has a plan for you and is watching you, that can make all the difference.

Reflection on Papacy

In Apostolic tradition from On the Papacy, Apostolic tradition is described through examples and references from Scripture.  The letter talks about apostles along the line of Apostolic Tradition ranging from Papias to Pope Agatho. I picked apostolic tradition because of my limited prior knowledge on the subject.

This passage starts off with the question, “Is Scripture the sole rule of faith for Christians?” It then says no based off of the Bible’s references to the necessity of holding on to apostolic tradition. Then he mentions and describes how Paul tells us how important apostolic tradition is. An example of this is when the passage says, “I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I have delivered them to you.” Then the passage describes other Church fathers and their teachings on apostolic tradition such as, Eusebius of Caesarea, Clement of Alexandria, Cyprian of Carthage, and others.

I feel that this passage does a good job on getting the point of apostolic tradition across to the readers. It says, “Not according to the Bible.” This was in reference to the question asked, “Is Scripture the sole rule of faith for Christians?” The passage then goes to mention the references from the Bible about apostles, such as Paul, speaking of apostolic tradition. This tells us that that inspired writings of disciples of Christ shows us the importance of apostolic tradition. To make sure that the apostolic tradition is passed down after the deaths of the apostles Paul told Timothy, “What you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” This quote shows how Paul knew the importance of apostolic tradition and how he wanted it passed down to the fathers of the Church. The passage has good examples from Scripture and Church fathers proving apostolic tradition which do a good job of getting its points across and teaching its readers about apostolic tradition and just how important it is for Christians. 

I had very little knowledge on apostolic tradition so, I learned a lot from the passage and it gave me the opportunity to have some kind of thought on apostolic tradition. This passage did a good job on teaching me what apostolic tradition is and gave good examples for me too reference if I had any questions on it. “From them has come down to us in writing, the sound and orthodox faith received from tradition.”(Church History 4:21). This example come to the conclusion that apostolic tradition is very important. Our mission is to act like Christ each day and apostolic tradition shows just exactly how to do it. It helps us live like God every day by acting like the apostles. We are able to learn from Scripture how important apostolic tradition and that is leads me to believe so much of it. I feel apostolic tradition is essential to Christians.

This passage taught about apostolic tradition mainly through examples. These examples did a good job of informing and explaining apostolic tradition to the reader. This passage showed me just how important apostolic tradition really is to Christians. Overall this passage was very informative and convincing, I feel like I learned a lot from it and understand apostolic tradition a lot more than I did before I read this passage.