Scottish Catholic Observer

The Church is made up of sinners, and we should not be afraid to strive for holiness, Pope Francis said at his general audience this morning.

“Do not be afraid to aim for holiness and turn yourselves over to the love of God,” the Pope said to pilgrims gathered at St Peter’s Square.

The Pope reminded the Faithful that holiness does not mean performing extraordinary things but ‘carrying out daily things in an extraordinary way.’

“That is, with love, joy and faith,” he said.

The Holy Father reminded us that it is God, Himself, and not us, who makes the Church holy.

“How can we say the Church is holy when She is all too evidently made up of sinners?” he asked. “It is not ourselves, or our merits, which make the Church holy, but God Himself, through the infinite merits of Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.”

The Pope then invited the Faithful to strive for holiness and ‘to trust in God’s offer of loving mercy and to encounter Christ in the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist.’

The Holy Father finished by quoting 19th century French novelist and Catholic convert Leon Bloy in saying that: ‘there is only one sadness in life; that of not being saints.’

“Do not lose hope in holiness,” he said. “We travel all this way; Do we want to be holy? The Lord awaits us all with open arms to join in this path of holiness.”

In his message to English speaking pilgrims at the general audience this morning, Pope Francis welcomed a number of Scottish visitors to the Vatican.

“I invoke God’s blessings of joy and peace,” he said.

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