Pope's guides are ‘simple’ Saints

"In my life of faith, there are many saints, but not all of the guides on my path are great saints" Pope Benedict XVI confided Wednesday to thousands of pilgrims in St Peter’s Square for the General Audience as he concluded his series of lessons on the lives of the saints. “I look also to "simple” saints, those good people I see in my life who will never be canonized, who are normal people, so to speak, without visible heroism, but in whose every day goodness I see the truth of faith. This goodness which has matured them in the faith of the Church is for me the surest defence of Christianity and a sign of where the truth is. In the communion of saints, canonized and non-canonized, that the Church lives through Christ in all members of the heavens and the earth, we enjoy their presence and their company and nurture the firm hope of being able to imitate their way and one day share the same blessed life, eternal life. "

Pope Benedict went on to speak of the holiness to which each Christian is called. “Holiness is the fullness of the Christian life, a life in Christ; it consists in our being united to Christ, making our own his thoughts and actions, and conforming our lives to his. As such, it is chiefly the work of the Holy Spirit who is poured forth into our hearts through Baptism, making us sharers in the paschal mystery and enabling us to live a new life in union with the Risen Christ. Christian holiness is nothing other than the virtue of charity lived to its fullest”.

He concluded “In the pursuit of holiness, we allow the seed of God’s life and love to be cultivated by hearing his word and putting it into practice, by prayer and the celebration of the sacraments, by sacrifice and service of our brothers and sisters. The lives of the saints encourage us along this great path leading to the fullness of eternal life. By their prayers, and the grace of the Holy Spirit, may each of us live fully our Christian vocation and thus become a stone in that great mosaic of holiness which God is creating in history, so that the glory shining on the face of Christ may be seen in all its splendour”.

Following his reflections, in a special video message, Pope Benedict reached out to the other side of the planet to beam into the Third National Family Gathering currently under way in Melbourne Australia.

He said “I am pleased to send my warm greetings to all who are gathering at Xavier College in Melbourne for the Third National Family Gathering. This important event is an occasion for you not only to witness to the bonds of affection within your individual families, but also to deepen them with the wider family of God, which is the Church, so that you become protagonists of a new humanity, a renewed culture of love and unity, of life and stability, giving glory to God our Father at all times. I assure you of my prayers, especially for your children and for those who are ill. Commending you to the Holy Family of Nazareth and invoking the intercession of Saint Mary MacKillop, I willingly impart my Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of joy and peace”. Emer McCarthy reports: