Urgency to Sanctify Oneself
I will strive immediately for sanctification, without waiting for … later years … I will correspond with readiness, humility and gratitude to the gifts of the Lord … I will remove those obstacles that can impede my own sanctification; the greatest in me is pride. (OOCC, X, pp. 580 - 581; STA, 197)
In the spiritual agenda of St. Vincent Pallotti, the aspect he strived to achieve with greater urgency is his personal sanctification. He said that he would strive for sanctification immediately without waiting until he got older. For him, living a holy life is an everyday task, which begins early in life and continues until one’s death. In order to achieve his sanctification, he proposed two means. First, he decided to remove every obstacle that was capable of preventing him from attaining holiness and any obstacle that would slow down his ascent to God. He considered pride as one of the greatest obstacles that blocked his spiritual growth and attempted to overcome this vice every way possible. Second, having removed everything that obstructed and slowed down his spiritual journey, St. Vincent Pallotti decided to correspond to the gifts and blessings the Lord has showered on him with readiness, humility and gratitude. He accepted God’s graces with readiness and humility, thanked him for his condescension and utilized them fully for his spiritual advancement. Thus, St. Vincent used the simple formula of removal of obstacles and corresponding to God’s graces as the means to his personal sanctification.
Do I strive for my personal sanctification on a daily basis or postpone it for a later period? Do I attempt to remove the obstacles that prevent my spiritual growth? Which is my greatest vice? Do I correspond to the grace of God with readiness, humility and gratitude?
Be holy now in everything you do, just as the Lord is holy, who invited you to be his child. He himself has said, “You must be holy, for I am holy.” (I Pet. 1: 15-16)