Sacred Ministry: Means to Holiness
The sanctity for an ecclesiastic must be found in his actions [the exercise of the sacred ministry] . (OOCC, X, p. 565; STA, 145)
St. Vincent Pallotti makes use of every means to attain holiness. A consecrated person spends most of his time in the sacred ministry. If the time he spends in ministering to the poor and the needy are not related to the attainment of holiness, then a great amount of time of an apostle’s life is not connected to his pursuit of holiness. For St. Vincent, apostolic ministry should never be disconnected from a person’s pursuit of holiness. On the other hand, the apostolic ministry should be one of the best means through which a consecrated person grows in holiness. He says that a person can become a saint in the exercise of his sacred ministry. A true apostolic ministry consists of making God known and loved. Whatever a consecrated person does for the people he is serving, he ultimately aims at helping them to know God and his love, thereby guiding them to respond to the love of the Lord. Becoming holy consists of working towards the attainment of greater knowledge of God, and loving God totally and fully. Thus, a consecrated person by his apostolic endeavor helps people to attain holiness. Since the main thrust of his apostolate is helping people to attain holiness, there is no doubt that his apostolate becomes a means to his own holiness. By his apostolate, a consecrated person leads other persons to know and love God and thereby attain holiness in their life. This also helps him to know and love God more and thereby attain his own personal holiness. Thus, as the result of his apostolate, a consecrated person not only attains the glory of an apostle, but also grows in his personal holiness.
Do I use my apostolic ministry as a means to my personal holiness? Is the pursuit of holiness connected to my sacred ministry? Do I lead others to holiness?
Like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (I Pet. 2: 5)