HOLINESS. – Separation from the profane, considered in God or in creatures. As an attribute of God, it is the divine essence itself insofar as it is transcendent, infinite perfection. Theologians distinguish in God ontological h. (God the Supreme Good toward whom all things tend) and moral h. (God insofar as he loves himself as the Supreme Good).
Holiness entails the complete absence of guilt. An ontological and a moral holiness are likewise distinguished in creatures. The former is predicated of them in relation to God, insofar as in their being they are consecrated to him: “holy” then amounts to “sacred.” Such are all things or persons segregated from profane uses and dedicated to the Divinity (such as altars, objects of worship, and religious). Moral holiness, on the other hand, belongs only to free beings; and it consists in the conformity of their will with the divine will.
In the supernatural moral order, holiness also entails an interior transformation, produced by Grace (v.), by the virtues and the gifts (v.). The soul is assimilated to God and united to him as a friend. It has the rights of an adopted daughter and shares in the divine inheritance through a special indwelling (v.) of the Most Holy Trinity. Such holiness
(phot. Marthaler) MOST HOLY VIRGIN MARY OF EINSIEDELN – Interior of the nave, viewed from the choir (first half of the eighteenth century) – Einsiedeln.
The Church, having received from Christ the mandate to teach, proposes in various ways the surest means of attaining s. concretely, especially in particular documents concerning Christian spirituality, in the approval of the Constitutions of religious Orders, in canonizing the saints, and in condemning errors.
From this magisterium it follows that s. consists practically in the exercise of the virtues to a heroic degree. This requires the faithful person to perform many acts of all the Christian virtues (whoever sins against one of them, even while possessing the others, cannot be a saint) to a degree higher than that common among the good, habitually, even in arduous circumstances, amid difficulties and impediments, and constantly. For how long? Certainly for a sufficiently prolonged period (P. Lambertini [Benedict XIV], De beatificatione etc., I. III, cap. 39, n. 5). Some calculate it approximately at ten years. There can be no heroic virtue, and therefore no s., mortification (v.), both interior and exterior.
The virtues in a heroic degree differ from ordinary virtues only in degree. The infused and acquired virtuous habits are in fact the same, and the promptness, ease, and alacrity proper to one who acts heroically are not essential but qualitative differences (Sum. Theol., 3ª, q. 7 a. 2; F. Suárez, In 3 divi Th., q. 7, a. 2). Infused contemplation is not required for s. (P. Lambertini, loc. cit., 26, n. 8). In the present condition of humanity, fallen through original sin, s. does not exclude occasional lapses into venial sins of frailty (Denz-U, 833). The saints, however, fall into them less than others, with less voluntariness; and as they progress in perfection, they grow in purity. This desire for purity leads them to practice frequent confession. Many saints confessed daily. Thus St. Caterina da Siena, Caterina di Svezia, Ignazio di Loyola, Francesco Saverio, Pietro Claver, Carlo Borromeo, Luigi Bertrando, Alfonso de' Liguori, and St. Leonardo de Porcemaurizio (cf. B. Saint-Jure, Commissar de N.-S. J.-C., III, cap. 10, § 9).
S. arises from a twofold principle, divine and human. God gives grace, and man gives cooperation. Since God never fails on his part, attaining s. requires the most active human cooperation, contrary to what was taught by the quietists and semi-quietists, who led to an erroneous and pernicious passivity (Denz-U, 471, 1221). One must know how to unite passivity—that is, docility to the guidance of the Holy Spirit—with activity. A certain ascetical method of life, ordering the means to be used for progressively attaining the various virtues, is useful.
Spiritual theology teaches various methods, according to the diversity of vocations, of the paths leading to God, and of the various dispositions and stages of development of souls. Among the most useful means of attaining s., especially at the beginning, one should recommend the use of good spiritual direction, which must lead souls to a life of prayer, that is, of elevation to God in its most varied forms; to an intense sacramental life, with careful practice of penance and of the Most Holy Eucharist; and finally to a life of mortification and self-denial, through which the faithful person succeeds in making the efforts necessary for s. and in overcoming obstacles. Among the means always recommended by the saints, the habit of recollection, silence, and retreat is important, together with flight from worldly vanities, which enable one to rise to heavenly things and to contemplate eternal values. In general, spiritual masters advise beginning the work of one’s own sanctification as early as possible, during youth (F. Charmot, La direction spirituelle, Paris 1934, pp. 30–56).
Although all are called to s. and therefore each person ought to desire it, religious and ecclesiastics are obliged to pursue it in a special way (CIC, cann. 124–26). The most recent pontiffs have particularly illustrated the nature of priestly s., demonstrating that, by virtue of their office and Holy Orders, priests must shine before the faithful, pure of every fault and endowed with no ordinary virtues.
In s. the supreme good is attained. Through it the individual is made good, filled with holy thoughts and desires and with holy love, ready for the greatest undertakings, rich in a superior beauty, already happy on earth through a foretaste of something of the joys of heaven, through intimate exultations arising from God’s indwelling in him, and through possession of true freedom and security, and therefore of peace. S. also radiates for the benefit of one’s neighbor, for no one assists humanity more than the saints. The saint helps, bears with others, forgives, and invites to goodness. The perfect cause new virtuous examples to arise wherever they pass. For their sake God remains appeased and pours down more graces upon the human race. Finally, s. brings about a greater glory of God. The saint realizes God’s glory objectively, insofar as he is God’s masterpiece, that is, an effect of the divine creative and redemptive activity; and subjectively, since his entire being is consumed in the praise, service, and love of God. The saint is like a hymn to divine goodness. The seven questions or petitions of the Pater noster find in the saint their fullest realization. Thus s., bringing divine sonship to its highest degree, is true and intimate friendship with God, and is praised by Scripture as the precious pearl, the hidden treasure, and the Kingdom of God (O. Zimmermann, op. cit., § 52, pp. 276–78).