Here you will find a compilation of the texts of Pope
Paul VI cited or mentioned in the book Paths of Love.
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The universal vocation to holiness is the focus of
Vatican II
- God most kind, who is the source and crown and
glory of all holiness, always renews new examples of virtues in the
Church, and in the life of those who, "being partakers of our humanity,
are transformed more perfectly into the image of Christ... manifests
his presence and face more vividly to men" (Lumen
Gentium, n. 50) offers in them a bright sign of his
kingdom, so that he might powerfully attract us to gain it, surrounded
by a cloud of witnesses (Cf. Heb 12:1).
It is therefore no wonder that the Second Vatican
Council, treating of the mystery of the Church, set in a fuller light
this eminent mark of holiness, to which the other marks are closely
connected, and again and again called all the faithful, of whatever
condition or order, to the fullness of Christian life and the
perfection of charity (Cf. Lumen
Gentium, nn. 40-42); this exhortation to holiness may be
considered the most characteristic element of the council’s teaching,
and as its final goal. (Pope Paul VI, Sanctitas
Clarior, March 19, 1969.)
The special value of religious life
- It
must be admitted that the doctrine of the universal vocation of all the
faithful to holiness (regardless of their position or social
situation), has been put forth very much in modern times, and indeed
rightly so... All these things are happening by the counsel of Divine
Providence, and that is why We rejoice over such salutary undertakings.
However, we must be on guard lest, for this very reason, the
genuine notion of religious life as it has traditionally flourished in
the Church, should become obscured, and youth, when they think about
choosing of a way of life, be in some way hindered, due to their not
distinctly and clearly perceiving the special function and immutable
importance of the religious state within the Church... This state,
which receives its proper character from profession of the evangelical
vows, is a perfect way of living according to the example and teaching
of Jesus Christ. It aims at the growth of charity, and its final
perfection. In contrast, the specific ends, advantages and functions
proposed in other ways of life, though they are legitimate in
themselves, are temporal. (Pope Paul VI, Address to the General
Chapters of Religious Orders and Congregations, May 23, 1964).
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