SPRITUAL FORMATION

Holiness is nothing other than a life directed by doctrine. That is why spiritual formation and theological education interpenetrate one another. We believe that a holy life is the most fundamental service in the Church, and the animating principle of every other service. To embrace the call to holiness is to accept what God has revealed about His loving plan for us, for holiness is simply sharing in God's own life. Yet holiness is not a merely private matter. "Saints have always been the source and origin of renewal in the most difficult moments of the Church's history" (Pope John Paul II). Further, because "action follows upon being," the Church can only be the sacrament of Christ's mission if her members can say with St. Paul: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Gal 2:20).

"I have no hesitation in saying that all pastoral initiatives must be set in relation to holiness." - Pope John Paul II, As the Third Millennium Begins, 31