Called to Sanctity [[UPDATED May 5]]

Among the letters and photos saved among the boxes on top of my armoire is one from a priest who had been involved with the parish Holy Name Society during the years of my father's leadership on the national level. It is a letter of condolence to my mom upon Dad's death, and it includes the line, "I am convinced that Jim was a real saint!"

Pope Francis this week is telling all of us that "real saints" is what we are all meant to be, and in his new document, "Gaudete et Exsultate" (Rejoice and Be Glad), he takes the time to show us what this entails. He also points out some of the major obstacles, both time-tested and more novel (the danger of "verbal violence through the internet," for example), and the fruits of genuine holiness: those works of mercy we spent a year meditating on.

I can't say much more than this, because I haven't had a chance to actually read the whole document myself. But I did want to give you a timely link.

Our Sister Lorraine is right now preparing a downloadable study guide; as soon as that is available I will add the link to this post, so keep checking back (or checking Twitter @nunblogger for the link). 

May 5 UPDATE: Here's the link for the free study guide for Gaudete et Exsultate by our own Sr. Lorraine!