Vatican City, 01 November, 2019 / 11:45 am (ACI Africa).
The saints were real people whose strength to face daily challenges came from the grace of Jesus Christ, showing that everyone can be holy, Pope Francis said Friday on the Feast of All Saints Day.
“The saints of all times, which we all celebrate together today, are not simply symbols, distant human beings, unreachable,” he said Nov. 1.
“On the contrary, they are people who have lived with their feet on the ground,” he said. “They have experienced the daily toil of existence with its successes and its failures, finding in the Lord the strength to always get up and continue the journey.”
The saints demonstrate that holiness is not achieved alone, he said, but “is the fruit of the grace of God and of our free response to it.”
Pope Francis spoke about holiness in a message before the Angelus, which he led in honor of the Solemnity of All Saints. He stated that holiness is not only a gift from God, it is the “common vocation of the disciples of Christ.”