On All Saints Day, pope says all are meant to answer call to be holy

Published: 2007-11-01

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Holiness is not a privilege reserved to a few people, but is a call that all men and women are meant to answer, Pope Benedict XVI said. "All human beings are called to holiness which, in the final analysis, consists in living as children of God, (living) in that 'likeness' to him in which they were created," the pope said Nov. 1, the feast of All Saints. "God invites everyone to be part of his holy people," said Pope Benedict, reciting the Angelus at midday as several thousand people gathered in the rain in St. Peter's Square. The saints "radiate the splendor of God's kingdom of love and truth," he said, telling English-speaking visitors in the square that Christians should look to the saints as real examples to follow. The pope said the church "wisely" placed the feasts of All Souls and All Saints next to each other on the calendar, encouraging Catholics to unite their prayers of thanks to God for the multitude of saints who have lived on the earth with prayers for all those who have died.

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