What is holiness?

What Does holiness Mean

Holiness , a term that comes from the Latin word sanctĭtas , is the characteristic of one who is holy . This adjective (holy) can refer to the caring individual who is not at fault . In the religious sphere, a saint is a subject who developed a special bond with a divine being or who stands out for his ethics and moral values.

In this way, we can differentiate between two uses of the notions of saint and holiness that, although they are similar, have different specific meanings. In colloquial language, these ideas often mention the solidarity , mercy , kindness or clemency of a person: "The woman again showed her sanctity by accompanying her husband to the martial arts festival and then to the heavy metal concert" , "Jana began to show her holiness since she was little, when she gave her toys to the poor children of the neighborhood . "

Much has been said and written about holiness. However, the most relevant aspects according to the religious regarding it are collected in the "Bible" itself, which indicates how to live in holiness. Specifically, it is determined that whoever wishes to do so must strictly follow the following instructions:

-Must be a fasting practitioner.

-You have to study and obey each and every one of the aspects that are established as principles in the aforementioned "Bible".

-It is necessary to know how to forgive.

-Of course, it is essential to be aware of the power of prayer.

-In the same way, it is established that in order to live in holiness it is necessary to flee from all kinds of temptations.

-Justice must be practiced.

-It is important not to carry out the satisfaction of what the desires of the flesh are.
For religion , on the other hand, holiness is a quality possessed by those people who were declared holy. In Catholicism, individuals become saints through a process called canonization .
The Pope is in charge of carrying out the canonization after confirming the sanctity of the person through an analysis of his heroic virtues with respect to his Christian qualities and to determine if, for reasons of faith, he suffered a martyrdom. The saints, moreover, must have performed two or more miracles .
It should be noted that when the concept of holiness is written with an initial capital letter ( Holiness ), it is an honorary treatment granted to the Pope : "His Holiness will visit France next week" , "At Mass this morning, His Holiness condemned the war ” .
In reference to the Supreme Pontiff, it is interesting to highlight the existence of a book, which was published in 2012 and entitled "His Holiness: The secret papers of Benedict XVI." The Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi was the one who undertook the realization of this work, which is fundamentally based on the correspondence that the aforementioned Pope carried out, especially with his personal secretary, who was none other than the German priest Georg Gänswein. Documentation is that it puts on the table from details of scandals related to members of the Church to alleged bribes that were undertaken with the sole objective of being able to obtain an audience with the Pontiff.

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