The precepts of holiness appear in the Bible.
Holiness , a term that comes from the Latin word sanctĭtas , is the characteristic of one who is holy . This adjective (saint) can refer to the kind individual who is blameless . 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 similar, have different specific meanings. In colloquial language, these ideas usually mention a person's solidarity , mercy , kindness or clemency : "The woman once again showed off her holiness by accompanying her husband to the martial arts festival and then to the heavy metal concert." "Jana began to show her holiness from a young age, when she gave her toys to poor children in the neighborhood."
Holiness in the Bible
Much has been said and written about holiness. However, the most relevant aspects according to religious people regarding it appear collected in the Bible itself, which indicates how one should live in holiness. Specifically, it is determined that whoever wishes to do so must follow the following instructions strictly:
-Must be a fasting practitioner.
-You have to study and obey each and every one of the aspects 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 types of temptations.
-Justice must be practiced.
-It is important not to carry out the satisfaction of what are the desires of the flesh.
For religion , then, holiness is a quality possessed by those people who were declared holy. In Catholicism, individuals become saints through a process called canonization .
The pope usually receives the honorary treatment of His Holiness.
The role of the Pope
The pope is in charge of carrying out the canonization after confirming the sanctity of the person through an analysis of their heroic virtues with respect to their Christian qualities and determining whether, for reasons of faith, they suffered martyrdom. The saints, in addition, must have performed two or more miracles .
It should be noted that, when the concept of holiness is written with a capital letter ( Holiness ), it is a treatment of honor that is 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 was titled "His Holiness: The Secret Papers of Benedict XVI." The Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi was the one who undertook the creation 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. This documentation puts on the table everything 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 .