Gaudete et Exsultate: Rejoice and be glad! The call to holiness
 
Pope Francis’ third and latest apostolic exhortation makes the case for holiness for everyone. With the title drawn from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5:12), the document was released in early April. 
In the introduction, the Holy Father acknowledges that he wants to re-propose the call to holiness for all in a practical way for our own time, with all its “risks, challenges and opportunities.”
 
Growing in holiness, each in his or her own way
 
Through actions great and small, the pontiff says, we can each grow in holiness, encouraging particular attention to the “small gestures” of everyday kindness, patience, prayer and love. 
The exhortation, calling on the wisdom of Pope Benedict XVI, states that “In the end, it is Christ who loves in us; for holiness is nothing other than charity lived to the full.”  
Pope Francis warns against a faith that is barren, urging us to allow ourselves to be loved by God, guided by the Holy Spirit, and become the “salt of the earth and the light of the world.