The universal call to holiness is a teaching that St. Paul preaches in his letters. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.
He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace.” (Eph 1: 3-6) Also in his First Letter to the Thessalonians he writes: “For this is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thes 4: 3). Nevertheless, at some moments in the history of the church, this teaching was obscured, and had to be reminded by saints, such as St. Francis de Sales and St. Josemaria Escrivá; also, by Vatican II [1] and by Pope Francis in Gaudete Et Exultate: On the Call to Holiness in Today’s World.[2]
In regards to the universal call to holiness, Cervantes, through his protagonist, Don Quixote, defends this teaching, as is suggested in the following passage.[3] Don Quixote and Sancho have a discussion about fame; the master mentions the temples and tombs of famous people like the Emperor Hadrian and Queen Artemisia but reports there was nothing in them that would indicate that the people buried there were saints. Here is Sancho’s reply and the rest of the conversation:
“I’m coming to that,” said Sancho. “Tell me now, which is the greater thing: to bring a dead man to life or to kill a giant?”
“The answer is obvious,” replied Don Quixote. “To bring the dead to life, of course.”
“Ah,” said Sancho, “that is where I’ve caught you. Then, the fame of those who resurrect the dead, who give sight to the blind, who heal cripples and bring health to the sick, who have lamps burning in front of their tombs, and whose chapels are thronged with devout people kneeling and adorning their relics will be a better one in this life and in the next than the fame of all the heathen emperors and knights-errant in all the world.”
“I’ll grant you that one also,” replied Don Quixote.
“Well then,” continued Sancho, “as this fame, the favors, these privileges, or whatever you call them, belong to the bodies and relics of the saints, who with the approval and permission of Our Holy Mother the Church, have lamps, candles, shrouds, crutches, paintings, locks of hair, eyes, legs, to spread their Christian fame abroad. Kings carry the bodies of relics of the saints on their shoulders, kiss the pieces of their bones, and decorate and enrich the chapels and their favorite altars with them.”
“What do you mean to infer, Sancho, from all that you have said?” asked Don Quixote.
“I mean to say,” replied Sancho, “that we might set about becoming saints. Then we shall get the good name we’re after all the sooner. You may remember, sir, that yesterday or the day before—it was so recently that we may say this—they canonized or beatified two little barefoot friars, and now people think it very lucky to kiss and touch the iron chains with which they girt and tormented their bodies. Those chains, they say, are held in greater veneration than Orlando’s sword in the armory of the king, God bless him. So, dear master, it’s better to be a humble little friar of any order you like than a valiant knight-errant. A couple of dozen lashings will carry more weight with God than a couple of thousand lance thrusts, whether they be given to giants, dragons, or other monsters.”
“I agree with all that,” said Don Quixote, “but we cannot all be friars and there are many paths by which God takes his own to Heaven. Chivalry is a religion, and there are sainted knights in His glory.”(II, 8, 507)
Not only do we find in the novel, Don Quixote, the conviction that every baptized person is called to holiness but also the concrete example of the layman, Don Diego de Miranda, who fervently desires to follow that call.
“I, Knight of the Rueful Figure, am a gentleman and native of a village where, please God, we shall go to dine today. I am more than moderately rich, and my name is Don Diego de Miranda. I spend my life with my wife, my children, and my friends. My pursuits are hunting and fishing, but I keep neither hawk nor hounds, but only a quiet pointer and a saucy ferret or two. I have about six dozen books, some in Spanish and some in Latin, some historical and some devotional, but books of chivalry have never ever crossed my threshold. I read profane books more than devotional, provided they give me honest entertainment, delight me by their language, and startle and keep me in suspense by their plots, though there are very few of this kind in Spain. Sometimes I dine with my neighbors and friends, and very often they are my guests. My table is clean, well appointed, and never stinted. I take no pleasure in scandal and allow none in my presence; I do not pry into my neighbors’ lives, nor do I spy on other men’s actions. I hear Mass every day; I share my goods with the poor, without boasting of my good works, lest hypocrisy and vainglory worm themselves into my heart, for they are foes that subtly waylay even the wariest. I try to make peace between those I know to be at loggerheads. I am devoted to Our Lady and always put my trust in the infinite mercy of Our Lord.”
Sancho listened most attentively to the account of the gentleman’s life and occupation, and he said to himself that it was a good and holy life and that the man who led it must be able to work miracles. So, flinging himself off Dapple and hastily seizing the gentleman’s right stirrup, devoutly and almost in tears he kissed his feet again and again.
At this the gentleman exclaimed: “What are you doing, brother? Why these kisses?”
“Let me kiss you,” answered Sancho, “for I do believe your worship’s the first saint I’ve seen riding with short stirrups in all the days of my life.”
“I am no saint,” replied the gentleman, “but a great sinner. But you, brother, must be good; your simplicity proves it.”
Sancho regained the saddle, after having succeeded in extracting a laugh out of his melancholy master and causing fresh amazement in Don Diego. (II, 16; 633-634)
Don Quixote’s laughter is not one of irony; it is mostly a celebration of the simplicity of Sancho and an expression of empathy. Don Diego and his son, Don Lorenzo, treat the Don with respect and charity throughout the episode, even admiring him for the eloquence and wisdom that lies underneath his madness. Don Diego is sincere with the Don about how mistaken he is in considering himself a knight-errant; nevertheless, he always acts with tact, compassion and understanding.
The treatment that the Miranda family offers Don Quixote contrasts dramatically with the one he receives in the palace of the dukes, who as the narrator observes: “came within a hair’s breadth of looking like fools for taking such immense trouble to play tricks on a pair of fools.” (II, 70; 1023)
In Conclusion, because of the passages introduced above, it is reasonable to affirm that Cervantes in aware of the importance of the teaching of the universal call to holiness for all the baptized, regardless of their specific vocation.
Egberto Bermúdez
[1] Chapter V (The Universal Call to Holiness in the Church) of Lumen Gentium (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church) https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html
[2] Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by labouring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.
http://www.vatican.va/content/francescomobile/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20180319_gaudete-et-exsultate.html
[3] Miguel de Cervantes. Don Quixote. Trans. Walter Starkie.
New York: New American Library, 1979.
