According to many, holiness is an unattainable ideal. Saints are said to be only those who never sin and dedicate their entire lives to the service of others. However, if this were true, the Church would probably have no one to declare holy or blessed. St. Paul shows us on his own example the fragility of Christian identity, but at the same time, he adds that the strength is perfectly manifested in weakness. Ordinary Christians are also the people of this world. They want to be happy, successful and secured, although the earthly goods should serve them primarily as a means to eternal good.
Is it possible that holiness is not just a pathetic phrase? Should we strive for it here on earth? If so, what exactly does it imply for family, public or consecrated life? Imre von Habsburg, Dominican monk Fr. Gregory Pine and Magdaléna Gerová, gynaecologist, mother of four children and vice president of the PloDar civic association will discuss these and similar topics.
Gynaecologist Magdaléna Gerová, MD, PhD, NFPMC (natural family planning medical consultant) is a mother of four children and vice-president of the PloDar civic association. As a physician, she is mainly involved in infertility treatment through RRM (previously known as NaProTechnology).
Archduke Imre was born in 1985 as the son of Carl Christian von Habsburg-Lothringen and Princess Marie-Astrid of Luxembourg. He currently lives in Geneva with his wife and four daughters. He works as a financial consultant, specialising in the promotion of ethically responsible investing in the light of the principles of Catholic moral teaching. He also serves as a Vice-President of Accueil Louis et Zélie, an organisation dedicated to guiding people and families in difficult life situations, in line with the legacy of St. Louis and St. Zélie Martin, parents of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Archduke Imre is also a promoter of the legacy of his great-grandfather, Blessed Emperor Charles, about whom he has lectured in various countries. It is through his great-grandfather Charles that he is linked to the history of the Habsburgs and other families that have ruled Central Europe since the earliest times. Among other things, he is (in the 35th generation) a direct descendant of St. Ludmilla and her husband, the Bohemian prince Bořivoj, who was baptized in 882 in Great Moravia by St. Methodius.
Father Gregory Maria Pine is a Dominican friar who actively spreads the teaching of St. Thomas Aquinas through the podcasts Pints with Aquinas and Godsplaining. In his latest book, Prudence: Choose Confidently, Live Boldly, he discusses prudence as the chief virtue that brings to one's life order, integrity, happiness, and freedom. Father Gregory studied at the University of Steubenville and the Dominican House of Studies. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in dogmatic theology at the University of Fribourg (Switzerland). In the past, he worked with students at the Thomistic Institute as an assistant director.
He studied law at the University of Vienna and works as an assistant at the University of Wiener Neustadt. He specializes in European law, legal philosophy and church history. He takes interest in what is happening in the Catholic Church. He is a member of the chairmainship of Ladislav Hanus Fellowship.
