Consecrated women and men
Feb 2 2021
To all consecrated persons,
We draw close to you on the eve of a day dear to us, and to all consecrated men arid women, a day dedicated to our wonderful vocation that makes God’s love for men, women and the entire universe shine forth in various ways. On February 2 in St Peter’s Basilica, at 5.30pm, we will celebrate the XXV World Day of Consecrated Life. Pope Francis will preside over the Eucharistic Celebration, void of the signs and joyful faces that illuminated it in previous years, yet nonetheless expressing the fruitful gratitude that characterises our lives.
With this letter, we wish to lessen the physical distance imposed on us for so many months by the pandemic and express to each of you, and to every community, our closeness as well as that of those working in this Dicastery. For months we have been following the news coming from the communities in various nations: they speak of bewilderment, the spread of infection, deaths, of human and economic difficulties, institutes that are decreasing in number, fears … but they also speak of a fidelity tested through suffering, courage, a serene witness even in the midst of pain or uncertainty, sharing every affliction and every wound, caring for and being close to the most needy, charity and service at the cost of one’s life (cf. Frufelli Tutti, ch. II).
We cannot mention all your names, but we ask the Lord’s blessing on each and every one of you, so that you may be able to move from “I” to “we”, realising that “we are all in the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together” (Pope Francis, Extraordinary moment of prayer, Friday, March 27, 2020). Be the Samaritans of these days, overcoming the temptation to turn inward and weep for yourselves, or to close your eyes to the pain, suffering, and poverty of so many men and women throughout the world.
In the Encyclical Fratelli Tutti, Pope Francis invites us to act together, to bring about a rebirth in everyone “a universal aspiration to fraternity” (n. 8), to dream together (n. 9) so that “in the face of presentday attempts to eliminate or ignore others, we may prove capable of responding with a new vision of fraternity and social friendship.. ,” (n. 6).
Consecrated men and women in religious, monastic and contemplative institutes, in secular institutes and new institutes, members of the ordo virginum, hermits, members of societies of apostolic life, we ask all of you to place this Encyclical at the centre of your life, formation and mission. We cannot disregard this truth any more: we are all brothers and sisters, as, in fact, we pray, not necessarily consciously of it, in the Our Father. “Without an openness to the Father of all, there will be no solid and stable reasons for an appeal to fraternity” (n. 272).
This Encyclical, written in a historical moment that Pope Francis himself has called ”the hour of truth,” is a precious gift for every form of consecrated life which, without denying the many wounds to fraternity, can find in it the roots of prophecy.
We are faced with a new call from the Holy Spirit. In light of the doctrine on the Church-communion, just as St John Paul II urged consecrated persons to “be true experts of communion and to practice the spirituality of communion” (Vita consecrata, n. 46), Pope Francis, drawing inspiration from St Francis, founder and inspirer of so many institutes of consecrated life, broadens the perspective and invites us to be architects of universal brotherhood, custodians of the common home, of the earth and of every creature (ct. Encyclical Laudato Si’). Brothers and sisters towards all, regardless of faith, culture and traditions, because the future is not “monochrome” (rd n. 100) and the world is like a polyhedron that lets its beauty shine through its different facets.
It is a question, then, of creating ways of accompanying, transforming and creating; of developing projects to promote a culture of encounter and dialogue between different peoples and generations; of starting with one’s own vocational community and then reaching to every corner of the earth and every creature, because, never as during this pandemic, have we experienced how everything is linked, everything is related, everything is connected (cf. Encyclical Laudato Si’).
“Let us dream, then, as a single human family, as fellow travellers sharing the same flesh, as children of the same earth which is our common home, each of us bringing the richness of his or her beliefs and convictions, each of us with his or her own voice, brothers and sisters all” (FT n. 8). Therefore, in light of this dream that is entrusted to our hands, to our passion, and to our perseverance, this coming February 2 will once again be a beautiful feast to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of our vocation and mission!
To Mary, our Mother, Mother of the Church, faithful woman, and in this year dedicated to Saint Joseph, her spouse, we entrust each of you. May you be strengthened in your living and loving faith, certain and joyful hope, humble and active charity. We invoke the blessing of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, our merciful God, on each of you.
João Braz Card De Aviz
Prefect
Jose Rodriguez Carballo, OFM
Archbishop Secreta
About the celebration
The celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, which will be observed for the first time on February 2, is intended to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels and, at the same time, is intended to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the fervour which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord.
The mission of the consecrated life in the present and in the future of the Church concerns not only those who have received this special charism, but the entire Christian community as well. In the postsynodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata issued in 1996, I wrote: “In effect, the consecrated life is at the very heart of the Church as a decisive element of her mission, since it ‘manifests the inner nature of the Christian calling’ and the striving of the whole Church as Bride towards union with her one Spouse” (VC 3). Thus, I would like to renew the invitation to consecrated persons to look to the future with confidence, relying on the fidelity of God and the power of his grace, who is always able to accomplish new wonders: “You have not only a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great task still to be accomplished! Look to the future, where the Spirit is sending you in order to do even greater things” (VC 110). — an extract from Pope John Paul II’s 1997 Message for the First World Day for Consecrated Life.
Abundant Hope Video Series About the celebration Amplify hope in religious life
Spark a conversation about religious life using this new video series of newer entrants talking about their lived experiences of intergenerational and intercultural vowed communal life.
The 2020 NRVC/CARA Study of Recent Vocations to Religious Life reported that newer entrants to religious life have abundant hope amid changing demographics.
These short two-minute videos from a variety of sisters, brothers, and priests can be used in vocation promotion as a way to demonstrate the vitality of consecrated life among our members who entered religious life since 2002. They can also be used in community conversations with NRVC’s Study and Reflection Guide to enhance vocation ministry.
All the videos can be accessed directly through the National Religious Vocation Conference YouTube Channel or through the links provided.
The NRVC will publish an additional 30 videos from senior members in partnership with SOAR! throughout the month of February.
https://nrvc.net/274/publication/4171/article/23469-abundant-hope-video-series – Herald Malaysia
