VATICAN: Consecrated Men and Women Challenged to Revive Commitment to God’s Project of Love
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Religious men and women across the globe have been challenged to reawaken their commitment in the call to serve God’s people as the Catholic Church commemorates the 26th World Day for Consecrated Life.
In a statement published Tuesday, January 25, Cardinal João Braz de Aviz and Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo the Prefect and Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life respectively noted that Religious life, is “primarily a journey that challenges every vocational community in its visible expression of a communion of love, a reflection of the Trinitarian relationship, of its goodness and beauty, its capacity of awakening new energies to concretely face the present moment.”
The two officials reminded the Consecrated persons of the initial joy at the discovery of their vocation which needs to be renewed saying, “If we reconsider our vocational call, we rediscover the joy of being part of a project of Love for which brothers and sisters before us and with us, have offered their lives. There was such great enthusiasm at the beginning of our vocational stories, such amazement at discovering that the Lord is also calling rite to realize this dream of doing good for humanity!”
They added, “Let us revive and take care of our commitment because, as we know, it risks losing its strength over time, especially when the attractiveness of the “We” is replaced by the strength of the “I”
They further disclosed that the 2022 theme for the 26th Day of Consecrated Life has been extracted from the theme of the upcoming Synod focusing on “Participation” as key area of concern and highlighting to the Religious that “no one should exclude themselves or feel excluded from this journey, (and) let no one think “it doesn’t concern me.”
“The first characteristic of participation is that of belonging. I cannot participate if I consider myself as the whole if I don’t recognize myself us part of a shared project, and if I’m not firmly rooted in the conviction that the “body and its members must be united”, the Church leaders said in the co-signed statement reflecting on a message by Pope Francis to audience some time back.
Reminding the Consecrated persons that participation is a responsibility, the officials said, “We cannot fail to be among others and with others, and even more so in this call to become a synodal church! We are well aware that synodality begins from within: from a change of mentality, from a personal conversion, in our community, in the home, in the workplace, in our structures, extending into ministries and mission.”
“It is in that dynamic of the call and commitment that lies the root of this attitude of being part of the processes that affect the life of the community and of each person,” reads part of the Monday message to the Religious.”
The Church leaders concluded by narrating that participation takes the style of “co-responsibility” that is related not only to the organization and workings of the Church, but also to its very nature, communion, and ultimate meaning: the missionary dream of reaching out to all, of caring for all, of feeling that we are all brothers and sisters, united in life and in the history that is salvation history.
