World Day of Consecrated Life
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| World Day for Consecrated Life is observed by the Church on the Feast of the Preservation of the Lord |
World Day for Consecrated Life: Invitation to
the synodal spirit of participation
Pope Francis will mark the World Day for Consecrated Life on Wednesday with a Eucharistic celebration in Rome’s St. Peter's Basilica.
Pope Saint John Paul II instituted the annual observance of the Catholic Church, marking it for the first time in 1997. He designated its celebration on February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life has addressed a letter to the world’s consecrated men and women inviting them to walk together as a community in the synodal spirit of participation, where members exercise responsibility for one another through mutual listening, excluding no one.
The joy of ‘we’
The Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz and Secretary, Archbishop Jose Rogriguez Carballo, who signed the letter, explain that this year’s message focuses on ‘participation”, the second word of the theme of the 2023 Synod: Communion, Participation and Mission.
Recalling the exhortation of Pope Francis, the message says, “no one, no one, should be excluded or feel excluded from this journey; no one, no one, should think ‘it doesn't concern me’.”
The message recalls that, by going back to their vocational call, consecrated persons will rediscover the enthusiasm, amazement and joy of feeling and being part of a project of love, for which others like them have also made their lives available for the good of humanity. The Vatican Congregation thus invites consecrated persons to revive this memory, warning that “over time it risks losing its strength, especially when we replace the attractiveness of ‘we’ with the strength of ‘I’”.
Participation of all
The first proof of participation is belonging, the message says, adding, “I cannot participate if I conceive of myself as the whole and do not recognize myself as part of a shared project.” Hence the importance of asking ourselves what this listening in the community consists of: “Who are the brothers and sisters we listen to and, before that, why do we listen to them?”
The Congregation invites consecrated men and women to the synodal journey of participation “strong in the conviction that we can only receive and give Good” because, as Pope Francis says, consecrated life is born, grows and can give evangelical fruits only in the Church, the living communion of the faithful People of God.
Responsibility
Participation thus becomes responsibility, whereby “we cannot but be among others and with others”. And even before that, synodality begins within us from a "change of mentality, from a personal conversion, in the community or fraternity, in our homes, workplaces and structures to expand into ministries and mission".
Thus, nourishing the synodal journey together that begins with listening, means making room for the other in our lives, taking seriously what is important to him or her. Participation also means co-responsibility, especially in the missionary dream of reaching out to all, of caring for all, of feeling that we are all brothers and sisters, together in life and in history, which is the history of salvation.
Credible Witnesses, Rejoice In The Lord
The first witness we give of God’s kingdom is living authentically
our consecrated life and the call to be credible witnesses of the Gospel
and a joyful presence in our world today.
By our vowed and communal life we reveal
a prophetic and counter-cultural way of acting and living
that shows respect for all peoples and our common home.
The richness of our unity and diversity makes us signs of a universal solidarity
in a society marked by brokenness, violence and divisions.
Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny
Missionary Priorities
Looking to the past with gratitude, living the present with passion and embracing the future with hope, as Pope Francis has asked us to do, we are:
- sisters with a missionary call
- rooted in prayer
- gathered together in community
- attentive to the cries of today’s world
- with total availability for the mission
- inserted into the local context
- while remaining open to the world
Learn more about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, visit our website and watch the testimonial of Sister Lorraine, S.J.C. here…
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