The letter “Prophecy of presence: consecrated life where dignity is wounded and faith is tested”, sent by the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on the occasion of the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life, which is celebrated on Monday 2 February, offers key points that require serious thought.
The letter highlights the strong prophetic dimension of consecrated women and men, even though they often live in complex situations. In societies where political, social or institutional fragilities emerge, consecrated life is in fact an eloquent sign of a God who abandons no one.
Considering the different forms of consecration, the letter reiterates what unites all consecrated persons: “a single prophecy takes shape: to remain with love, without abandoning, without remaining silent, making one’s life the Word for this time in history”.
It is an invitation to examine our journey.
As consecrated women and men, how are we living our fidelity to Christ and to the Gospel? How do we overcome difficulties, and which aspects of our lives are we called to deepen or to convert?
Looking at the present situation, we sometimes risk believing that many things are going wrong. If we interpret events with faith, engaging both heart and mind, we can describe this as a time of transition, of crisis, that is, of a salutary passage. It is an opportunity given to us so that we, consecrated women and men, by revisiting the roots of our vocation, may re-centre ourselves with passion on Christ and the Gospel.
Today, there is much discussion of human fragility, which to a greater or lesser extent marks everyone’s life. How are we dealing with it? If it is acknowledged, accepted and managed, it can in fact be transformed into a resource, into positive energy for oneself and for others. When it conditions a person’s life, often making it disabling, it is because the individual allows himself or herself to be absorbed solely by wounds, without recognising a broad range of potentialities within, animated by the Spirit of God.
When a person connects all the levels that make him or her up – biological, psychological, spiritual or existential –, those same wounds can no longer condition the personal or communal journey, because they are recognised within a defined space that remains circumscribed within clear boundaries. When an individual welcomes his or her own wounds, all energies are activated and the person becomes a sign of hope, because “fragility makes us human” (Pope Francis, 4 January 2023).
Deep unification takes place when a person rediscovers within himself or herself the meaning of life, Christ and the Gospel, and accepts himself or herself as he or she is, without idealising themselves. Then the consecrated person resumes his or her journey with passion, is reconciled with himself or herself and with others, chooses to live evangelically without possessing anything, to serve everyone gratuitously without individual escapes, and without occupying spaces of power. By remaining deeply united to Christ, he or she discovers the concrete presence of others, near and far, and with them opens processes of self-giving and generativity without competition, even to the point of giving one’s life.
By placing Jesus Christ and the Gospel at the centre of his or her existence, the consecrated person commits all resources to safeguarding communion and the common good. He or she does not renounce personal thoughts, feelings, actions or personal projects, but constantly chooses to make the presence of Christ visible, through behaviour and through human and evangelical attitudes, everywhere and always, also waiting with hope for times of maturation, of both oneself and others.
One does not pursue ideals or programmes detached from reality, but constantly relates one’s own life, community and society to Jesus Christ. By living continually in His presence, the love of the Lord and the Gospel are made credible.
St Paul states that everyone is a temple of God (cf. 1 Cor 3:17). What helps us to unify our lives in Christ, without privatising time and space, and to remain open to listening to the Lord and to the women and men of our time?
The unregulated use of social media occupies much of our day. The deep silence that brings us into communion with God is often mortified and relationships are emptied of meaning. We hear but do not listen; we allow ourselves to be caught up in the multiplication of news without verifying sources; we let ourselves be distracted by a pseudo-culture that leads us to live on the surface.
How can we care for our relationship with the Lord and how can we cultivate spiritual life? Today, the sense of mysticism seems to have disappeared from our vocabulary, that is to say, that awareness that we live continually in the heart of God, through whom we learn the art of human and Christian living; and the sense of obedience, which means allowing those entrusted with our journey to discern with us, concretely, our personal and fraternal fidelity to Jesus and to the Gospel.
To return to Christ is to present anew His human and divine face among the people we meet; it is to rediscover the path that enables us to regain authentic contact with others and to share with them joys and sufferings, without resorting solely to written or voice messages that gradually extinguish the sense of closeness and therefore of relationship.
This is a crucial time, because Jesus Christ invites us to rediscover our orientation, in order to bear authentic witness to Him today, since there is an urgent need to show God on the roads of the world, by living and embodying the Gospel…
The world needs heralds of humanity who visibly communicate peace and goodness.
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