On 2 February, feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the temple, the Church holds the World Day of Consecrated Life. In his first message for this important day in the life and mission of the Church, Pope John Paul II listed three reasons which detail the relevance of annually celebrating the gift of consecrated life.
“The purpose of such a day is threefold: In the first place, it answers the intimate need to praise the Lord more solemnly and to thank him for the great gift of consecrated life, which enriches and gladdens the Christian community by the multiplicity of its charisma and by the edifying fruits of so many lives totally given to the cause of the Kingdom… In the second place, this day is intended to promote a knowledge of and esteem for the consecrated life by the entire People of God… The third reason regards consecrated persons directly. They are invited to celebrate together solemnly the marvels which the Lord has accomplished in them, to discover by a more illuminated faith the rays of divine beauty spread by the Spirit in their way of life, and to acquire a more vivid consciousness of their irreplaceable mission in the Church and in the world” (2-4).
During his homily at the evening vespers on the occasion of the World Day of Consecrated Life, Pope Benedict XVI explained how consecrated men and women are called to be living icons of Jesus’ consecration to the Father. The first manner is that of being eloquent symbols of Christ’s light. In fact, consecrated life is a journey of love of divine beauty as splendidly portrayed on Christ’s face. The post-synodal apostolic exhortation on the consecrated life and its mission in the Church and in the world, Vita Consecrata says: “The Church contemplates the transfigured face of Christ, to be confirmed in the faith and not risk dismay before his disfigured face on the Cross... she is the Bride before her Spouse, sharing his mystery, enveloped by his light, (from which) are gathered all his children ... But a singular experience of the light that emanates from the Word incarnate are certainly those called to the consecrated life. In fact, the profession of the evangelical counsels places them as sign and prophecy for the community of brothers and for the world” (§ 15).
Secondly, consecrated life is the exemplar of Jesus’ consecration since by itself it is the automatic result of the work of the Holy Spirit. Simeon and Anna understood that the Child Jesus was the saviour of the world! Through its two-fold expression of contemplation and action, consecrated people illustrate God’s primacy and passion for the Gospel as a modus vivendi through which the Good News is preached to the outcasts of the world. “In the strength of such primacy nothing can be preferred to personal love for Christ and for the poor in which He lives. True prophecy is born from God, from friendship with Him, from attentive listening to his Word in the different circumstances of history” (§ 84). Thus, by being inserted in our society, consecrated life vividly shows that the Gospel and God’s Kingdom are active in our midst.
Thirdly, consecrated life reveals the wisdom of Simeon and Anna, the wisdom of life committed entirely to the search of God’s face, his signs and will. In other words, a life devoted to the listening and proclaiming of his saving Word. As the Instruction “The Service of Authority and Obedience. Faciem tuam, Domine requiram” states, “’Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram’: thy face, O Lord, do I seek” (Psalm 26:8). Hence, the consecrated person witnesses the joyful and laborious commitment, the assiduous and wise search of the divine will” (§ 1).
O Mary, Mother of the Church, intercede for us consecrated people, so that your Son lives in us as the splendour of the truth. Amen.
■ Fr Mario Attard OFM Cap
San Gwann