Spiritual Corner - Celebrating the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may peace be with you!

Our Church will celebrate the 30th World Day for Consecrated Life on February 2. During this special period of time, our Patriarch, Archbishop Francis, has sent a letter to all the
religious orders to thank their members for their dedication and life witnessing. I am here to extract two paragraphs of the Archbishop’s letter and share them with you all:

Firstly, the Archbishop stressed on the nature and mission of members of the religious orders, he said,” Your vocation places you at the heart of the Church’s mystery (cf. CCC, 916, 932). By your profession of the evangelical counsels, you proclaim that God alone is sufficient, that the Kingdom of Heaven is already present and growing among us, and that the ultimate horizon of human life is communion with God (cf. LG, 44). In a world often marked by division, relentless busyness, perpetual dissatisfaction, and unbridled self-assertion, your consecration speaks a different language: one of radical availability, obedience and humble service, prophetic witnessing, and true joy found in simplicity of life – modeled after that of Our Lord and Our Lady. Consecrated life is not a retreat from the world, but a prophetic way of loving the world as God loves it, and in so doing inviting others to a
more authentic way of life (cf. Vita Consecrata, 80, 109).

The Archbishop continued to say, “The Feast of the Presentation reminds us that consecrated life is fundamentally an offering (cf. Vita Consecrata, 22). Just as Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the Temple, you continually place your lives into God’s hands in complete love and surrender for the salvation of the world. In your daily fidelity to the Gospel, to the Church, to your charism and rule/constitutions of your community, you make visible the beauty of Christ’s own choice—a life poured out to the Father in love for all. Simeon’s proclamation of Jesus as “a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel” (Lk 2:32), has guided the mission of consecrated men and women throughout the history of the archdiocese. Finally, Anna’s witness, done within the context of her calling (Lk 2:38), reminds us of the transformative power of encounter in the ordinary and everyday circumstances of life.”

Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is but one Gospel from Christ. He invited us to respond to it in different eras. Thus, every religious order has its own special blessings, and lives out the various aspects of the Gospel. Let us pray for the religious leading a consecrated life and for their vocation. Let us hope that their witnesses can attract people to turn to Christ, love Christ, serve Christ and follow Christ.

Your Pastor,
Fr. Francis Chong