Pope celebrates Mass on World Day
of Consecrated Life
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| Pope Francis celebrates Mass in St.Peter's Basilica (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis celebrates Mass on Saturday evening to mark the
23rd World Day of Consecrated Life, and invites consecrated religious to turn
their encounter with Jesus into prophetic vision for the Church.
By Devin Watkins
Religious men and women are called to a twofold obedience,
Pope Francis said in his homily at Mass marking the World Day of Consecrated
Life.
He said those two aspects are obedience to the law, “in the
sense of what gives order to our lives”, and to the Spirit, “who does new
things in our lives”. “The Spirit reveals the Lord, but to welcome him we need
to persevere every day,” he said.
The Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica also marked the Feast of
the Presentation of the Lord. So Pope Francis reflected on the day’s Gospel (Lk
2:22-40), in which Jesus is presented in the Temple 40 days after his birth.
The Holy Father said the Liturgy shows “Jesus who goes out
to meet his people”, calling it the feast day of encounter. “The newness of the
Child encounters the tradition of the Temple; the promise finds fulfillment;
young Mary and Joseph encounter the elderly Simeon and Anna.”
Religious encounter Jesus
Consecrated women and men, said Pope Francis, are called to
encounter Jesus “every day of our lives… it is a daily choice.”
“What happened in the Temple also happens to us: around him
everything meets, and life becomes harmonious.” He said religious find in
Jesus the courage to carry on, because “the encounter with the Lord is the
source.”
Pope Francis said that, by returning to the source and
renewing their first love, consecrated men and women make religious life “a
time of encounter”, rather than “a time that passes by”.
The original meeting with the Lord, he said, “did not arise
as something private between us and God. No, it blossomed in the context of a
believing people, alongside many brothers and sisters, at precise times and
places.”
The Pope said encounter with Jesus takes place within the
people of God and within a religious community. “God calls us to encounter him
through faithfulness to concrete things: daily prayer, Holy Mass, Confession,
real charity, the daily word of God.”
Prophetic vision
Pope Francis said the consecrated person’s encounter with
Jesus “culminates in vision”.
Simeon, said the Pope, “sees the Child and he sees
salvation.” “Simeon sees God’s simplicity and welcomes His presence.”
This vision of simplicity is the vision of consecrated life,
he said. “God is enough, the rest passes away,” he said, “It is praise that
gushes forth in spite of everything.”
Joyful praise
Finally, Pope Francis summed up religious life as not being
about survival but about new life, calling it “a living encounter with the
Lord.”
“This then is the consecrated life: praise which gives joy
to God’s people, prophetic vision that reveals what counts.”
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