Vatican officials tell religious to recall the joy of their vocation
February 28, 2014 - In preparation for the Year for Consecrated Life, members of
religious orders, secular institutes and consecrated virgins are asked to spend a
considerable amount of time remembering the joy they felt when they first realized
God was calling them. " Pope Francis has asked us to let our hearts dwell on a freeze-frame
of the joy of 'the moment when Jesus looked at me,'" said Cardinal Joao Braz de Aviz
and Archbishop Jose Rodriguez Carballo, respectively prefect and secretary of the
Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In a letter titled "Rejoice" - released Feb. 26 only in Italian - the two drew on
the teaching of Pope Francis to propose ways consecrated men and women could prepare
for the Year for Consecrated Life, which will begin Nov. 30. Scheduled to close just
over 14 months later, on Feb. 2, 2016, the year will include an ecumenical meeting
with religious orders of other Christian churches, as well as special gatherings for
young religious men and women and for consecrated virgins. By remembering the
joy of being loved by God and rekindling the joy of following him, Cardinal Aviz and
Archbishop Rodriguez Carballo said, consecrated men and women also will be better
evangelizers and better promoters of new vocations. "Joy isn't a useless ornament,
but a necessity and foundation of human life," the letter said. "The world often has
a deficit of joy. We are not called to make epic gestures nor to proclaim pompous
words, but rather to witness to the joy that comes from the certainty of feeling loved
and the confidence of being saved." To be an effective missionary, one must be humble
and one must remember how God reached out to him or her personally, they said. God's
call is always personal.
The crisis of vocations and the crisis many religious
are experiencing today, they said, represent a crisis of memory that renders even
many consecrated men and women incapable of experiencing true joy in being faithful.
"A daily personal and fraternal journey marked by discontent, bitterness that closes
us up in regret and an almost permanent state of longing for unexplored paths and
unfulfilled dreams becomes a solitary journey," the letter said. No one is pretending
the Christian journey is one only of sweetness and light, they said. In fact, the
goal is to follow Jesus as closely as possible, even on the road to Calvary. But a
Christian's witness becomes strongest in the midst of difficulty, they said. "In a
world that lives not trusting, discouraged and depressed, in a culture in which men
and women let themselves be overcome by their fragility and weakness, by individualism
and self-interest, we are asked to introduce trust in the possibility of true happiness
and a hope that isn't based only on one's talents, qualities and knowledge, but on
God," they said. Even for consecrated people who are not part of religious communities,
they said, the path of fidelity to Christ passes through community life and one's
relationship with others. In a world where relationships seem increasingly fragile
and conflict reigns, the letter said, consecrated people are called to be witnesses
of "the communion of spirits and hearts" of those who gather around Jesus to follow
and be nourished by him. (Source: CNS)