Diocese Marks World Day for Consecrated Life

‘GOOD CONVERSATION’  Sister Teresa Margaret DesBois and Mother Mary Gillson of the Hermits of Mount Carmel, talk with Bishop Serratelli with a Vocationist sister in the background.”

Bishop thanks religious during prayer service as diocese marks World Day for Consecrated Life

CLIFTON   Priests, brothers and sisters from many of the 45 religious institutes that serve the Paterson Diocese gathered together Feb. 15 in St. Philip the Apostle Church here to mark the diocesan celebration of World Day for Conse­crated Life.

On that afternoon, they looked back at the histories of their communities with gratitude; to the present with passion for their various charisms; and to the future with hope.

Bishop Serratelli presided over the prayer service with Bene­dictine Abbott Richard Cronin of St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown. Filling the church were many religious, including priests, brothers and sisters, as well as men and women in formation or still in discernment, lay associates and diocesan priests and Chancery personnel, who came in support. Holding lit candles, the religious renewed their vows before the bishop.

“Eternal Triune God, trusting in your faithful love, I renew my vows to follow Christ in chastity, poverty and obedience. I commit myself anew to serve the Church in the apostolate entrusted to my institute. Grant me the grace, Lord, through the intercession of Our Lady and the prayers and support of my institute to live these vows faithfully,” participants recited together. Daytime Prayer service was filled with hymns of praise to God by musicians and singers from religious communities and Catholic high school students.

Under the theme for the Year for Consecrated Life, “Wake Up The World,” this year’s prayer service featured a reflection by Sister Ascenza Tizzano, provincial superior of the Religious Teachers Filippini in Morristown.

“How privileged we are. Our call to consecrated life is recognized and celebrated by the entire Church. We thank Pope Francis for raising the dignity of ­our vocation. Every consecrated person, he said, is a gift for the people of God on this journey,” Sister Ascenza said. “We are invited to pause and to reflect, ‘For whom do I work?’ ‘In whose service am I?’ and ‘Why am I here?’ The answers to these questions impact our everyday and are transforming. We came only to seek Jesus; we came at the invitation of Jesus; and we serve in the Lord’s vineyard,” she said

During this year, we religious should “renew our religious commitment to make the Gospel our sole way and book of life” and “witness to the joy of the Gospel — to joyously proclaim it and then, through our encounters with others, fire them up to do exactly the same thing.” Religious look to the founders and foundresses of their communities, “men and women of the Gospel, who led daring and heroic lives” and whose examples today continue to inspire their followers. Throughout history, religious have been at the forefront of establishing, such facilities and ministries as hospitals, schools and nursing homes and, in recent years, have expanded their roles in social services, Sister Ascenza said.

“Today, we must be open to new horizons, where the Spirit of God continues to invite and to lead us,” said Sister Ascenza, adding that religious communities need young people to follow in their footsteps — young people, who might have been in the congregation that afternoon. “We are disciples on the journey of hope.”

After the procession into St. Philip’s that started the prayer service, Sister of Christian Charity Mary Edward Spohrer, diocesan chancellor and delegate for religious, led a Litany of Thanks, “acknowledging the various forms of consecrated life with which the Spirit has blessed us, here in the Diocese of Paterson.” Representatives of these communities approached the altar, placed a flower there and offered a prayer.

Participants gave thanks for:

• Cloistered and contemplative life, represented by the 17 Carmelite nuns in Morristown, who “live a hidden life of prayer, penance and sacrifice in a community of faith,” Sister Mary Edward said.

• Monastic life, represented by the three Benedictine monasteries in the diocese: St. Mary’s Abbey, Morristown; St. Paul’s Mona­stery, Clifton; and Holy Face Monastery, Clifton. Their “fidelity to liturgical prayer, Lectio Divina, stability, common life and vowed consecration enrich the people of God,” she said.

• Hermetic life, represented by the Hermits of Carmel and the Hermits of Bethlehem, Chester, “whose way of life calls them to a life of stricter withdrawal from the world, the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer and penance,” she said.

• Religious brothers, sisters and priests in institutes with an active apostolic character. Their works of charity, advocacy, teaching, preaching and healing “bring Christ’s love in countless ways to the people of God,” Sister Mary Edward said.

• Priests and brothers in religious institutes, “who have embraced the apostolic charism of their founders and live the mission of Christ with zeal as vowed religious,” sister said.

• Emerging forms of consecrated life in the diocese, such as the Sisters of the Church and the Sisters for the Church. “Both groups, founded after Vatican Council II, model their lives after the women in the early Church. They do not live a common life but have embraced celibacy for the sake of God’s kingdom and offer themselves in lifelong, dedicated service to the Church,” she said.

• Men and women in initial formation and discernment within our diocese, our monasteries, motherhouses, houses of formation and house of discernment, such as Casa Guadalupe in Clifton, which “continues to welcome new members, who are seeking to discern God’s will for their lives,” she said.

Concluding the prayer service, Bishop Serratelli gave thanks to God for “calling all of you to follow the Son into consecrated life in a generous and giving way.”

“I also thank every one of you. You not only heard that call and responded, but everyday you continue to say, ‘Yes, Lord, here I am to do your will,’ ” Bishop Serratelli said.

“The Church is need of more young men and women to give their lives to the Church for the honor and glory of God. It’s the example of your life — your dedicated service, your joy that radiates from your faces and the charity that you show — that will raise up from among us the young men and women, who will take our places,” Bishop Serratelli said.

After the prayer service — among the many Year of Consecrated Life events planned for the diocese — participants went to St. Philip’s parish hall. There, they watched a 10-minute video about institutes that serve the diocese, called “A Concert of Charisms,” listened to music by Salesian Sisters, Franciscan Sisters of St. Elizabeth and the Sisters of Christian Charity and enjoyed refreshments and fellowship.

In the parish hall, Brother Cyril Offiong of Nigeria had come with some of the fellow members of his community, the Vocationists, in Florham Park. Anticipating taking final vows soon, he has been studying at Im­maculate Conception Seminary, South Orange.

“We promote vocations, whether at a parish, mission or school. I love my community. We are from different parts of the world and have different ways to explore our faith,” Brother Cyril said. “The prayer service is exciting, because we religious get to see that we are all in this together, living out our different charisms. It’s so encouraging,” he said.