World Day for Consecrated Life … and the Synod

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

On Feb. 2, the Church marked the 26th World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life. Here in our Diocese we have a custom of celebrating the sisters, brothers, and priests who serve us through the vocation of Consecrated (Religious) Life in the month of May, when many are celebrating their jubilees and anniversaries. As I realized that the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life was approaching, I reflected on the many ways in which our Diocese is blessed by the presence, witness, and ministry of so many communities and congregations of vowed women and men religious, who, in their response to the Lord’s call, live out their particular charism and truly build up the Body of Christ in our midst.

Feb. 2 is the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. The Introduction for the procession of the Mass of the Presentation instructs us to be prompted by the Holy Spirit, as were Simeon and Anna: “So let us, also, gathered by the Holy Spirit, proceed to the house of God to encounter Christ.” The faith filled witness of consecrated sisters, religious, and priests help to gather us in the family of the Church where we encounter Christ, led by the Spirit, in obedience to the will of the Father. This year, as we begin the journey of synodality we follow the Holy Father’s call to enter into the synodal process by accompanying and listening to one another with openness. The humble service of religious helps to demonstrate the value of listening with generous hearts.

Did you know in the Diocese of Paterson that we have 36 “Institutes of Consecrated Life” (23 congregations of women and 13 of men) serving in our Diocese? You can go to our diocesan website to see some of those women and men. You can click on “Consecrated Life” and “Institutes” to see the names of the different congregations. You can also go to the “Consecrated Life Blog” to learn more about the congregations, their life and ministry and the women and men who live these beautiful vocations.

I am also aware that at least three of those Congregations have members being considered for canonization. The founder of the Vocationist Fathers, Father Justin M. Russolillo will be canonized a saint on May 15 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich of the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth in Convent Station, and Brother Marinus (Leonard) LaRue of the Benedictines of St. Paul’s Abbey in Newton have active causes being considered for canonization. At least two of the congregations are celebrating significant anniversaries. The Religious Teachers Filippini are celebrating the 350th anniversary of the birth of their founder, St. Lucy Filippini, and the Missionaries of the Most Holy Trinity are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the foundation of their congregation.

In a letter to the Major Superiors of Institutes of Consecrated Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, on Jan. 17, the Prefect of the Congregation, Cardinal Joao Braz DeAviz, spoke of the contributions of those in consecrated life to the life of the Church and, currently, in the Synodal process. He wrote:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters, we are addressing you with such gratitude and hope, knowing that you have not only a glorious story to tell but also a great story to build. Your history is the Church’s history and the Church’s story is your story. As you know the synodal journey that the Church is living is enriched in an inestimable way by the charisms raised by the spirit; among these are your charisms that have a special place…”

This past October, I was privileged to participate in a meeting with Cardinal Tobin, the bishops of our state and the major superiors of the congregations of consecrated life who serve in our state. The focus of that meeting was the way in which we can “walk together” on the synodal journey and listen to one another in the ongoing process of prayer and discernment. As we have entered into the synodal process here in our Diocese of Paterson, I am aware that many of our sisters and brothers in consecrated religious life have been and are very active and interested in this Synodal journey. As some have been involved at the parish and diocesan level, I also know that many of the congregations having been engaging in the “listening” that Pope Francis tells us is such a vital part of this process, both within their own ecclesial communities and with the communities they serve. In his 2019 homily for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Pope Francis challenged religious, and all of us, to remember that our encounter with Christ changes our hearts and consecrates us for mission: “He is our life, he is our hope, he is our future. Consecrated life consists in this prophetic vision in the Church: it is a gaze that sees God present in the world, even if many do not notice him; it is a voice that says: “God is enough, the rest passes away.” We thank those in consecrated life for helping us to keep our vision clearly focused on Christ who is the source of our hope and our promise of eternal life.

I look forward in the coming weeks and months to opportunities to hear from the superiors, leadership and members of the congregations of consecrated life serving here in our Diocese. I will be reaching out to the superiors to discuss the best ways that we can listen to and learn from one another, especially as we look forward to the “synthesis” or summary/report that we as a Diocese will be submitting to our Bishops’ Conference (USCCB).

In choosing (26 years ago) the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord as the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, St. Pope John Paul II wrote:

“The World Day for Consecrated Life will be celebrated on the feast which commemorates the presentation which Mary and Joseph made of Jesus in the temple ‘to present him to the Lord’ (Lk 2:22).

“This Gospel scene reveals the mystery of Jesus, the One consecrated by the Father, come into the world to carry out his will faithfully (cf. Heb 10:5-7). Simeon points to Jesus as ‘a light for revelation to the Gentiles’ (Lk 2:32) and by a prophetic word foretells the supreme offering of Jesus to the Father and his final victory (Lk 2:32-35).

“In this way the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent icon of the total offering of one's life for all those who are called to show forth in the Church and in the world, by means of the evangelical counsels ‘the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one’ (VC 1).”

Message of the Holy Father John Paul II for the I World Day for Consecrated Life

Let us all continue to gives thanks and remember in our prayers the women and men, sisters, brothers, and priests, who serve our Church by living their vows and sharing the charisms through their vocations to the Consecrated Life. Let us also continue to pray for an increase in vocations to the Consecrated Life, especially as we are aware at this time of the ways in which we “journey together” on the synodal path, listening to one another and Lord, as we discern and respond to his call.