The joy of the consecrated person
The joy of
the consecrated person comes from the happiness of belonging to Chirst, since
"Consecrated life, deeply rooted in the teaching of Christ the Lord, is a
gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit". (JPII, Vita
Consecrata No. 1). To recognise that consecrated life is a gift of God is to
admit that it is a crucible of joy, because the gift is by nature a source of
joy for the giver as well as for the receiver. This allows us to affirm that
every consecrated person is a beneficiary of the wonders of God. From these
wonders, the consecrated person shares in God's joy through the gift of his or
her person and is called, therefore, to become a source of joy for those with
whom he or she shares humanity.
In fact, God
who offers his joy is himself Joy, Beatitude and fullness of life. Thus the
consecrated person, united to God the source of all true joy, becomes a witness
of this joy through life and apostolate; this attests that God is with us.
However, the
consecrated person indeed, has chosen to live his or her baptismal commitment
in a radical way. This commitment is in itself a source of joy because it is
irradiated by the joy of Easter. The preface of Easter says "the people of
the baptised, radiant with paschal joy, exult throughout the earth", the
consecrated persons that we are therefore recognise ourselves in this people
and this paschal joy carries our hope. Moreover, this hope gives strength and
determination to our fundamental option of being totally to Christ through the
vows that we pronounce with joy, in a solemn and public way. Consequently, the
consecrated person is fundamentally a vector of joy and takes up the invitation
of Saint Paul to the Philipians who says: "Rejoice in the Lord without
ceasing, I say again, rejoice" (Phil 4:4).
This joy that
puts us in communion with the source of all joy must help us to open ourselves
to the world in which we are called to live and witness. Let us therefore be
realistic and recognise that this joy is not the fruit of carelessness but
rather the pure product of the theological virtues of faith, charity and hope.
These virtues nourish, in principle, our vows of religion (obedience, poverty
and chastity) and dispose us spiritually and humanly to witness with prophetic
boldness. So, dear consecrated persons, may this day dedicated to us be an
opportunity to rediscover the beauty of the choices we have made for greater
happiness and seriousness in our commitment.
Praying for
each one of you, I wish you a beautiful day of consecrated life and may Mary
our Mother, guardian of consecrated life, help us to rediscover our vocation to
witness to our joy of belonging to Christ.
The President of the NCMSC
P. Ferdinand
OWONO NDIH, omi