Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Those who dedicate their life to God by giving Him “a total and final answer [. . .], one that is unconditional and full of passion,” whilst at the same time like Jesus stand as “a sign of contradiction” and “witness that God is love” are a “vital sector of the Church,” said Pope Benedict XVI this afternoon on the day that celebrates the Presentation of the Lord in the Temple, a day dedicated to consecrated life.

The Pope told the thousands of men and women religious who had entered the basilica holding candles as a symbol of divine light, that in today’s disoriented but meaning-seeking world, by offering “an unconditional answer to God” and choosing poverty, chastity and obedience, the religious can show that “any attachment to material things cannot satisfy the heart.”

As witnesses to love, the religious can therefore be a “sign of contradiction” because their way of thinking and living is different from the one presented in the mass media.

This is particularly relevant in our times when “among young people there is a strong longing to encounter God”.

It is this task that “many people around the world fulfill faithfully by bearing witness of their love for God and their brothers, witness that frequently takes the hue of martyrdom,” working as “examples that produce in many young people a desire to serve Christ.”

Benedict XVI also referred to “the difficult times that we are going through,” times in which many institutions are experiencing a sense of confusion; however, the “Baby Jesus who is presented today in the temple is alive amongst us” and “invisibly supports us”.

Finally, the Holy Father said that whether in contemplation or in action, in solitude or in community, the religious should be “ready to bear witness that God is love.” May “Mary teach you to pass on to today’s men and women this divine law which must shine through your words and actions.”