» 02/02/2012 20:39 VATICAN Pope: Year of the faith, special opportunity for religious in testimony and evangelization Benedict XVI celebrates the Day for Consecrated Life. "Today the prayers of the entire Community, is dedicated to every consecrated person, giving thanks to God the Father, the giver of all good, for the gift of this vocation, and invokes it again with faith." During the Year of Faith, those who have accepted the call to follow Christ more closely through the profession of the evangelical counsels, are invited to further deepen their relationship with God
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Year of Faith will be a special opportunity for religious to "deepen their relationship with God even further " and engage "with enthusiasm in the new evangelization." This is the task that Benedict XVI entrusted to men and women religious on the Feast of the Presentation of our Lord, XVI Day for Consecrated Life.
In a St Peter's Basilica crowded by thousands of monks, nuns and religious brothers, Benedict XVI celebrated second Vespers with members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, remember that today's festival recalls the moment in which Mary and Joseph go to the temple in Jerusalem to offer and "redeem" their firstborn, in which "the old man Simeon and the prophetess Anna, by divine inspiration, recognize in that child, the Messiah."
"The Gospel story - the Pope said - is a significant icon of the gift of life from those who were asked to represent in the Church and the world, through the evangelical counsels, the characteristic features of Jesus, chaste, poor and obedient, the Anointed One of the Father. Therefore, in today’s feast we celebrate the mystery of consecration: the consecration of Christ, the consecration of Mary and the consecration of all those who follow Jesus out of love for the Kingdom of God. "
"Today the prayers of the entire Community, is dedicated to every consecrated person, giving thanks to God the Father, the giver of all good, for the gift of this vocation, and in faith once again invokes this gift. Moreover, on this occasion we show increasing respect for the testimony of those who have chosen to follow Christ through the evangelical counsels by promoting knowledge of and appreciation of consecrated life in the People of God. Finally, the Day for Consecrated Life intended is intended, especially for you, dear brothers and sisters who have embraced this condition in the Church, a precious opportunity to renew your promises and revitalize the feelings that inspire the gift of yourself to the Lord. This we do today, this is the commitment that you are called to make every day of your life. "
The Year of the faith, which will begin next October, will be for all the faithful, "but especially members of Institutes of Consecrated Life," a "favourable period for inner renewal, for which we always feel the need, through a deepening of those essential values and requirements proper to consecration. " "In the Year of faith you, who have accepted the call to follow Christ more closely through the profession of the evangelical counsels, are invited to deepen even further your relationship with God. The evangelical counsels, accepted as true rule of life, strengthen faith, hope and charity, which unite us to God. This deep closeness to the Lord, which must be the most important and distinctive element of your existence, will lead to a renewed attachment to Him and will have a positive influence on your particular presence and forms of the apostolate among the People of God, through the contribution of your gifts, in fidelity to the Magisterium, in order to be witnesses of the faith and grace, credible witnesses to the Church and the world today". This year, the Pope concluded, "constitutes for all of you a year of renewal and fidelity, so that all consecrated men and women may commit themselves enthusiastically to the new evangelization."
