On the occasion of World Day for Consecrated Life celebrated on 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, Sister Simona Brambilla, MC, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, shared a message with all consecrated persons around the world to express her “gratitude for their fidelity to the Gospel and for the gift of a life that becomes a seed scattered in the folds of history (…), always lived as a sign of hope.”
Recognising the valuable presence of consecrated life in “contexts marked by conflict, social and political instability, poverty, marginalisation, forced migration, religious minority status, violence and tensions that test people’s dignity, freedom and sometimes even their faith” Sister Simona also emphasises “how strong the prophetic dimension of consecrated life is as a ‘presence that remains’: alongside wounded peoples and individuals, in places where the Gospel is often lived in conditions of fragility and trial.”
Fidelity and creativity
“This ‘remaining’,” continues the Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life, “takes on different forms and challenges, because the complexities of our societies are diverse.” Even when daily life is marked by institutional fragility and insecurity, consecrated life is present “where religious minorities experience pressures and restrictions; where well-being coexists with loneliness, polarisation, new forms of poverty and indifference; where migration, inequality and widespread violence challenge civil coexistence.”
It is, therefore, a presence that is “faithful, humble, creative and discreet, becoming a sign that God does not abandon his people.”
A disarmed and disarming peace
“Let us continue to build peace with these attitudes, which are often humble, hidden and silent, but constructive; a peace that is woven by hand; an unarmed and disarming peace, as the Holy Father continually points out and encourages us to live,” adds Sister Simona. “When consecrated life remains close to the wounds of humanity without giving in to the logic of confrontation, but without renouncing the proclamation of God’s truth about man and history, it becomes — often without fanfare — an artisan of peace.”
The message from the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life concludes with the promise to entrust to the Lord all consecrated persons throughout the world “that He may make them steadfast in hope and gentle in heart, capable of remaining, of consoling, of beginning anew: and thus to be, in the Church and in the world, a prophecy of the presence and seed of peace.”
