February 2, 2012

Pope celebrates World Day of Consecrated Life

   On Thursday evening, Pope Benedict celebrated Solemn Vespers for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord at Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Feast celebrates the presentation of Jesus in the Temple forty days after his birth, and is also known as Candlemas on account of the Blessing of Candles and Procession that take place during the liturgy. In his homily during Vespers, the Holy Father noted that the liturgical significance of the Feast, and especially the idea of Christ the Light: “This is one of those cases in which liturgical time follows historical time, because today we mark precisely forty days from the feast of Christmas; the theme of Christ the Light, which has characterized the series of Christmas feasts and culminated in the Feast of the Epiphany, is taken up and extended to the celebration today."
    The Feast of the Presentation of the Lord also marks the observance of World Day for Consecrated Life. The Holy Father connected the Gospel story of the Presentation of Christ with the consecration of men and women who have dedicated their lives to the Church: “On today’s feast we therefore celebrate the mystery of consecration: the consecration of Christ, the consecration of Mary, the consecration of all those who commit themselves to following Jesus for the sake of the Kingdom of God.” The yearly celebration is an opportunity to express gratitude for the work of those who have dedicated their lives to the service of God and of their neighbour by embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. At the same time, it offers a chance to promote vocations to consecrated life, especially through prayer.
    Father Bernd Hagenkord – a Jesuit for almost twenty years – spoke about the meaning of the “It means a couple of things: praising God for the gift of vocations, of having this particular kind of vocation… and praying for more of them – it’s also a day of prayer for vocations… and renewal, we need constant renewal … of the charism we try to live. So these three things come together in celebrating this day.”
    Consecrated life, he said, is one of the ways in which men and women try to recognise Jesus Christ in the world: “We try to do that… it is one way of recognising Jesus Christ in the world so that’s what we try to do, and try to be – or we are called to be, I should rather say. And this is what connects this particular charism to this Feast of today.”