20200202
THE
CALL TO CONSECRATED LIFE
02 February,
2020, Sunday, Presentation of the Lord
Readings at Mass
Liturgical
Colour: White.
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First reading
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Malachi 3:1-4 ©
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The Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple
The Lord God says
this: Look, I am going to send my messenger to prepare a way before me. And the
Lord you are seeking will suddenly enter his Temple; and the angel of the
covenant whom you are longing for, yes, he is coming, says the Lord of Hosts.
Who will be able to resist the day of his coming? Who will remain standing when
he appears? For he is like the refiner’s fire and the fullers’ alkali. He will
take his seat as refiner and purifier; he will purify the sons of Levi and
refine them like gold and silver, and then they will make the offering to the
Lord as it should be made. The offering of Judah and Jerusalem will then be
welcomed by the Lord as in former days, as in the years of old.
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Responsorial
Psalm
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Psalm 23(24):7-10 ©
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Who
is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O
gates, lift high your heads;
grow
higher, ancient doors.
Let
him enter, the king of glory!
Who
is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who
is the king of glory?
The
Lord, the mighty, the valiant,
the
Lord, the valiant in war.
Who
is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
O
gates, lift high your heads;
grow
higher, ancient doors.
Let
him enter, the king of glory!
Who
is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
Who
is he, the king of glory?
He,
the Lord of armies,
he
is the king of glory.
Who
is the king of glory? He, the Lord, he is the king of glory.
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Second reading
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Hebrews 2:14-18 ©
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He took to himself descent from Abraham
Since all the
children share the same blood and flesh, Christ too shared equally in it, so
that by his death he could take away all the power of the devil, who had power
over death, and set free all those who had been held in slavery all their lives
by the fear of death. For it was not the angels that he took to himself; he
took to himself descent from Abraham. It was essential that he should in this
way become completely like his brothers so that he could be a compassionate and
trustworthy high priest of God’s religion, able to atone for human sins. That
is, because he has himself been through temptation he is able to help others
who are tempted.
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Gospel
Acclamation
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Lk2:32
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Alleluia,
alleluia!
The
light to enlighten the Gentiles
and
give glory to Israel, your people.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Luke 2:22-40 ©
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My eyes have seen your salvation
When the day came
for them to be purified as laid down by the Law of Moses, the parents of Jesus
took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord, – observing what
stands written in the Law of the Lord: Every
first-born male must be consecrated to the Lord – and also to offer in
sacrifice, in accordance with what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of
turtledoves or two young pigeons.
Now
in Jerusalem there was a man named Simeon. He was an upright and devout man; he
looked forward to Israel’s comforting and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had
been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death until he had
set eyes on the Christ of the Lord. Prompted by the Spirit he came to the
Temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the
Law required, he took him into his arms and blessed God; and he said:
‘Now,
Master, you can let your servant go in peace,
just
as you promised;
because
my eyes have seen the salvation
which
you have prepared for all the nations to see,
a
light to enlighten the pagans
and
the glory of your people Israel.’
As the child’s
father and mother stood there wondering at the things that were being said
about him, Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘You see this
child: he is destined for the fall and for the rising of many in Israel,
destined to be a sign that is rejected – and a sword will pierce your own
soul too – so that the secret thoughts of many may be laid bare.’
There
was a prophetess also, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She
was well on in years. Her days of girlhood over, she had been married for seven
years before becoming a widow. She was now eighty-four years old and never left
the Temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer. She came by just
at that moment and began to praise God; and she spoke of the child to all who
looked forward to the deliverance of Jerusalem.
When
they had done everything the Law of the Lord required, they went back to
Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. Meanwhile the child grew to maturity,
and he was filled with wisdom; and God’s favour was with him.
THE CALL TO
CONSECRATED LIFE
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [MALACHI 3:1-4; HEBREWS 2:14-18; LUKE 2:22-40]
Today, we celebrate the
Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, which is also dedicated to all those in
Consecrated Life. It
was Pope John Paul II who initiated the World Day of Consecrated Life in 1997
to coincide with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. He
wrote, “The celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, which will
be observed for the first time on 2 February, is intended to help the entire
Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen
to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels and, at
the same time, is intended to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to
renew their commitment and rekindle the fervour which should inspire their
offering of themselves to the Lord.”
Indeed, Consecrated Life
in its variety of charisms and institutions is a gift to the Church, whether it is in the form of Religious
Orders and Institutes devoted to contemplation and prayer; or pastoral and
social works, or those who dedicate themselves individually to God by a special
consecration. Consecrated Life is distinct from the priestly and
ordained priesthood, which is fundamentally a ministerial service to the
Church, the People of God. Ordained priesthood participates in the
hierarchical gifts of the Church for governance and authoritative teaching and
the sacraments.
However, the primary
call of those in Consecrated Life is the call to holiness of life. The call is more prophetic. This is
the most important call of every religious. Consecrated Life, before it
is manifested in service and the apostolate to the People of God and beyond the
Church confines, is the desire to grow in holiness by consecrating one’s life
totally to God through the evangelical counsels of chastity, obedience and
poverty. In Consecrated Life, one makes God and Christ the center
of one’s life. One lives for Christ and His Church as one strives for
perfection of charity in Christian life and seeks to contribute to the
sanctification of the world. Those in Consecrated Life therefore must
exhibit greater zeal to grow in holiness than the ordinary Christian and even
priests and bishops! This is not to say that priests are exempted from
holiness! Indeed, the call to holiness is a universal call to every baptized
Christian. However, a consecrated person seeks to imitate Jesus and
follow Him more closely. He or she belongs wholly to the Lord so
that in Him, he or she could become all things to all men and save them.
(cf 1 Cor 9:22)
Through the evangelical
counsels, the consecrated person is a prophet in his or her lifestyle. In a world where chastity,
obedience and poverty are alien, he or she becomes a witness to a life in
heaven when we all live in inclusive love in communion with each other and with
God, in doing God’s will and living in deep trust in Him. This kind of
life is even more needed in the world today when chastity is replaced by a
sensual life of promiscuity, when obedience is considered irrelevant because
everyone is right in relativism; and when poverty in spirit is something so
necessary when we all live in deep insecurity.
Indeed, the missionary
action of a person in Consecrated Life springs from his or her total belonging
to the Lord. How much a
religious or those in Consecrated Life live out their mission is dependent on
his or her spiritual union with the Lord. He or she must draw strength
from the Lord, like Simeon at the Temple who spoke prophetic words as inspired
by the Lord, or like Anna who spent her whole life in prayer and fasting at the
Temple. Indeed, regardless whether one is a contemplative or in active
apostolate, both dimensions are needed in the life of every religious.
The more a religious is a contemplative, the more passionate he or she is in
the active apostolate because the love of God will coerce him or her, as did St
Paul, to die for others since Christ died for them. Hence, there
can be no dichotomy between the mystic and apostolic dimensions of every person
in consecrated life even though there is always tension between the desire for
contemplation and fulfilling the demands of the apostolate.
Unless the religious or
consecrated person is renewed in his or her love for the Lord, he or she would
not be able to give a joyful response to His love. As religious and those in
Consecrated Life, on this Feast of the Presentation of the Lord when they carry
their candles, they are reminded of their calling to shine the love of Christ
and His light in the world through their life of contemplation and active
apostolate, whether in pastoral work or social outreach such as education,
social services, caring for the poor, the sick, the underprivileged, the
marginalized and the suffering. By so doing, they help others to
find Christ and salvation.
In Consecrated Life, it
is immaterial whether one is young or old. A person in Consecrated Life finds his or
her value in being consecrated to God regardless of whether he or she can be in
active apostolate or just in contemplative prayer or simply living a life of
mortification and penance in sickness. Both Simeon and Anna are
examples of how age does not disqualify them to offer themselves to the
Lord. Both Simeon and Anna are examples to us of how we can grow in age,
in prayer and remain even more consecrated to God than ever when we are no
longer able to be in active apostolate. They teach us to continue to
place our trust and hope in God through fervent prayer and fasting and not fall
into cynicism as we go through disappointments in life.
Indeed, they are a
strong reminder to us that the greatest value in the eyes of God is not always
active apostolate but prayer and contemplation. At the end of the day, true
Christian charity must be the consequence of a solid interior life of
prayer. Only those who pray and are open to the Spirit, identified
with the mind and heart of Jesus, can truly offer themselves in selflessness to
the suffering. Otherwise, it is merely an escape from boredom, insecurity
and restlessness. Consecrated persons therefore must always arrange their
day and activities around the Liturgy of the Hours so that they can always
perceive the presence of God in their daily life and apostolate.
Today, there is a deep
desire to encounter God more deeply in a secular and materialistic world,
particularly among the young. Indeed, more and more young people, especially those
from affluent countries, are finding life meaningless, aimless and
hopeless. We must give them Jesus. Only He can satisfy their search
for meaning and purpose because He is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Only in Jesus can they find true love and authentic friendship in the Christian
community. In prayer and contemplation, the young will have their thirst
assuaged and their hearts fulfilled. Consecrated Life could inspire young
people to fall in love with Jesus and in the process desire to offer themselves
wholly to the Lord for His Church and His people and the whole of humanity.
For this to happen,
parents have an important role to play in the nurturing of priestly and
religious vocations. In
today’s gospel we see Mary offering Jesus at the Temple in obedience to the
law. Accompanied by Joseph, she consecrated our Lord to God. By
this act of consecration, Simeon, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
revealed to Mary that her future and that of her Son would be a source of joy
as He will be the Light to Gentiles and salvation for all peoples, yet, her own
soul would be pierced with a sword. In this way, Mary, in offering Jesus
not just by saying “yes” to be His mother but by following Him to the cross at
Calvary becomes a co-redemptor in our salvation, not as the author, for that is
reserved to Christ alone, but she cooperated with Him in the salvation of
humanity.
Today, we need parents
to be examples of consecration to God. It is not enough for parents to provide
their children with the necessities of life and education. They must
inspire and help their children to grow in faith and in love with God.
Parents must always give the best to their children and what greater gift and
legacy can we leave behind than the gift of faith in Jesus. This was what
Mary and Joseph did when they offered Jesus at the Temple. They walked
the talk, they showed in their life what faith entailed. Indeed, there is
no better way to lead our children in faith than to lead them by living a life
of faith. Parents must be mentors and living examples of love, faith and
service to their children.
Most of all, parents
must help their children to offer their lives to God in the service of His
people. Whether
they become Consecrated Persons or not is immaterial. What is important
is that they must offer their lives in the service of God and His
people. When we help our children to offer their lives to God, then
we in that sense are sharing in their consecration like Mary with Jesus.
The offering of your children to Church or to society is your consecration to
God with them to the Church. Let us ensure that by our faith and life,
our children too will desire to consecrate their lives to God, to allow the
light and love of Christ to shine in their lives.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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