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INTENTION : |
That consecrated religious men and women may bestir themselves, and be present among the poor, the marginalized, and those who have no voice.
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Service of Consecrated Persons
What is the service that consecrated men and women can do for humanity? What can the consecration of these men and women say to this society?
In our time we are witnessing a profound crisis of values, there are profound transformations happening on a worldwide scale. As it has been said for some time, "we are not only in an era of change but rather in a change of era."(1) We find ourselves facing the emergence of a new paradigm, of a new cultural model, of a new society. This crisis affects all dimensions of human life.
In our society the unifying cultural fabric inspired by Christian faith has been broken. We perceive some signs of contradiction; in the last decades there has been a rupture in the transmission of the Christian faith from generation to generation. Man seems to have left God outside the horizon of his daily life. We are amid a practical atheism, and at the same time there is a new awakening of religious sentiment. One can notice the search for transcendence, although some authors distrust this sentiment and describe it as "religion yes, God no". There is a new religious sensibility, a turning towards God. From the extensive bibliography about this theme, it seems that that the question of God has never been so alive, - but, what god?(2)
The Consecrated Life, then, is the living memorial of those first disciples who followed the Master through the roads of Galilee. They experienced the poverty and availability of "he who has nowhere to lay his head" (Lk. 9:58); they were not bound by any social ties, and their family was those who "listened to the word of God" (Lk. 11:28). They were moved by the same passion that burned in Jesus; the will of the Father and the lot of the least.
The Consecrated Life is the memorial of that first Eucharist which is repeated not only in each celebration but also in daily self-giving. The Eucharist inserts us into communion of life with Him in such a way that we live in his dynamic of self-giving, and not only that, but in communion with Him we receive the gift of communion with all those to whom He gives himself.(3) The gift of communion becomes mission.
This is what we are called to be, but it is not always what we live. Pope Francis denounces our community life-styles in Evangelii Gaudium:
"Those wounded by historical divisions find it difficult to accept our invitation to forgiveness and reconciliation, since they think that we are ignoring their pain or are asking them to give up their memory and ideals. But if they see the witness of authentically fraternal and reconciled communities, they will find that witness luminous and attractive. It always pains me greatly to discover how some Christian communities, and even consecrated persons, can tolerate different forms of enmity, division, calumny, defamation, vendetta, jealousy and the desire to impose certain ideas at all costs, even to persecutions which appear as veritable witch hunts. Whom are we going to evangelize if this is the way we act?" (EG 100)
The Pope's words are strong; they express his pain because of this lack of communion. Faced with his denunciation we recognize our weaknesses and limitations, and at the same time we feel the call and the commitment to humanize our relationships.
The Consecrated Life carries in its heart this passion for Jesus and for his people, and like Him, knows that it is sent to be mercy, to go out to meet the men and women of our time, those who are distant and those who are near. It wants, in its fragility, to stop looking for guarantees in order to embrace the suffering of the people. It wants the poor to be at its table and at its altar, and it will not rest until it attracts all to Him. It knows that its place is to be at the feet of others, serving. Everything human is its concern; therefore it accompanies the lengthy human processes, remaining even at the cost of life.(4)
The Consecrated Life, like the Good Samaritan, goes out to the highways and byways and takes upon itself the sufferings of his brothers and sisters. It makes itself present to immigrants and refugees, in marginal barrios and in abandoned places, curing and teaching, accompanying processes of reconciliation and defending rights and dignity. Our hearts are moved in the presence of these faces who are treated like merchandise. It is one of the worst slaveries of the twenty first century, and it affects the entire world. Pope Francis recognizes the role presence of Consecrated Life especially of women religious in regard to the issue of human trafficking and says:
"I would like to mention the enormous and often silent efforts which have been made for many years by religious congregations, especially women's congregations, to provide support to victims. These institutes work in very difficult situations, dominated at times by violence, as they work to break the invisible chains binding victims to traffickers and exploiters. Those chains are made up of a series of links, each composed of clever psychological ploys which make the victims dependent on their exploiters. This is accomplished by blackmail and threats made against them and their loved ones, but also by concrete acts such as the confiscation of their identity documents and physical violence. The activity of religious congregations is carried out in three main areas: in offering assistance to victims, in working for their psychological and educational rehabilitation, and in efforts to reintegrate them into the society where they live or from which they have come."(5)
Consecrated Life has a universal face and is incarnated as a service to its brothers and sisters, demonstrating that the Lord approaches them with compassion, walks at their side and remains with them always. The Consecrated Life is present in the existential peripheries of hunger, of poverty, of uprooting, of loneliness, of the lack of meaning, of the absence of God... and the hurts of Humanity, and in all these Jesus embraces their pains.
Sr Inmaculada Fukasawa ACI
(1) Documento conclusivo Aparecida 2007
(2) Crisis de Dios y crisis de fe, ed. Sal Terrae, Santander 2012
(3) Deus Caritas est, n. 13. 2005
(4) Evangelii Gaudium n. 24, 2013
(5) Message for the World Day of Peace, Jan. 1, 2015
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