Pope Francis at Vespers with Thousands of Religious Reminds Them to Pray in Silent Adoration and Highlights the 3 Evangelical Counsels - FULL TEXT
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On the eve of the World Day for Consecrated Life, Pope Francis prays First Vespers with religious men and women, calling them to truly encounter one another and the Lord in the Eucharist. Pope Francis prayed First Vespers with thousands of consecrated men and women in St. Peter’s Basilica on Saturday evening. On Sunday, the Church celebrates the 29th World Day for Consecrated Life, celebrated annually on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. In his homily at Evening Prayer, the Pope noted that this year’s event is held during the Jubilee of Hope and in preparation for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, which will be celebrated worldwide on October 8-12, 2025. Catholics around the world are invited to pray on Sunday for religious women and men, asking the Lord for the gift of vocations to consecrated life. Pope Francis highlighted in homily the three evangelical counsels: poverty, chastity, and obedience.
FIRST VESPERS OF THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Basilica of Saint Peter
Saturday, 1 February 2025
______________________________
>“Behold, I come […] to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7). With these words the author of the Letter to the Hebrews manifests Jesus’ full adherence to the Father’s plan. Today we read them on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day of Consecrated Life, during the Jubilee of Hope, in a liturgical context characterized by the symbol of light. And all of you, sisters and brothers who have chosen the path of the evangelical counsels, have consecrated yourselves, as “a Bride before the Bridegroom […] enveloped in his light” (Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata, 15); you have consecrated yourselves to that same luminous plan of the Father that dates back to the origins of the world. It will have its full fulfillment at the end of time, but already now it is made visible through "the wonders that God works in the fragile humanity of those who are called" (ibid., 20). Let us reflect then on how, through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, which you have professed, you too can be bearers of light for the women and men of our time.
First aspect: the light of poverty. It has its roots in the very life of God, eternal and total reciprocal gift of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (ibid., 21). By exercising poverty in this way, the consecrated person, with a free and generous use of all things, becomes a bearer of blessing for them: he manifests their goodness in the order of love, rejects everything that can obscure their beauty - selfishness, greed, dependence, violent use and use for the purpose of death - and instead embraces everything that can exalt it: sobriety, generosity, sharing, solidarity. And Paul says it: "Everything is yours! But you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:22-23). This is poverty.
The second element is the light of chastity. This too has its origin in the Trinity and manifests a "reflection of the infinite love that binds the three divine Persons" (Vita consecrata, 21). Its profession, in the renunciation of conjugal love and in the way of continence, reaffirms the absolute primacy, for the human being, of the love of God, welcomed with an undivided and spousal heart (see 1 Cor 7:32-36), and indicates it as the source and model of every other love. We know, we are living in a world often marked by distorted forms of affectivity, in which the principle of "what pleases me" - that principle - pushes us to seek in the other more the satisfaction of our own needs than the joy of a fruitful encounter. It is true. This generates, in relationships, attitudes of superficiality and precariousness, egocentrism, hedonism, immaturity and moral irresponsibility, whereby the husband and wife of a lifetime are replaced with the partner of the moment, children welcomed as a gift with those claimed as a “right” or eliminated as a “nuisance”.
Sisters, brothers, in a context of this type, in the face of the “growing need for interior clarity in human relationships” (Vita consecrata, 88) and the humanization of the bonds between individuals and communities, consecrated chastity shows us – it shows the men and women of the twenty-first century – a way of healing from the evil of isolation, in the exercise of a free and liberating way of loving, which welcomes and respects everyone and does not constrain or reject anyone. What medicine for the soul it is to meet religious men and women capable of a mature and joyful relationality of this type! They are a reflection of divine love (see Luke 2:30-32). To this end, however, it is important, in our communities, to take care of the spiritual and emotional growth of people, starting from initial formation, even in ongoing formation, so that chastity truly shows the beauty of self-giving love, and harmful phenomena such as the souring of the heart or the ambiguity of choices, a source of sadness, dissatisfaction and the cause, at times, in more fragile subjects, of the development of real “double lives”, do not take hold. The fight against the temptation of a double life is daily. It is daily.
And we come to the third aspect: the light of obedience. The text we have just heard also speaks to us about this, presenting us, in the relationship between Jesus and the Father, the “liberating beauty of a filial and not servile dependence, rich in a sense of responsibility and animated by mutual trust” (Vita consecrata, 21). It is precisely the light of the Word that becomes a gift and response of love, a sign for our society, in which we tend to talk a lot but listen little: in the family, at work and especially on social media, where we can exchange rivers of words and images without ever really meeting, because we do not truly put ourselves on the line for one another. And this is an interesting thing. Many times, in daily dialogue, before one finishes speaking, the answer already comes out. We do not listen. Listen to each other before responding. Welcoming the word of the other as a message, as a treasure, even as help for me. Consecrated obedience is an antidote to such solitary individualism, alternatively promoting a model of relationship based on active listening, in which “saying” and “feeling” are followed by the concreteness of “acting”, and this even at the cost of renouncing my tastes, my plans and my preferences. Only in this way, in fact, can the person fully experience the joy of giving, defeating loneliness and discovering the meaning of his or her existence in God’s great plan.
I would like to conclude by recalling another point: the “return to the origins”, which is so much talked about today in consecrated life. But not a return to the origin like returning to a museum, no. A return to the very origin of our life. In this regard, the Word of God that we have heard reminds us that the first and most important “return to the origins” of every consecration is, for all of us, that of Christ and his “yes” to the Father. It reminds us that renewal, before meetings and “round tables” – which must be done, are useful – is done in front of the Tabernacle, in adoration. Sisters, brothers, we have lost a little of the sense of adoration. We are too practical, we want to do things, but … Adoration. Adoration. The ability to worship in silence. And so we rediscover our Foundresses and Founders first and foremost as women and men of faith, and repeating with them, in prayer and offering: “Behold, I come […] to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7).
Many thanks to you for your testimony. It is a leaven in the Church. Thank you.
FIRST VESPERS OF THE FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF THE LORD
HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS
Basilica of Saint Peter
Saturday, 1 February 2025
______________________________
>“Behold, I come […] to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7). With these words the author of the Letter to the Hebrews manifests Jesus’ full adherence to the Father’s plan. Today we read them on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, World Day of Consecrated Life, during the Jubilee of Hope, in a liturgical context characterized by the symbol of light. And all of you, sisters and brothers who have chosen the path of the evangelical counsels, have consecrated yourselves, as “a Bride before the Bridegroom […] enveloped in his light” (Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata, 15); you have consecrated yourselves to that same luminous plan of the Father that dates back to the origins of the world. It will have its full fulfillment at the end of time, but already now it is made visible through "the wonders that God works in the fragile humanity of those who are called" (ibid., 20). Let us reflect then on how, through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, which you have professed, you too can be bearers of light for the women and men of our time.
First aspect: the light of poverty. It has its roots in the very life of God, eternal and total reciprocal gift of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (ibid., 21). By exercising poverty in this way, the consecrated person, with a free and generous use of all things, becomes a bearer of blessing for them: he manifests their goodness in the order of love, rejects everything that can obscure their beauty - selfishness, greed, dependence, violent use and use for the purpose of death - and instead embraces everything that can exalt it: sobriety, generosity, sharing, solidarity. And Paul says it: "Everything is yours! But you are Christ's, and Christ is God's" (1 Cor 3:22-23). This is poverty.
The second element is the light of chastity. This too has its origin in the Trinity and manifests a "reflection of the infinite love that binds the three divine Persons" (Vita consecrata, 21). Its profession, in the renunciation of conjugal love and in the way of continence, reaffirms the absolute primacy, for the human being, of the love of God, welcomed with an undivided and spousal heart (see 1 Cor 7:32-36), and indicates it as the source and model of every other love. We know, we are living in a world often marked by distorted forms of affectivity, in which the principle of "what pleases me" - that principle - pushes us to seek in the other more the satisfaction of our own needs than the joy of a fruitful encounter. It is true. This generates, in relationships, attitudes of superficiality and precariousness, egocentrism, hedonism, immaturity and moral irresponsibility, whereby the husband and wife of a lifetime are replaced with the partner of the moment, children welcomed as a gift with those claimed as a “right” or eliminated as a “nuisance”.
Sisters, brothers, in a context of this type, in the face of the “growing need for interior clarity in human relationships” (Vita consecrata, 88) and the humanization of the bonds between individuals and communities, consecrated chastity shows us – it shows the men and women of the twenty-first century – a way of healing from the evil of isolation, in the exercise of a free and liberating way of loving, which welcomes and respects everyone and does not constrain or reject anyone. What medicine for the soul it is to meet religious men and women capable of a mature and joyful relationality of this type! They are a reflection of divine love (see Luke 2:30-32). To this end, however, it is important, in our communities, to take care of the spiritual and emotional growth of people, starting from initial formation, even in ongoing formation, so that chastity truly shows the beauty of self-giving love, and harmful phenomena such as the souring of the heart or the ambiguity of choices, a source of sadness, dissatisfaction and the cause, at times, in more fragile subjects, of the development of real “double lives”, do not take hold. The fight against the temptation of a double life is daily. It is daily.
And we come to the third aspect: the light of obedience. The text we have just heard also speaks to us about this, presenting us, in the relationship between Jesus and the Father, the “liberating beauty of a filial and not servile dependence, rich in a sense of responsibility and animated by mutual trust” (Vita consecrata, 21). It is precisely the light of the Word that becomes a gift and response of love, a sign for our society, in which we tend to talk a lot but listen little: in the family, at work and especially on social media, where we can exchange rivers of words and images without ever really meeting, because we do not truly put ourselves on the line for one another. And this is an interesting thing. Many times, in daily dialogue, before one finishes speaking, the answer already comes out. We do not listen. Listen to each other before responding. Welcoming the word of the other as a message, as a treasure, even as help for me. Consecrated obedience is an antidote to such solitary individualism, alternatively promoting a model of relationship based on active listening, in which “saying” and “feeling” are followed by the concreteness of “acting”, and this even at the cost of renouncing my tastes, my plans and my preferences. Only in this way, in fact, can the person fully experience the joy of giving, defeating loneliness and discovering the meaning of his or her existence in God’s great plan.
I would like to conclude by recalling another point: the “return to the origins”, which is so much talked about today in consecrated life. But not a return to the origin like returning to a museum, no. A return to the very origin of our life. In this regard, the Word of God that we have heard reminds us that the first and most important “return to the origins” of every consecration is, for all of us, that of Christ and his “yes” to the Father. It reminds us that renewal, before meetings and “round tables” – which must be done, are useful – is done in front of the Tabernacle, in adoration. Sisters, brothers, we have lost a little of the sense of adoration. We are too practical, we want to do things, but … Adoration. Adoration. The ability to worship in silence. And so we rediscover our Foundresses and Founders first and foremost as women and men of faith, and repeating with them, in prayer and offering: “Behold, I come […] to do your will, O God” (Heb 10:7).
Many thanks to you for your testimony. It is a leaven in the Church. Thank you.
Translation from Vatican.va with Screenshot
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