We, like so many other vowed religious around the world, heeded the call to serve. Together, the Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth celebrate all those who have devoted their lives to spreading the message of our Lord on the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life, February 2.
It is not always easy to discern the voice of the Holy Spirit in your heart, calling you forth to live a life of service, particularly in the modern era. The vowed religious of the world chose to give their hearts over to God and offer their lives for consecration, living fully the vows of baptism in a way that not many will choose.
Pope St. John Paul II saw the need for a moment of prayerful intention dedicated to those in consecrated life. He established the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life in 1997. Since then, it has been celebrated each year in relation to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, or Candlemas Day, when candles in churches around the world are blessed in symbolic representation of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.
Just as these same candles are lit to represent Christ’s light, so do our sisters and brothers in consecrated life work to reflect that same light out into the world for all to see. God’s love can shine through in every friendly hand offered to those in need, every moment of quiet contemplation, and every prayer made in the name of the faithful by all those in consecrated life. They will know us by our light and our love; they will know God’s love through even the smallest acts of kindness that we can share.
Today, we offer our prayers for those who are called to consecrated life, all our Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, and all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. May they be faithful witnesses of God's love in the world, and may the light they reflect shine ever brighter.
