World Day for Consecrated Life
February 2, 2025
What is World Day of Consecrated Life?
In 1997, Pope Saint John Paul II instituted a day of prayer for women and men in consecrated life. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. This Feast is also known as Candlemas Day; the day on which candles are blessed symbolizing Christ who is the light of the world. So too, those in consecrated life are called to reflect the light of Jesus Christ to all peoples. (From USCCB website.)
What are the forms of Consecrated Life?
The organizations of consecrated life in the United States are: Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) to which the Sisters of St. Joseph belong; The Conference of Major Superiors of Women (CMSWR); The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM);the United States Conference of Secular Institutes and the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins. The five conferences met in Rome to create a way for the World Day of Consecrated Life to be celebrated on Sunday February 2, 2025 here in the United States.
Consecrated Life is lived….
Loretta Jasper, CSJ:
“Living the charism includes allowing my God within and all around me to keep me active in whatever the circumstance or meeting…knowing there are times when I miss the mark and don’t “get it right”, and therefore need to claim and accept a “holy oops”. Living the charism and the Mission on a daily basis is truly a holy adventure which is quite realistic and lacks romanticism. What is truth for me is that God is present in each moment and that my day to day is truly gospel based, and deeply connected to the CSJ Mission and charism regardless of the moment which crosses the threshold of my being.”
Jodi Creten, CSJ:
“When the mystery of vocation took hold of my heart, I knew the path I would follow. I believe that the CSJs then, today and even beyond my existence, will still be working “that all may be one.” I saw it then, and it’s still quite visible today in my 64th year in this Congregation. For me, in this community, and at this time, it is both uncomfortable and challenging, and yet, questioning and invigorating to be a Sister of St. Joseph, who is always striving for that oneness.”
The Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church. Ever since 1300, when Boniface VIII instituted the first Holy Year – initially celebrated every hundred years, then, following its biblical precedent, every fifty years, and finally every twenty-five years – God’s holy and faithful people has experienced this celebration as a special gift of grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins and in particular by the indulgence, which is a full expression of the mercy of God. The faithful, frequently at the conclusion of a lengthy pilgrimage, draw from the spiritual treasury of the Church by passing through the Holy Door and venerating the relics of the Apostles Peter and Paul preserved in Roman basilicas. Down the centuries, millions upon millions of pilgrims have journeyed to these sacred places, bearing living witness to the faith professedin every age.
Letter of the Holy Father Francis To Msgr. Rino Fisichella,
President of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of the New Evangelization, for the Jubilee 2025, in part.
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever.
Amen
~Pope Francis