SAN ANTONIO • World Day for Consecrated Life, themed, “Living the Vows in Today’s World,” was observed in the archdiocese Feb. 14 with an evening prayer service in the Assumption Seminary Chapel led by Archbishop José H. Gomez.
In his comments, the archbishop referred to mention of Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 2 for the consecrated life day. The pontiff mentioned the threefold purpose of the celebration, saying, “The purpose of this day is threefold: first of all to praise and thank the Lord for the gift of consecrated life; in the second place, to promote the knowledge and appreciation by all the People of God; finally, to invite all those who have fully dedicated their life to the cause of the Gospel to celebrate the marvels that the Lord has operated in them.”
Archbishop Gomez continued, “This is what we celebrate today and I’m sure that you agree with me that it is true. We are especially grateful to God for the gift of consecrated life and we understand its importance in the life of the Church and the world.”
The Holy Father chose Chapter 4 of the letter to the Hebrews for his reflection Feb. 2. That passage that it has been always special to Archbishop Gomez, and it is used as his episcopal motto.
“Consecrated persons are called in a particular way to be witnesses of this mercy of the Lord, in which man finds his salvation,” said the archbishop. “The consecrated person, by the very fact of his or her being, represents something like a ‘bridge’ to God for all those he or she meets.”
He again quoted from the pope: “We wish to raise to the Lord a hymn of thanksgiving and praise for consecrated life itself. If it did not exist, how much poorer the world would be! … Consecrated life … witnesses to the superabundance of the Lord’s love, who first ‘lost’ his life for us.”
The reading for the Feb. 14 gathering from the Prophet Isaiah reminded attendees who filled the chapel of the beginning of their journey as disciples of Christ: the personal call from Jesus to follow him.
“The crisis of vocations it’s a crisis of response because God continues to call people to the perfection of Christian life,” Archbishop Gomez emphasized. “If there is something that we can take from the Year of the Priest, besides the personal renewal of every priest in the church, is the need to promote vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.”
The archbishop urged his listeners to keep praying for vocations and helping young people to know about their vocation and to say “yes” to God.
He concluded, “May Mary, our Blessed Mother, continue to be our model and our strength in our personal life and in the work of evangelization in the church and especially in our archdiocese and in each one of your religious communities.”
In a reflection prior to the end of the service, Sister Brigid Marie Clarke, CCVI, spoke about this year’s theme for consecrated life day.
Following the gathering, a reception was held in the seminary Student Union Building.