On Sunday, Feb. 2, the World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life was marked at the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, Richmond, as Bishop Barry C. Knestout celebrated Mass for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, known as Candlemas. Before the recitation of the Nicene Creed, assembled religious sisters and brothers renewed their vows to consecrated life.
The World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life was inaugurated in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II and is celebrated each year on Feb. 2, in connection with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
“The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple is an eloquent icon of the total offering of one’s life,” wrote St. John Paul II in the 1997 document that declared the celebration.
Religious congregations in attendance included: Comboni Missionary Sisters; Company of St. Ursula; Daughters of Mary Immaculate; Dominican Sisters of St. Cecilia, Nashville; Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph; Handmaids of Our Lady of Mount Carmel; Little Sisters of St. Francis; Lovers of the Holy Cross of Hanoi; Order of St. Benedict; Sisters of Providence of St. Paul of Kara; Sisters of St. Joseph Tarbes; and Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament.
Sister Lanh Nguyen, of the Daughters of Mary Immaculate, said that consecrated life is more than a career, and permanent vows are more than a promise.
“It’s not just a promise, it’s a permanent covenant,” said Sister Nguyen. “When you make the promise, your relationship with God changes.”
“This is who I am, not just what I do,” Sister Nguyen continued. “My life is who I am. It’s not a job. Vocation and mission are not separate. To be and to do, together.”
Mass was concelebrated by Father Michael Boehling, vicar general; Father Timothy Kuhneman, vicar for clergy; Father Anthony Marques, rector of the cathedral; and Benedictine Father John Mary, of Mary Mother of the Church Abbey, Richmond.
“You are living lives not just in this world, but also in the kingdom of heaven, with prayer and fasting, with words and actions directed towards growing in faith, hope and love,” Bishop Knestout said in his homily.
“Consecration means being signs of contradictions,” the bishop continued. “You are in the world, but not of the world. You are mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers, but not with physical offspring. Your lives manifest sacrifice and sorrow for sin, yet express hope and joy and confidence in God’s grace. You walk with the Lord in poverty, and you acquire treasure in heaven by your lives.”
“I’m grateful for your dedication and service to the Church, your giving of yourselves as a spouse to Christ,” Bishop Knestout continued. “We recognize the beautiful gift of your lives today in the consecration to your vocation.”