Women and men in consecrated life follow Jesus’ call to serve

Most Reverend Michael Mulvey is bishop of the Diocese of Corpus Christi.

The first Sunday of Advent 2014, 14 months ago, we began a journey of reflection on the lives of consecrated women and men. As the Universal Church we have rejoiced with them and have shown our gratitude for their call to follow Jesus Christ in service to his Body, the Church.

Over this year they have had an opportunity to reflect upon and review the call that Jesus gave them at one point in their life. In the Gospels we see Jesus along the river Jordan approaching the table where Matthew, the tax collector, sat and saying to him “follow me.” And along the Sea of Galilee, he tells fishermen to put their nets down and follow him. Jesus—in so many passages in the Gospel—approaches people asking them to follow him without reserve.

In a striking account, Jesus met the rich young man who asked, “What must I do to gain eternal life.” Jesus gave him the list of the Commandments to which the young man responded, “I’ve done all these things. What more must I do?” Jesus looked at him with love, stared him in the eyes and said to him, “Give what you have to the poor and come follow me (Mt 19:16-21).” 

The prophet Jeremiah also provides us a beautiful account of his encounter with the Lord: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you…(Jer 1:5).” We are all born in the mind of God, even prior to entering our mother’s womb. Nothing is more personal than this: God knowing us in the womb and Jesus looking us in the eye with love to say, “come follow me.”

I hope that during this year my sisters and brothers in consecrated life have had time to reflect on those two very well-known passages of the sacred Scriptures and that they have had an opportunity to look into the eyes of Jesus on the cross, in a moment of adoration with the Blessed Sacrament or in the depth of their hearts. Most likely, during this special year, our sisters and brothers have looked into the eyes of Jesus and said, “Thank you. Thank you for calling me. Thank you for giving me that special look, my vocation.”

God initiates all vocations. God calls. It is in our power to say no, but it is God the creator, the Supreme Being of all of us who plants in our life the vocation to follow him. Jesus says, “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you (Jn 15:16).”

The men and women in consecrated life have generously answered his call to ministry.  They were not called to serve themselves, but to serve the body of Christ. When the Church needs them to teach, they are there. When the Church needs catechists of the faith, they are there. When we needed comfort in the hospital, when we were sick, dear sisters and brothers, you have been there to visit us and pray with us. And when we just needed a prayer we could call the convents and know that you were there to pray for us.  When we have been hungry, without clothing on the streets, you have been there to welcome us into a shelter, to feed and clothe us. When we have become elderly and near the end of life and needed extra assistance, you have been there for us. When we needed time for retreats to spend more time intimately with our God and our Savior Jesus Christ you have offered us a place to pray.

I say us in all of these things, because when you serve one you serve the whole Body. 

Women and men in consecrated life are an integral part of the incarnation of God’s mercy. That is why we now fold the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life into the opening of the Year of Mercy. More than ever, men and women in consecrated life find their identity with Christ during this year. Pope Francis has said that the beauty of consecration is joy; there is no holiness in sadness. Joy is the foundation of the Christian life. Joy is a necessity. So we forge ahead, together thanking God for the vocation of consecrated life, serving in the present moment and looking ahead with tremendous hope with unbounded joy.

Thank you to the many consecrated men and women who have served the Church so faithfully in the past. Thank you to all of you who serve today in a selfless way. May God’s infinite mercy be yours this year in a generous way.