Pope Francis celebrates a vigil mass on the feast of the presentation of the Lord, which is observed as the World Day of Consecrated Life. In his homily, the Pope invites religious men and women to be patient and courageous to keep moving forward, exploring new paths and responding to the pleas of the Holy Spirit.
By the Vatican News staff writer
At Mass for the presentation of the Lord, Pope Francis focused on Simeon’s words as he “waited for the consolation of Israel” (Lk 2:25).
He introduced his homily by describing to Simeon that he recognized in the Child Jesus “the light that came to shine upon the Gentiles:” He was an old man, explained the Pope, who had patiently waited for the fulfillment of the Lord’s promises.
Simeon’s patience
“Let us look closely at Simeon’s patience,” said the Pope, “for all his life he had been waiting, exercising the patience of the heart.”
He noted that “Simeon had learned that God does not come in extraordinary events, but works in the midst of the apparent monotony of our daily lives, in the frequently boring pace of our activities, in the little things that, working tenaciously and humility, we achieve in our efforts to fulfill his will ”.
Simeon, the Pope continued, did not tire, although in his long life there must have been painful and difficult moments, but he did not lose hope: “the flame still burned intensely in his heart.”
By trusting in the promise of the Lord, Pope Francis explained, he did not allow himself to be consumed by the sorrow or discouragement that may come as we approach the twilight of our lives.
“His hope and expectation were expressed in the daily patience of a man who, in spite of everything, remained vigilant until finally” his eyes saw the salvation “that had been promised,” he said.
Pope Francis presides at Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
A mirror of God’s own patience
The Pope continued to observe that Simeon’s patience was a mirror of God’s own patience. In fact, from the prayer and history of his people, Simeon had learned to see in the Lord “a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger and abundant in constant love and faithfulness.”
He reflected on St. Paul’s letter to the Romans in which the apostle says that patience “leads us to repentance” and quotes the German priest, author, and scholar Romano Guardini, who once observed that patience is the way to responding from God to our weakness and the time we need to change, the Pope said that “more than anyone, the Messiah, Jesus, whom Simeon had in his arms, shows us the patience of God, the merciful Father who he calls us, even to the last minute. “
God, Pope Francis reiterated, does not demand perfection, but always opens up new possibilities when all seems lost, in the desire to open a gap in our hardened hearts.
God never tires of waiting for us
“This is the reason for our hope: may God not tire of waiting for us,” the Pope said, adding that “when we turn away, he comes to seek us; when we fall, he raises us; when we return “To him, after losing his way, he awaits us with open arms. His love does not weigh on the scales of our human calculations, but without stopping he gives us the courage to start again.”
Pope Francis presides at Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
Our patience
Pope Francis then invited consecrated men and women to look at the patience of God and the patience of Simeon, as they consider their own lives of consecration.
Patience, he said, is not just about tolerating difficulties or showing a hard determination in the face of difficulties, it is not a sign of weakness, but the strength of the spirit that allows us to “carry the burden” of personal problems. and to accept others as different from ourselves, to persevere in goodness when all seems lost, and to keep moving forward even when overcome by fatigue and absolution ”.
He noted what he called three “scenarios” in which patience can materialize:
Personal life
Our personal life, in which the way we have responded to the Lord’s call has not always been constant due to disappointments, frustrations, and feelings of helplessness.
“In our lives as consecrated men and women, it can happen that hope slowly fades as a result of unfulfilled expectations. We need to be patient with ourselves and look forward to God’s own times and places, because He stays true to His promises. Remembering it can help us walk our steps and relive our dreams, instead of succumbing to inner sadness and discouragement, ”he said.
“Brothers and sisters,” the Pope urged, “inner sadness in consecrated persons is like a worm: a worm, which eats us from within. Flee from inner sadness!”
Community life
A second scenario in which patience can materialize, the Pope continued, is community life.
He said that human relations are not always serene, especially when they involve sharing a project of life or apostolic activity: there are times when conflicts arise and no immediate solution can be expected nor hasty judgments should be made.
Time, according to the Pope, must take a step back, preserve peace and wait for a better time to resolve situations of charity and truth, and urged men and women living in communities to cultivate this kind of mutual patience. : “the ability to bear, that is, to bear on our own shoulders, the life of one of our brothers, including his weaknesses and shortcomings.”
“Let us keep in mind that the Lord does not call us to be soloists,” and there are many who said to the Church, who tells us “that we are part of a choir that can sometimes miss a note or two, but always he must try to sing in unison ”.
Our relationship with the world
The third scenario described by Pope Francis concerns our relationship with the world.
Recalling how Simeon and Anna loved the hope proclaimed by the prophets, “although it is slowly fulfilled and grows in silence amid the infidelities and ruins of our world.”
He said that “they did not complain about the error of things, but patiently sought the light that shone in the darkness of history” and stressed that “we also need this kind of patience not to fall into the trap to regret that “the world no longer listens to us”, “we no longer have vocations”, “these are not easy times” … ”
“It can happen that, even as God patiently works the land of history and our own hearts, we are impatient and want to judge everything immediately. That way, we lose hope, ”he said.
Pope Francis presides at Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life
Patience helps us to be merciful
Pope Francis concluded his homily by explaining that “patience helps us to be merciful in the way we see ourselves, our communities and our world.”
He invited consecrated men and women and all the faithful not to stop welcoming the patience of the Holy Spirit, not to stop leading one another and to radiate the joy of fraternal life, not to stop to patiently offer our service:
“These are real challenges for our consecrated life: we cannot remain trapped in nostalgia for the past or simply repeat the same old things. We need patience and courage to keep moving forward, exploring new paths and responding to the directions of the Holy Spirit. ”
Never gossip and never lose your sense of humor!
At the end of the Mass, Pope Francis thanked Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life, for welcoming those present.
He noted that in this time of pandemic patience is needed to move forward “offering the Lord our lives.”
And referring again to his recently pronounced homily dedicated to “patience,” he reflected on how life within a religious community is full of the danger of gossip.
“Please get out of the gossip,” he said, “kill the life of the community!”
The Pope acknowledged that sometimes this is not easy, but invited consecrated men and women to “bite their tongues” before gossiping about others: “Bite your tongue, so that it will swell and you it will fill your mouth and you won’t be able to speak badly! ”
The other piece of advice he had reserved for the religious of his brothers and sisters was to never lose his sense of humor: “It helps us a lot. It’s anti-gossip, knowing how to laugh at yourself, at situations, even others, with a good heart! ”
“Thank you,” the Pope concluded, “for what you do, thank you for your testimony. Thank you, thank you very much for your difficulties, for the way you bear them and for the way you bear the pain in the face of lack of vocations: have courage, the Lord is great, the Lord loves us. We follow the Lord! “
World Day of Prayer for Consecrated Life was instituted in 1997 by Pope St. John Paul II. This celebration is attached to the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on February 2nd. The celebration of World Day of Consecrated Life is moved to the following Sunday in order to highlight the gift of consecrated persons for the whole Church.
Pope Francis presides at Mass on the day of prayer for consecrated life