Bishop Kiciński on the World Day for Consecrated Life: Consecrated persons are witnesses to the presence of Jesus in our midst
Consecrated persons, following the pure, poor and obedient Jesus, are witnesses of His presence among us. Fulfilling their vocation faithfully, they do everything to make God better known and loved – wrote Bishop Jacek Kiciński CMF, President of the Commission for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life of the Polish Bishops’ Conference, in a letter for the World Day for Consecrated Life, which we will celebrate on 2 February, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
Bishop Kiciński noted that with their lives, consecrated persons teach attentiveness to God and to others. “Today’s world runs so fast that we increasingly lack time for each other. Consecrated people teach us the importance of stopping by God and the other person. When one is constantly running, it is difficult to see the details. When we stop and dedicate our time to others, then we understand their lives more and more and begin to see the true face of the concrete human being” – wrote the President of the Commission for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
He stressed that the characteristic of the ministry of consecrated persons is “presence”. “They are present to those for whom we cannot, or perhaps sometimes do not want to, find time. They are there for the sick, the rejected, the lonely, the suffering, the dying both spiritually and physically. Their strength is the love of Christ. They recognise His face in the face of every person to whom they give their time” – Bishop Kiciński added.
The President of the Commission for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life of the Polish Bishops’ Conference also drew attention to how consecrated persons “teach active expectation of Christ’s second coming” – on the one hand through prayer, and on the other hand by taking active steps in various spaces of religious and social life. “By imitating Jesus chaste, poor and obedient, they are witnesses of His presence among us. Fulfilling their vocation faithfully, they do everything to make God better known and loved – in this way they participate in the universal mission of the Church” – wrote Bishop Kiciński.
He stressed that although the ministry of consecrated persons can take many forms, they are always close to people, especially the poor, the sick or those in need “both in soul and body”. “Their presence is sometimes the only light of hope where humanly speaking there is no longer any. In a world so divided and marked by suffering, in a divided world where brother hates brother, consecrated persons become heralds of peace, reminding us that true reconciliation is born in the heart and that forgiveness is an expression of God’s mercy” – Bishop Kiciński noted.
“As we celebrate today another World Day for Consecrated Life, we give thanks together with the whole Church for those who, by professing the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, remind us that God is love” – Bishop Kiciński concluded, expressing gratitude for all people of consecrated life.
Press Office of the Polish Bishops’ Conference
