“WHAT would the Church be without religious sisters and consecrated laywomen? The Church cannot be understood without them,” Pope Francis said in his February prayer intentions video released today.
The video was preceded by a reflection prepared by Franciscan Sister Alicia Torres, a United States woman religious working in an inner-city Chicago Catholic school.
She reflected on the words of Isaiah – “Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Is 7:14)
“Throughout salvation history, the Lord has delighted in giving us living signs, most remarkable among whom stands the Virgin Mary, Jesus’ own mother,” Sr Torres said.
“I can only imagine what it must have felt like for her in those tender moments when she first caressed the Son of God in her own arms, drinking in the fragrance of His presence.
“In their own way, religious sisters and consecrated women continue to carry the sweet fragrance of Christ into the world.
“Walking in the footsteps of Mary, they are called to reveal the love and mercy of God to a broken world, assuring every man, woman, and child that this life is not all there is, a great Kingdom awaits us.”
She said consecrated women “stand faithfully with Christ as Mary did, receiving His love that enables them to bear fruit in the Church and world”.
“They take their stand among the poor, children, refugees, college students, the sick, the elderly—the ‘greatest’ and the ‘least’,” she said.
“Their mission is not merely to satisfy physical or social needs, but ultimately to show by their lives that love is real, and love has a name – Jesus.”
In his video, Pope Francis encouraged “all consecrated women to discern and choose what is best for their mission in the face of the world’s challenges that we’re experiencing”.
“I exhort them to keep working and to have an impact with the poor, with the marginalised, with all those who are enslaved by traffickers; I especially ask them to make an impact on this,” he said.
“And let us pray that they may show the beauty of God’s love and compassion as catechists, theologians, and spiritual guides.”
Pope Francis urged women to fight when “they are treated unfairly, even within the Church; when they serve so much that they are reduced to servitude —at times, by men of the Church”.
“Do not be discouraged,” he said.
“May you keep making God’s goodness known through the apostolic works you do. But above all through your witness of consecration.
“Let us pray for religious sisters and consecrated women, thanking them for their mission and their courage; may they continue to find new responses to the challenges of our times.
“Thank you for what you are, for what you do, and for how you do it.”
