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Unbounded
generosity
104. Many people today
question the value of consecrated life and its particular commitments. These
questions result from our utilitarian and technocratic culture, in which things
and people may be valued according to their “usefulness.” The answer can be found
in the Gospel episode of the anointing of Jesus at Bethany. Judas, using the
needs of the poor as an excuse, complained that this use of the expensive oil
was a waste. To this Christ responded: “Let her alone!” The consecrated life
enriches the Church through unbounded generosity, a life spent in loving and
serving the Lord without reserve. This transcends all utilitarian
considerations.
The consecrated
life in the service of the Kingdom of God
105. The importance of
the consecrated life to the Church rests in this unbounded generosity and love,
all the more so in a world that risks suffocation in the whirlpool of the
ephemeral. The Church cannot renounce the consecrated life, for it expresses
her inmost nature as Bride of Christ. The Church needs people able to show the
fatherly face of God and the motherly face of the Church, so that others can
have life and hope. The whole Christian community—pastors, laity and
consecrated persons—is responsible for the consecrated life, and for promoting
new vocations.
To young
people
106. If you hear the
Lord’s call, do not reject it! Dare to join great movements of holiness.
Readily accept God’s invitation to seek holiness in the consecrated life.
To families
107. It is a great honor
if the Lord calls one’s child to the consecrated life. Parents must live the
values of the Gospel so that the young will be able to truly discern God’s
call. Children must be trained in the responsible use of their freedom so they may
live in accordance with the loftiest spiritual realities.
To men and women
of good will
108. Seek the paths to
the living and true God, including the consecrated life. Consider the example
of consecrated men and women, their self-mastery by grace and God’s love, their
good works and devotion to God.
To consecrated
persons
109. Live to the full
your dedication to God. You are on a journey of continuous conversion, to bear
witness to the grace that transfigures Christian life. Bear witness to Christ
in your life, work and words. Give Him everything! Be a unique example to the
young. Live faithfully your commitment to God in mutual edification and
support.
Looking to the
future
110. Consecrated life
has a glorious past, but also a great history still to be accomplished. The
consecrated must make their lives a fervent expectation of Christ. They must be
always faithful to Him, to the Church, to their institutes, and to the men and
women of our time.
Prayer to the Holy
Trinity
111. The Holy Father
invokes the Holy Trinity—Father Most Holy, Jesus our Savior, and Holy Spirit—to
bless, sanctify and strengthen all consecrated sons and daughters of God.
Invocation of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
112. May the Blessed
Virgin sustain consecrated persons on their journey toward sole and eternal
blessedness; teach them to proclaim the mighty works of the Lord; support them
in their work; and obtain for them, from her Son, the ability to bear witness
to the gift of the consecrated life by their transfigured lives.
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