Message sent by him Pope Francisco for the Assembly of Major Superiors on the occasion of the XXV anniversary of the union of the CONFER (Spanish Conference of Religious)male and female.
February 10, 2022
I am happy to greet you on the occasion of your General Assembly, in which you celebrate precisely the XXV years of the union of the male and female CONFER. These years of close collaboration between religious men and women have been, without a doubt, fruitful. Bonds of fraternity, reciprocity and communion have been created, both in the tasks of CONFER and through solidarity and help between consecrated men and women in many moments and circumstances.
I invite you to look with confidence at the future of consecrated life in Spain, in accordance with the motto chosen for this Assembly: "I will give you a future full of hope" (Jer 29:11).
The Lord gives us hope with his constant messages of love and with his surprises, which can sometimes leave us disoriented, but help us get out of our mental and spiritual closures. His presence is one of tenderness, he accompanies us and commits us. That is why he says: «I know very well what I plan to do with you: designs of peace and not affliction, giving you a future and hope. You will call on me and go to beg me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me, if you seek me with all your heart. I will let myself be found, and I will change your luck” (Jer 29:11-14). The path taken as CONFER has a fruitful history, full of examples of dedication and hidden and silent holiness. No effort should be spared to serve and encourage Spanish consecrated life, so that it does not lack grateful memory or a look toward the future, since there is no doubt that the state of religious life, without hiding uncertainties and concerns, is full of opportunities and also of enthusiasm, passion and awareness that consecrated life today has meaning.
The Church needs us prophets, that is, men and women of hope. Precisely, one of the objectives of the year of consecrated life encouraged “embrace the future with hope.”
We know the difficulties that religious life is experiencing today, such as the decrease in vocations and the aging of its members, economic problems and the challenge of internationality and globalization, the insidiousness of relativism, marginalization and social irrelevance...; but in these circumstances our hope rises in the Lord, the only one who can help and save us (cf. Letter ap. to all consecrated persons on the occasion of the year of consecrated life, November 21, 2014, 3). This hope leads us to ask the Lord of the harvest to send workers into his harvest (cf. Mt 9:38), and to work on the evangelization of young people so that they open themselves to the call of the Lord. This is a great challenge: to be next to young people to infect them with the joy of the Gospel and belonging to Christ. Bold religious people are needed, who open new paths and approach the vocational question as a fundamental Christian option. Every stretch of history is God's time, including ours, because his Spirit blows where he wants, how he wants and when he wants (cf. Jn 3:8). Any moment and circumstance can be transformed into a “kairós”; You just have to be attentive to recognize it and live it as such.
Mary, our Mother, who "he kept these things and meditated on them in his heart" (Lk 2:19), will help us to contemplate and keep everything that we do not understand about the current moment, welcoming it, waiting for a future that, although different, will continue to be fruitful for consecrated life. Consecrated life walks in holiness. As religious we must become obsessed, worn out and tired living the works of mercy, which are the program of our life (cf. Ap. Exhort. Gaudete et exsultate, 107). It is not about being heroes or presenting ourselves to others as models, but about being with those who suffer, accompanying, seeking alternative paths, aware of our poverty, but also with trust placed in the Lord and in his limitless love. Hence the need to listen again to the call to live with the Church and in the Church, leaving our schemes and comforts, to be close to human situations of suffering and hopelessness that await the light of the Gospel. The challenges facing religious life today are many. The reality we live in requires bold responses and decisions in the face of these challenges.
Times have changed and our responses must be different. I encourage you to respond, both to structural situations that require new forms of organization, and to the need to go out and seek new presences to be faithful to the Gospel and channels of God's love. The life of prayer, the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, community discernment, dialogue with the bishop must be priorities when making decisions. We have to live with humble audacity looking to the future and in an attitude of listening to the Spirit, with him we can be prophets of hope.
May the Lord bless you and the Holy Virgin accompany you and help you discover the path to follow. And please don't forget to pray for me.
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