Given at the Mass for Religious and Consecrated Persons at Westminster Cathedral on 5th Feb 2022
Welcome. It seems so long since we have been together to celebrated this Mass, of the Feast of the Presentation, rejoicing in your religious commitment and consecration. I thank all of you present here today, and I welcome and thank all who are participating in this Holy Mass via the live-streaming. Let us begin.
Homily
The Feast of the Presentation, on 2nd February, which we celebrate today, marks 40 days since Christmas Day and the birth in our flesh of the Eternal Word of God. It was 40 days that Moses stayed wrapped in the cloud of God’s presence on Mt Sinai; it was 40 days during which the advance guard of the chosen people reconnoitered the promised land of Canaan and brought back signs of its fruitfulness; 40 days during which the risen Lord appeared to his disciples; the 40 days of Lent during which we are prepared, each year, for Easter, remembering the 40 years of the people’s exile in the desert, the time of repentance and preparation.
During all of these 40 days, a process of enrichment takes place. The seed of God's presence and action takes root among the people and begins to mature in its earthly expression.
So too for us, today. We have embraced the coming of our Saviour and now, in response, we again present our lives to him, readying ourselves once more for his service, trusting that what he has begun in us will ripen some more until, in God's good time, it comes to its eternal fulfilment.
In his presentation in the Temple, we see the Son of God entering into the reality of life of faith of his people. He enters, willingly, into the institution. Yet he comes not only to embrace it, but also to complete it, to transform it. Those who have eyes for the work of God, Anna and Simeon, recognise this moment and breathe a deep sigh: 'At last!' At last, my eyes have seen your salvation.
I do not think it is fanciful to see this moment made real, again, in every celebration of the Eucharist. We come; we acknowledge our failings; we embrace the faith of the Church; we are filled with awe at the coming of Jesus in this sacrament; we too, when he is held before us, can give a heartfelt, live-giving sigh of recognition: 'At last, my eyes have seen your salvation'.
This has happened often in your lives. It must have been this same conviction that led you to make this gift of your lives, to have presented yourselves for religious professions, for personal consecration, many on this very Feast day, many years ago now.
I thank you for that gift. I thank you for the years of faithful service which have been the fruit of that presentation. In a special way I thank those who are, this year, celebrating notable anniversaries:
Diamond Jubilees
Sr Anne Hogan (Sisters of Christian Instruction)
Fr Paul Addison (Friar Servants of Mary)
Sr Maureen Boggis (Sisters of St Joseph of Peace)
Sr Mary Geraldine McGinn (Daughters of the Cross)
Golden Jubilees
Sr June Ralph (Sisters of St Paul de Chartres)
Sr Mary Stella Okeadu (Daughters of Mary, Mother of Mercy)
Fr Patrick Ryall (Friar Servants of Mary)
Sr Isabel Canton (Sister Hospitallers of the Sacred Heart)
Sr Maria Aurora Salgado de Abreu (Comboni Missionary Sisters)
Platinum Jubilees
Sr Agnes Mary Sheldon (Religious of the Assumption)
Sr John Mary Northcote (Religious of the Assumption)
Congratulations and now, whether you are at home or here, a round of applause, please!
As you all know we are at present engaged in a ‘synodal pathway', listening and gathering together reflections and contributions from many people. Last Saturday I was listening to the process by which these are being brought together. There were many rich contributions, but one has stayed in my mind, especially with our Mass in view. One response I heard spoke so warmly about the presence and witness of religious in the life of our parishes. There was a note of sadness, too, that this contribution is on the decline. But the positive note was there: 'How can we, as people of a parish, pick up and continue the remarkable charisma shown to us by our beloved religious?'
Inevitably the question popped up: 'Well, what are these gifts that religious life shows us and which we wish to embody in our own way?' Here are some:
- a certain simplicity of life that seems to be free of many material concerns;
- a capacity to live in and sustain community, with all its challenges;
- a clear focus on service, cheerfully given and often with the poorest in mind;
- a love of bringing the best out of people, encouraging, educating, affirming;
- a life of dedication to Jesus that is clear and publicly signalled, even if sometimes derided or at least shunned.
I could go on. Every one of you is able to fill out those brief points with experience and stories, some humorous, some deeply touching, some very mundane. But this is the reality of the life that you lead and today is a day for making clear how much it is appreciated and valued. I pray, indeed, that the charisma of your lives is breathed into the life of so many more, as I know you are trying to achieve in different ways of associating lay people closely into your way of life. Thank you for this. Thank you for the confidence it shows in the life of your religious family. May God bless these efforts and generously bestow on us all the gifts that you show forth across these many years.
Today there is no lunch to follow this Mass, no chance to chat and offer warm congratulations more personally. Such prudence is still appropriate, especially for our age group! But the moment is now for me to thank you all again, to congratulate our jubilarians and to join with you, in a very heartfelt way, as you renew your commitment as religious and consecrated persons.
Let us stand.
Photo: Mazur/CBCEW.org.uk