Simeon and Anna “were elderly, alone, yet they had not lost hope, because they remained in communion with the Lord,” the pope explained, saying consecrated men and women are like Anna and Simeon, “simple men and women who caught sight of the treasure worth more than any worldly good.”
“And so,” he continued, “you left behind precious things, such as possessions, such as making a family for yourselves. Why did you do this? Because you fell in love with Jesus, you saw everything in him, and enraptured by his gaze, you left the rest behind.”
Francis reflected on hope and leaving behind worldly possessions during Mass for the 24th World Day of Consecrated Life, which is celebrated every year on the feast of the Presentation of the Lord.
The feast of the Presentation is also sometimes called Candlemas. On this day, many Catholics bring candles to the church to be blessed. They can then light these candles at home during prayer or difficult times as a symbol of Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.
The Mass Feb. 1 began with Pope Francis blessing the candles in the rear of the nave. He then processed to the front of the darkened church with priests, bishops, and cardinals carrying lit candles. Men and women present in the congregation also held small candles.
According to the pope, religious life is an undeserved gift of love which gives consecrated men and women the vision to see what is truly important in life and to acknowledge that “everything is gift, all is grace.”
In religious life there can be a temptation to see things in a worldly way, he said, noting that when consecrated life does not revolve around God’s grace, “it turns in upon itself. It loses its passion, it grows slack, becomes stagnant.”
“This entails no longer seeing God’s grace as the driving force in life, then going off in search of something to substitute for it: a bit of fame, a consoling affection, finally getting to do what I want.”
What happens is “we start to demand our own space, our own rights, we let ourselves get dragged into gossip and slander, we take offence at every small thing that does not go our way, and we pour forth litanies of lamentation: about our brothers, our sisters, our communities, the Church, society,” he explained.
“We no longer see the Lord in everything, but only the dynamics of the world, and our hearts grow numb,” he continued, encouraging religious to ask God for the ability to see his grace at work in the world.
