World Day for Consecrated Life
XXVIII WORLD DAY FOR CONSECRATED LIFE: 2 February 2024
On 2024 World Day for Consecrated Life, CRA celebrates the lives of consecrated women and men and gives thanks for another year of their generosity in the day-to-day challenges of ecclesial living and missionary endeavour.
Scripture: Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying,
‘Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace,
according to your word;
for my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel.’
(Luke 2:28-32, NRSV)
Naming our Blessings
Within the struggle, joy, pain, and delight that attend our life, there is an invisible circle of grace that enfolds and encompasses us in every moment. Blessings help us to perceive this circle of grace, to find our place of belonging within it, and to receive the strength the circle holds for us.
— from the Introduction of Circle of Grace: A Book of Blessings for the Seasons
by Jan Richardson | janrichardson.com/books
To ponder: In and through all the joy and pain of the past year, how do we perceive and articulate the blessings of God as we enter 2024 as Religious women and men?
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Gracious God
We give thanks for all who have given you their ‘Yes’ through living the vocation of consecrated life.
We are grateful for those who inspired them to take the step,
who formed them, encouraged them,
and welcomed them into community and mission.
We give thanks for the continuing ‘Yes’ of consecrated women and men,
for their years of loving and serving,
in crowded places and along the ‘edges’, through fertile fields and barren deserts.
We especially acknowledge their ‘Yes’ in the encounter at the Cross.
We honour their willingness to stay the course, their forgiveness and humility,
patience and hope, joy and humour, prayer and labour, questions and trailblazing.
We praise God for all consecrated men and women.
For their relentless ‘Yes’, spoken and unspoken,
prophetically voiced and authentically lived,
we give thanks.
And we say, Amen.
Catholic Religious Australia, 2023
Pope Francis’ Message: WDCL 2024
To connect with the celebration of Consecrated Life presided over by Pope Francis in Rome on 2 February 2024, click here.
Pope Francis’ 2024 message (homily) to members of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is available at this webpage.
Pope Francis has proposed that 2024 should be marked as a year dedicated to prayer, in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2025.
Celebrating and sharing the stories of Religious Congregations
Our Stories, Our Lives, Our Mission: Catholic Religious in Australia (CRA, St Pauls Publications, 2023)
Since publishing this CRA resource with St Pauls Publications in 2023, the stories of Religious Institutes in Australia have found their way into the hands of teachers and pastoral ministers and others around the country. We are delighted to continue to promote this book in today’s Catholic community as a way of facilitating deeper knowledge of Religious life among the young.
Please continue to pass on the link for the book to your networks, especially to schools and other ministries associated with your congregation.
Read the media release, learn more about this resource, and order it at St Pauls Publications website.
We also invite submissions for a second edition, for those who missed out on contributing to the first edition. To submit your story, request a Guide/Template from the CRA Secretariat.
Looking ahead: Jubilee of Consecrated Life 2025
The Jubilee of Consecrated Life will be celebrated in Australia in February 2025, ahead of the overall international celebration of the Jubilee Year in October 2025.
Last year, CRA invited feedback on the theme of Reconciliation as part of a DICLSAL consultation as it prepares for this Jubilee celebration. An insight into the responses was shared with CRA members.
For Jubilee updates from DICLSAL, click here.
HIGHLIGHTS FROM PREVIOUS WDCL CELEBRATIONS
2023 Presentation. Women, Leadership and the Synodal Process: Where to Now? With Nathalie Becquart XMCJ
'Women, Leadership and the Synodal Process: Where to Now?' was a presentation for Religious held on 2 February 2023 in Sydney, with Xavierian Missionary Sister Nathalie Becquart XMCJ, who is one of the most senior women within the Vatican, and an influential figure because of her leading role at the Secretariat for the Synod of Bishops. The October 2023 Synod is set to address the most important topics facing the Catholic Church today and she will have a decisive say in shaping its future.
Watch the whole event on CRA’s YouTube Channel.
Read the Pope’s message to Consecrated People on the World Day of Consecrated Life 2023