World Day for Consecrated Life - February 2, 2022
Every Thanksgiving weekend our Congregation gathers to celebrate the lives of women who have lived their commitment to consecrated life for 25, 50, 60, 70, 75 and 80 years. It is a celebration of God’s fidelity and the Sisters’ joy of being called to minister to God’s people.
Before I entered, I appreciated two songs that seemed to sum up my call: “The Simple Life” by Valdy and “Shower the People” by James Taylor. Even more now, the world celebrates “excess and extravagance.” “Give me the simple life, don’t want to worry about tomorrow,” sings Valdy. When you live simply, you are able to focus on what is truly important. James Taylor reminds us, “Shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel.” What a blessing it is to be able to pour yourself into your ministry so that those on the margins are seen and cared for.
“When you live simply, you are able to focus on what is truly important. ”
Image: Unsplash|Billy Pasco
You cannot live this life without being in relationship with the Source of all Being. This relationship supplies all the energy, direction, hope, love and grace that is required to be happy. It is not rainbows and balloons every day, but even in difficult times there is peace in the depths. And when one gets off track, there is plenty of mercy and forgiveness. There are many ways to live one’s life, to become a saint: single life, married life, religious life and priestly life, to name some. Each one offers a person a way to be in relationship with God and with the Church and the world. Religious life is a fulfilling adventure if you are called to it. Are you experiencing a desire to live a simple life? A life of joy and grace? A life of faith, hope and love? Consider life as a vowed consecrated person. There’s no life like it!
-Sister Pat Carter, csj
Living with Christ/Bayard Presse Canada. Used with permission.
Pat Carter, CSJ is a disciple, a teacher and an advocate for the poor.She has been a Sister of St. Joseph for more than half of her life and loves to use words to inspire faith and laughter.