Homily of Pope Francis on the World Day for Consecrated Life

Two old men, Simeon and Anna, wait in the temple for the fulfillment of the promise that God has made to his people: the arrival of the Messiah. But it is not a passive waiting but full of movement. In this context, let us therefore follow in the footsteps of Simeon: he, at first, is led by the Spirit, then sees salvation in the Child and, finally, takes him in his arms (cf. Lk 2:26-28 ). Let us dwell on these three actions and allow ourselves to be challenged by some important questions for us, in particular for the consecrated life.

The first, what is it that moves us? Simeon goes to the temple “led by the same Spirit” (v. 27). The Holy Spirit is the main actor on the scene. It is He who inflames Simeon’s heart with the desire for God, it is He who enlivens the hope in his soul, it is He who leads his steps towards the temple and allows his eyes to be able to recognize the Messiah, even though he appears as a child small and poor. This is how the Holy Spirit acts: he makes us capable of perceiving the presence of God and his work not in big things, not in flashy appearances or in demonstrations of strength, but in smallness and fragility. The expression “led by the Spirit” reminds us of what in spirituality are called “spiritual motions”, which are those inspirations of the soul that we feel within us and that we are called to listen to,

Let us ask ourselves then, from whom do we mainly let ourselves be inspired? From the Holy Spirit or from the spirit of the world? This is a question with which we all must confront ourselves, especially us consecrated persons. While the Spirit leads us to recognize God in the smallness and fragility of a child, we sometimes run the risk of conceiving our consecration in terms of results, goals and success. We move in search of spaces, notoriety, numbers. The Spirit, on the other hand, does not ask us to do this. He wants us to cultivate daily fidelity, to be docile to the little things that have been entrusted to us. How beautiful is the fidelity of Simeon and Anna. Every day they go to the temple, every day they wait and pray, even though time passes and it seems that nothing happens. They wait all their lives, without giving up or complaining,

Let us ask ourselves, brothers and sisters, what animates our days? What love drives us to move forward? The Holy Spirit or the passion of the moment? How do we move in the Church and in society? Sometimes, even behind the appearance of good deeds, the virus of narcissism or the obsession with protagonism can hide. In other cases, even when we do so much, our religious communities seem to be driven more by mechanical repetition—doing things out of habit, just for the sake of doing them—than by the excitement of communing with the Holy Spirit. Today let us examine our inner motivations, let us discern our spiritual movements, because the renewal of consecrated life happens above all here.

A second question is, what do our eyes see? Simeon, moved by the Spirit, sees and recognizes Christ. And he prays saying: “my eyes have seen your salvation” (v. 30). This is the great miracle of faith: it opens your eyes, transforms your gaze and changes your perspective. As we see from the many encounters with Jesus in the Gospels, faith is born from the compassionate gaze with which God looks at us, breaking the hardness of our hearts, healing his wounds and giving us a new look to see ourselves and the world. A new look at ourselves, at others, at all the situations we live in, even the most painful ones. It is not about a naive look, that flees from reality or pretends not to see the problems, but a look that knows how to “see inside” and “see beyond”; that does not stop at appearances,

Simeon’s weary gaze, though weakened by the years, sees the Lord, sees salvation. What about us? What do our eyes see? What vision do we have of consecrated life? The world often sees it as a “waste”, as a reality of the past, useless; but we, the Christian community, men and women religious, what do we see? Are we looking at the past, nostalgic for what no longer exists, or are we capable of a vision of clairvoyant faith, projected inward and beyond? It does me a lot of good to see older consecrated men and women, who with radiant eyes continue to smile, giving hope to the young. Let us think of the times we have met these gazes and bless God for it. They are looks of hope, open to the future.

Dear brothers and sisters, the Lord does not stop giving us signs to invite us to cultivate a renewed vision of consecrated life. We cannot pretend not to see them and continue as if nothing had happened, repeating the usual things, dragging ourselves by inertia in the ways of the past, paralyzed by the fear of change. Let us open our eyes: the Holy Spirit invites us to renew our life and our communities through crises, through numbers that are scarce and forces that diminish. Let’s look at Simeon and Anna who, even though they were advanced in age, did not spend their days longing for a past that would never come back, but rather opened their arms to the future that was coming to meet them. Let us not waste the present looking at the past, but let us place ourselves before the Lord, in adoration, and ask him for a look that knows how to see the good and discern the ways of God.

Finally, a third thing, what do we hold in our arms? Simeon took Jesus in his arms (cf. v. 28). This is a tender and dense scene of meaning, unique in the Gospels. God has placed his Son in our arms because welcoming Jesus is essential, it is the center of faith. Sometimes we run the risk of getting lost and scattered in a thousand things, of focusing on secondary aspects or concentrating on our own affairs, forgetting that the center of everything is Christ, whom we must welcome as Lord of our lives.

When Simeon takes Jesus in his arms, his lips pronounce words of blessing, praise and amazement. If we consecrated persons lack words that bless God and others, if we lack joy, if enthusiasm disappears, if fraternal life is just a burden, it is not because we are victims of someone or something, but because we are no longer we have Jesus in our arms. Then the heart is locked in bitterness, in complaining about things that are not going well, in a rigor that makes us inflexible, in airs of apparent superiority. Instead, if we welcome Christ with open arms, we will also welcome others with confidence and humility. In this way, conflicts do not exasperate, distances do not divide and the temptation to intimidate and hurt the dignity of any sister or brother disappears. So let’s open

Dear friends, let us enthusiastically renew our consecration today. Let us ask ourselves what motivations drive our hearts and our actions, what is the renewed vision that we are called to cultivate and, above all, let us take Jesus in our arms. Even when we experience difficulties and weariness, let us do like Simeon and Anna, who wait patiently for the Lord’s fidelity and do not allow themselves to be robbed of the joy of meeting Him. Let us put Him back at the center and move forward with joy.

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