VATICAN - Benedict XVI: “we must not be discouraged, because if many clouds are gathering on the horizon of religious life today, there also exist (indeed they are constantly growing) signs of a providential reawakening which gives rise to consolation and hope.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “We are all aware how, in modern globalised society, it is becoming ever more difficult to announce and bear witness to the Gospel. The process of secularisation which is advancing in contemporary culture does not, unfortunately, spare even religious communities.” With these words, the Holy Father Benedict XVI addressed members of the executive committee of the International Union of Superiors General, on February 18. Over the course of the meeting, various aspects of consecrated life were addressed, bringing to light both positive elements and difficulties, expectations and challenges that the religious families find today in their experience.
In facing the difficulties of religious life, “we must not be discouraged, because if (as has been said) many clouds are gathering on the horizon of religious life today, there also exist (indeed they are constantly growing) signs of a providential reawakening which gives rise to consolation and hope. The Holy Spirit blows powerfully throughout the Church, creating a new commitment to faithfulness, both in the historical institutes and, at the same time, in new forms of religious consecration that reflect the needs of the times.”
What characterises these new forms of consecrated life, the Pope said, is the common desire, that is also shared with great enthusiasm, “for a radical form of evangelical poverty, for faithful love of the Church, and for generous dedication to the needy with particular attention to that spiritual poverty which so markedly characterises the modern age.”
In particular, the Holy Father observed that “those institutes that have conserved and chosen a state of life that is often austere and faithful to the Gospel lived 'sine glossa' have a wealth of vocations. I think of the many communities that remain faithful to this new forms of consecrated life, that you all know well; I think of the missionary work of so many groups and movements in the Church that are a source of many vocations to the priesthood and religious life; I think of the children and young people that leave everything to enter the monasteries and cloistered convents.” Benedict XVI later invited all to give thanks to the Lord, who “continues to send workers into His vineyard and to enrich His people with so many holy vocations.” He also invited all to pray that the many young people who have begun this path with enthusiasm, “persevere in their commitment on the authentic path of ascetic and spiritual perfection, on the path of true holiness.”
The Holy Father, reflecting on the Orders and Congregations of long-standing tradition in the Church, mentioned that in recent decades, “they have almost all - men and women - suffered a difficult crisis due to the aging of members, a more or less accentuated fall in vocations and, sometimes, a spiritual and charismatic ‘weariness.’” However, there are also signs of renewal, “especially when communities have chosen to return to the origins and live in a way more in keeping with the spirit of the founder. In almost all recent general chapters of religious institutes the recurring theme has been precisely that of rediscovering the original charism, to then incarnate it...has helped give institutes a promising new ascetic, apostolic and missionary impulse. It is along this road that we must continue, praying to the Lord to bring to full fruition the work he began.”
The Pope concluded with this exhortation: “And the Institutes of Consecrated Life, if they wish to maintain or renew their vitality and apostolic efficiency, they should continually ‘start afresh from Christ.’ He is the solid rock on which you should build your community and all your work in renewal of the community and in your apostolate.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 20/2/2008; righe 49, parole 608)