AMERICA/MEXICO - Consecrated life: "the potential of your charisms at the service of the People of God, overwhelmed by the pandemic"

Mexico City (Agenzia Fides) - As part of the Day of Consecrated Life, celebrated on February 2, feast of the Presentation of the Lord, the Bishops of Mexico expressed to each consecrated man and woman their closeness in the context of the health emergency caused by the pandemic. "Consecrated life - they write - is not exempt from disturbances, contaminations, deaths, human and economic difficulties, fears ... We recognize your fidelity, proven in suffering, your courage, your serene witness, even in pain or in uncertainty, and your care and closeness to the marginalized, your service at the cost of your life. Thank you, consecrated sisters and brothers!". The message emphasizes that the religious, by tuning in with the population and by uniting themselves with the response of the particular Churches in the fight against disease, the loss of jobs, economic deficiencies, deaths, the troubles "are currently giving 'hope'.
Msgr.Julio C. Salcedo Aquino, m.j. Bishop of Tlaxcala, at the Head of the Episcopal Commission for Consecrated Life, recalls in the message sent on behalf of the Mexican Bishops, that the charisms of consecrated life were born in the hearts of founders and foundresses through the work of the Holy Spirit, in order to respond to situations of adversity and to the needs of the Church and society. "The charism has a potential for life", he reaffirms, which does not allow us to "close eyes to the pain, suffering, poverty of so many men and women, of so many peoples and communities, who have been swept away by the virus that is destroying lives, health, projects, families, dreams ... Is the situation we are currently suffering from perhaps not a new call from the Holy Spirit to deploy the immense potentialities that the charisms possess? To respond to the signs of the times, creativity is needed, which comes from the Spirit for the good of the Church".
The founders "were true prophets who, faithful to the Spirit, were open to the signs of the times and to the challenges that touched their lives in creative fidelity. Now, in the context of this health emergency, we are faced with a new call from the Spirit, illuminated by Saint Joseph, Mary's husband, during the year that Pope Francis wanted to dedicate to him on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of his proclamation as Patron of the Universal Church".
Citing Pope Francis' Apostolic Letter Patris Corde, which among other aspects presents Saint Joseph as the father of "creative courage" especially when difficulties arise, as in the context of the times in which we live, the message concludes: "Faced with the pandemic that is affecting us , we have the example of St. Joseph. Brothers and sisters of consecrated life, the Church needs your 'fidelity and creative courage' like Saint Joseph. Unfold the potential of your charisms at the service of the People of God, overwhelmed by the pandemic and its consequences". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 3/2/2021)

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