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Pope Francis: Religious vows are antidote to individualism

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I.Media - published on 02/06/25
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Speaking to consecrated men and women, the Pope highlighted how their vows combat the individualism and isolation that are endemic in today's society.

Religious men and women faithful to chastity are “a reflection of divine love,” making visible the light of the “luminous plan of the Father” through their vows. Pope Francis spoke of this as he presided at First Vespers of the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple on February 1, 2025, in St. Peter's Basilica.

Every February 2, following an initiative taken by St. John Paul II in 1997, this feast is celebrated as World Day for Consecrated Life.

(Unlike in the Jubilee of Mercy in 2016, in the program for the Holy Year 2025, the Jubilee of Consecrated Life does not coincide with this date, as it will be held in Rome from October 8 to 12.)

The meaning of consecrated chastity

Chastity, “in renouncing conjugal love and following the path of continence, reaffirms the absolute primacy of God’s love, to be received with an undivided and spousal heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-36), and points to it as the source and model of every other love,” explained the Pope during his homily.

In front of hundreds of religious men and women from different communities, most of them carrying out apostolic work or in formation in Rome, the Pope explained that the commitment of consecrated persons brings a witness of courage “in a world often marked by distorted forms of affectivity, in which the principle of pleasure [...] drives people to seek in others the satisfaction of their own needs rather than the joy born of a fruitful encounter,” Francis remarked.

“In relationships this gives rise to superficial and unstable attitudes, selfishness and hedonism, immaturity and moral irresponsibility,” the Pope lamented.

In particular, Francis denounced the fact that, in contemporary culture, “the chosen spouse of a lifetime is replaced by the ‘partner’ of the moment, while children freely accepted as a gift are replaced by those demanded as a ‘right’ or eliminated as ‘unwanted.’”

Love that heals isolation

Conversely, “consecrated chastity shows us and points out to the men and women of the 21st century a way to heal the malady of isolation through the exercise of a free and liberating way of loving. A way of loving that accepts and respects everyone, while coercing or rejecting no one,” said the pontiff.

But the Pope stressed the importance of integrating affective questions into the formation of religious:

To this end [...] it is important that our communities provide for the spiritual and affective growth of their members, already during initial formation as well as in ongoing formation. In this way, chastity can truly reveal the beauty of a self-giving love, and avoid such harmful phenomena as the souring of the heart or questionable choices that are a symptom of unhappiness, dissatisfaction, and lead at times, in more fragile individuals, to living “double lives.” Daily there is a battle against the temptation of a double life. It is every day.

Poverty and obedience

Another vow central to the commitment of religious life, poverty, “is rooted in the very life of God,” said Francis:

By the practice of poverty, consecrated persons, by their free and generous use of all things, become bearers of blessing for them. They manifest the goodness of those things in the order of love, rejecting everything that can obscure their beauty – selfishness, greed, dependence, violent use and misuse for the purpose of death and destruction – and embracing instead all that can highlight that beauty: simplicity, generosity, sharing and solidarity.

Finally, the Pope highlighted the beauty of consecrated obedience, which teaches us to truly listen:

It is precisely in the light of God’s word that your obedience becomes a gift and a response of love, and a sign for our society. Today we tend to talk much but listen little, in our families, our workplaces and especially on social networks, where we can exchange floods of words and images without really encountering others, since we do not truly interact with them. This is something interesting. Many times, in everyday dialogue, before one finishes speaking, an answer already comes out because the other does not listen. We need to listen before responding. Welcome the other person’s word as a message, as a treasure, even as a help for me. Consecrated obedience can act as an antidote to this isolated individualism, for it promotes an alternative model of relationship marked by active listening, where “speaking” and “listening” are followed by the concreteness of “acting”, even at the cost of setting aside our own tastes, plans and preferences.

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