The Power of Our Consecration

On February 2nd we celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord. On this day, the Church also celebrated the World Day of Consecrated Life. It is a day to pray and intercede for all the men and women who have consecrated their lives in a special way to God.

I am currently in my second year of Temporary Vows as a CFR Sister. Each day I experience more profoundly the power of my consecration. Recently, I traveled to Central America to study Spanish. For two weeks, myself and three other sisters were immersed in the beauty of Guatemala. Everything spoke of God’s magnificence - the culture, the people, the food, the volcanos - everything! This was my second time attending language school which made my heart attentive to what was around me and not just trying to remember the phrase, “Could you say that again?” in Spanish. It was an experience of receiving God’s beauty more deeply in my surroundings, but also through the personal encounters God brought about in our time there. I quickly came to see that the Lord brought me back here not only to learn more Spanish, but for something greater -- for the salvation of souls.

Wearing our habit is a public witness of our consecration. At times, simply our presence felt like a magnetic pull with people of all walks of life -- those far from the Church and God, souls aimlessly seeking truth, as well as those who were living their faith. It became evident that everyone was seeking God in one way or another, and our presence as a religious sisters seemed to assure them that what (or Who) they seek is real and in reach.

God was always at work. Our mid-class “descanso” (break), became an impromptu time for other students to share prayer requests, unburden their personal struggles or ask questions. In all of our conversations, I sensed that everyone was seeking something greater; they were seeking God who they could mysteriously see in us as religious sisters. At another time, we providential ran into a fellow student on our way to get an after-class “galleta” (cookie) which opened the door to beautiful subsequent conversations. Lastly, six hours of one-on-one Spanish class each day afforded countless opportunities for sharing God’s workings in my own life and to encourage my teacher in her own walk with the Lord. These are just snapshots of the ways that God was at work!

In each encounter, orchestrated by the Providence of God, it became clear to me that my life is not my own. In giving my whole heart to God through my vows, I realized that He is going to use me in ways that I can’t imagine or fathom. My spiritual motherhood is real and tangible. Loving with an undivided heart, I can hold each of God’s children in my heart while carrying them back to Jesus my Spouse.

So, as my notebook was being filled with new verb tenses and vocabulary, my heart was being expanded to love as Christ has loved me. Our Constitutions state that, “the sisters freely assume consecrated religious life in the Church in order to serve as a sign of the heavenly glory that is a participation in the life of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” Living my consecration points to the Heavenly reality we are all made for. Bringing each of these encounters to the Lord in prayer, I can see how each person we met, whether they were aware or not, desired to find God. I return to New York not yet fluent in Spanish, but gratefully in awe of the mysterious workings of God.

This week is a beautiful opportunity to pray for those in consecrated life; for the grace of fidelity, joy and fruitfulness in living our vocations, as well as, for many more young men and women to respond courageously to God’s call in their lives to follow Him more closely in a vocation to consecrated life.

  - Sr. Colette, CFR