The final day of the Jubilee of Consecrated Life began with the Eucharistic celebration in memory of St. John XXIII, the “Good Pope”, initiator of the Second Vatican Council. His memory evoked the call to a synodal and outgoing Consecrated Life, capable of reading the signs of the times with hope.
The day was marked by testimonies born of hope from places as diverse as the Amazon and the work with ethnic minorities in Australia. At the entrance to the Paul VI Hall, an exhibition of murals on the care of creation, fraternity and peace invited contemplation and commitment, as did a presentation of dance, images and words: Symphony of Creation.
Two central moments illuminated the day’s reflection:
- “Teresa Maya, of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word (VCVI).
- Workshop on mediation and conflict management techniques, facilitated by Fr. David McCallum, SJ.
The Jubilee concluded with a celebration in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls, a sign of communion and sending forth. This closing does not mark an end, but the beginning of a new stage of reconciliation and hope for Consecrated Life.
On the road to peace
“I lost my peace, he took away my peace, rest in peace, peace be with you…” Our liturgy is full of prayers and wishes for peace, but the challenge is to make it concrete life. This Jubilee of Consecrated Life invites us to make peace not only a repeated word, but a commitment that transforms.
As we close this Jubilee Year – one of the last of the great Jubilee of Hope – it is worth asking ourselves: Can we say mission accomplished? How will we take this commitment beyond a photo in the networks?
Communities walking for peace
We are part of the human family crying out for peace in a world where violence is increasing and becoming normalized. Pope Leo XIV has repeatedly exhorted the urgency of peace. Peace is not built in solitude: the road that leads to it is communal.
Shalom is more than the absence of conflict: it is the profound harmony to which God calls us. Peace is the fruit of encounter, and only in encounter do we recover humanity.
Peace is built on reconciliation. Today, consecrated life is called to be an expert in reconciliation, sowing a culture of communion where before there was distance or indifference.
The art of the encounter
St. Francis of Assisi is a teacher of peace. Let us learn from him to speak with Creation. The encyclical Fratelli tutti inspires us to break away from isolation and closed-mindedness. It is not age that limits us, but the ideologies and fears that paralyze us. We find it difficult to dare difficult encounters; we prefer those who think like us.
We have replaced compassion – which mobilizes – with empathy that does not transform. To go out, to meet people, to experience authentic encounters that touch our hearts: that is where the true symphony of peace begins.
There is no peace without memory: without remembering names and stories, without letting the pain of the world awaken our tenderness. What a pity that sometimes we only know the true story of our sisters in the obituary!
A spirituality that remakes peace
Peace is a gift, not a conquest. Consecrated life, called to be a prophetic memory, is invited to live today a spirituality that listens and humanizes.
This spirituality necessarily passes through the path of reconciliation: with history, with our brothers and sisters, with ourselves and with God. We are called to be experts in reconciliation, to create a true culture of reconciliation, because -although we speak of peace- there are reconciliations pending. We prefer silence or distance to healing dialogue. Peace is built in reconciliation, not in the avoidance of conflict.
Rebuilding peace
We are invited to touch those relationships that we need to heal and to become aware of our way of living conflicts, with their lights and shadows.
We need to learn about mediation and conflict management, to welcome them as a space for growth and the building of trust and understanding. For this, it is necessary to listen with all our heart, mind, will and spirit: to go out of our own idea, to welcome that of the other, to open our soul in contemplative listening and to perceive the Spirit in others.
Shipping in San Pablo Extramuros
We crossed the Holy Door together and said goodbye with gratitude and hearts on fire for what we had experienced. Each encounter has taught us to be a listening, caring and hopeful presence. We return to the road committed to sowing peace, accompanying the poorest and defending life, guided by the Gospel and the example of Mary, to make every seed of hope flourish in our world”.
