ARCHDIOCESE OF PHILADELPHIA

            My sister and brother jubilarians, I offer my sincere congratulations to you, your families and friends as you celebrate 25, 50, 60 and more years in consecrated life. You have labored selflessly toward the building of God’s kingdom, helping the Church, and working for the salvation of many, many people. I also congratulate the nuns in our cloistered monasteries, as well as the men and women religious in our retirement communities who are Jubilarians but who cannot be with us today for this liturgy. We remember them, as well, for their vital mission of continuous prayer for us all.

            The work you have accomplished in the Lord’s vineyard is truly staggering, bearing the heat of the day for many hours. You have served the poor, the sick, children, those who are forgotten by society, in homes and schools, in hospitals and orphanages, in parishes, as teachers and in humble daily service. The Church loves you for what you are and for what you do, for what you say and for what you give, for your prayer, for your renunciation, and for the gift of yourself. This is the meaning of your consecrated life: complete dedication to Christ - Christ at the center of your thought, Christ lived and witnessed in the world, and Christ seen and served in your brothers and sisters.

            I want to reflect with you this morning on your personal commitment to Christ, when you first accepted His invitation to follow Him as a consecrated woman or man. If you think about it for a moment, you know that there is an element of coercion in every person’s life. We do some things, not so much because we want to, but because we have to. The city, county, state, and federal governments require us to observe certain laws. We must stop at red traffic lights, respect peoples’ property, and pay our taxes. This makes for the smooth running of society. And so, coercion plays a vital and necessary role in life.

            But coercion has its limits. It can go only so far and no further. There are some things that you and I do, not because we must do them, but because we choose to do them. No law requires them of us. We do these things out of love. Saint John of the Cross once said that at the end of our lives we will not be judged by anyone. The only thing we will be judged by is love. How much love have we shown in our lives and how many opportunities to show love have passed us by?

            It was precisely this point that Jesus had in mind when He spoke the parable we heard in today’s gospel. It is clear that the rich man did not listen to the voice of God or to the cries of the poor at his very doorstep. He lived a comfortable life and had respect in the town. He failed to notice, or even ignored the likes of Lazarus. The one who is favored in the end, of course, is the poor man who has endured his trials in this life. The God of justice repays him with eternal life. Jesus tells us that His loving Father is interested in an open heart, in those who listen to his word and act upon it, in those who love. That means seeing the poor and powerless and caring for them. It means acting out of love and not out of duty. The Pharisees thought that a certain sort of life would save them. But Jesus tells them to act out of love, to be open to the needs of others.

            As followers of Christ, we are each responsible for our own actions and what we choose to do has influence on others. Our readings make it clear that the Kingdom is not simply something to which we look forward. It is something we can help to build here and now by our actions. If we listen closely to the will of God for us, then we will also be people who are alert to the needs of others around us.

            We will be judged by love. The Pharisees worked for their salvation but had forgotten to show love. Each of us is given many opportunities to grow into the person we could be. We are challenged to live out our calling in the midst of a broken world. We can close ourselves off to the needs of others and work only for our own comfort, or we can open our eyes to the dignity of all people. You have chosen the better portion.

            Truly listening to the gentle voice of God within us means that we become aware of the great love he has for us. Saint Augustine was once asked “What does love look like?” He replied, “It has feet to go to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of others.” We will be judged by love. If we want a place in God’s Kingdom, we must continue to grow into the loving people we were created to be.

            As consecrated women and men, through the years you have been willing to take upon yourselves those things that no law can require and no person has any right to demand. This is true of all disciples, but how much more for you who have renounced all things to serve Christ and the Church as religious sisters, priests, and brothers.

            The consecrated life, therefore, begins where the requirements of the law end. That is how Jesus lived and that is how He taught His disciples to live. In the Sermon on the Mount, He said: “Should anyone press you into service for one mile, go with him two miles.” That was the essence of His message. He always gave more and did more than any law required. That final day when He picked up the cross and carried it to Calvary was but the climax of how He had lived His entire life. Poverty, humility and mortification: this is the unwavering course of our Savior’s life. This was His daily bread: to do the will of God. And this is the course that must be embraced by anyone who wants to follow Christ faithfully in the consecrated life.

            This kind of living demands a profound spiritual life, steadily cultivated in silence, in prayerful detachment from the world, in meditation, in study, and in community living and communal prayer. It calls for an effective practice of the Gospel counsels of chastity, poverty, and obedience. The Second Vatican Council reminded us: “...[T]hese counsels, voluntarily accepted according to each one’s vocation, contribute greatly to the purification of the heart and to spiritual liberty. They never cease to stir up the fervor of charity. And, in particular, they are able to bring the Christian into fuller conformity with the life of virginity and poverty which Christ the Lord chose for Himself.” (Perfectae Caritatis, 46)

            Many people look upon you and wonder why you do what you do. The reasons and motives for going beyond the law in your commitment to Christ are not so obvious to the world. They come from deep inside you. No one can hire or compel another person to love. This kind of living is always voluntary.  

            I remember a story about a sister who was serving in China during the Japanese invasion of World War II. She was caught in the war zone and was moved with pity to help the wounded. In a field hospital, she moved from person to person, gently bathing and dressing their open wounds. A newspaper reporter watched her for a while and then said, “Sister, I would not do that for a million dollars.” And she, without even looking up from her work, replied, “Neither would I.” I am convinced that every one of you Jubilarians would reply in exactly the same way.

            Your kind of service cannot be bought or compelled; it can, however, be inspired. There is no limit to how far a person will go when he or she gives one’s heart completely to something or someone in whom one truly believes. More than anything or anyone else on earth, Christ has been the inspiration behind your kind of living.

            When you voiced your commitment to Christ so many years ago, you surrendered your life to Him. And something happened to you. Your life was no longer your own to use in whatever way you might choose. You were not coerced to do this. You were not paid to do it. But you were inspired to do it, by Him who has done for us far more than we had any right to ask or expect.

            I thank you for your commitment to Christ lived concretely in your various apostolates over the years. Be assured of my prayers for an ever-deepening love for Him as you continue to labor in His vineyard. May you persevere in your vocation to serve Him and His Church for the rest of your lives.