February 2: Feast of the Presentation of the Lord
and World Day of Consecrated Life
Since 1997 and on the initiative of Saint John Paul II, February 2 is the day when the Church celebrates the Day of consecrated life. It is an opportunity to pray for all consecrated men and women who decide to give themselves radically to Christ.
On this occasion, we are sometimes invited to “pray for vocations”, and to ask God for priests and religious for the service of the Church. Certainly, this is important. But there is another way to “pray for vocations” — one that none of us can afford to overlook.
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It begins by daring to ask these questions of ourselves:
Jesus, how do you call me? How do you call me to holiness? Where and how do you want me to follow you today? In the future? Am I doing the Father's will? Is it time to make changes in my life? One thing is certain: in every family, in every heart, at every age, God is calling.
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I like the way St. John Henry Newman expressed it in one of his sermons: "For in truth we are not called once only, but many times; all through our life Christ is calling us. He called us first in Baptism; but afterwards also; whether we obey His voice or not, He graciously calls us still. If we fall from our Baptism, He calls us to repent; if we are striving to fulfil our calling, He calls us on from grace to grace, and from holiness to holiness, while life is given us."
Christ walks among us and, by His hand, His look, or His voice, invites us to follow Him. Jesus invites us to know the unfathomable depth of the Father's love through Him, through the cross.
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On this February 2nd, let us consent to the grace of responding to the call of our Lord. And to hear Him, let us have the disposition of an obedient and pure heart, which seeks generosity, courage and humility.
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Let us dare to say Mary's YES. Together.
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Sr. My-Lan Michaela Nguyen
Sister of Saint Paul of Chartres
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