Consecrated persons have been called upon to be bearers of the light of Christ in a darkened world, that is experiencing so much war, terrorism, cruelty, violence, poverty, ignorance, hatred, persecution among other vices. The charge was given by Most Rev. Michael Francis Crotty, Apostolic Nuncio to Nigeria, during the celebration of the day of Consecrated Life/Jubilee of Hope 2025, held recently at St. Leo Catholic Church, Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Archbishop Crotty, those who have received the light of Christ must be conscious of their irreplaceable mission in the Church and in the world, of dispelling darkness and being a source of hope for all who do not know the light of Christ. The Nuncio noted that the day which coincides with the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, is a special celebration, instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997, to celebrate the consecrated persons in the Church. On objectives of the celebration, he said, “At that time, I think he (the Pope) was concerned that the consecrated life was not being properly valued. And he made it very clear that it is essential to the life of the Church.
They are consecrated witnesses of God’s love for us. And through their consecration, they become mirrors of that love. “And so, we owe a great debt of gratitude to all members of the consecrated institutes for their dedication, their total dedication, to the life of Christ, responding to their charism, which animates their apostolates, wherever they may find themselves.” He disclosed that the second objective is that the people of God would have an opportunity also to learn about the consecrated life, and see the consecrated life coming together in a special occasion. “And so, I hope it also leads to vocations to the consecrated life.
Here in Nigeria, we are blessed with the gift of vocations, the gift of people responding to God’s call to dedicate themselves to the consecrated life, to the religious life, and to the priesthood”, he said. Archbishop Crotty said the third reason Pope John Paul instituted the celebration was for Consecrated persons to come together, and realise and celebrate the gift that they have received, as well as appreciate the marvelous gift that they have received to rejoice and be glad.
He said: “And the great advertisement, and this is something that Pope Francis made on a few occasions when he met with religious; the great advertisement for religious life is to see happy, smiling faces. Happy, smiling faces attracts people to religious life. So all of you, I ask you to show your happy, smiling faces as often as you can. “And as Mother Theresa used to say,, ‘give until it hurts, I say to you, smile, smile until it hurts.”
Also speaking on the occasion, Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, expressed delight at the presence of the Nuncio and Religious Superiors, along with the Religious in the Archdiocese as the Universal Church celebrates the Jubilee of Consecrated Life. Archbishop Martins thanked Consecrated persons who work in the Archdiocese, for their contributions to the life of the Archdiocese, to the mission of the Archdiocese, and to ministry in the Archdiocese. He said, “Thank you, all these individuals; male and female for their consistency, for all they have done, all that they continue to do for the good news in our Archdiocese.
We continue to really assure you that we value your contributions, and we expect that we continue to add value to the life of the Church and the Archdiocese, we continue to add value to the Church in our country, Nigeria. “We pray that as you have had your meeting, that you have in many ways enriched one another, and as you leave, you will also leave a blessing for us. That the Archdiocese will be blessed by the fact of your presence in these last few days, and that as you carry out your duties, God Himself will continue to bless you.”
