The Rich Fruits of Religious Life

Often Catholics take the work and prayer of our religious for granted. SR MARY GRACE OF THE SACRED HEART OCD looks at the celebration of 25 years of service of a nun whose life, through her vocation, is extraordinary, and how this relates to the Year of Consecrated Life.

Last month Carmel of Retreat in Cape Town marked a special occasion as it celebrated the 25th anniversary of religious profession of Sr Mary Lawrence of the Resurrection.

Archbishop Stephen Brislin officiated at a concelebrated Mass.

Before the start of the Eucharistic celebration, Sr Mary Lawrence offered a bouquet of flowers to the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a token of gratitude for the 25 years during which the Blessed Virgin has accompanied her in living her Carmelite life in her Order of Discalced Carmelites.

Joy radiated on Sr Mary Lawrence’s face as she walked down the centre aisle of the chapel to her pri-dieu, accompanied by the prioress, Mother Mary Joan of the Cross.

It was the joy of living the Gospel faithfully and perseveringly for 25 years in the silence and solitude of Carmel, in a hidden life of contemplative prayer, a life of simplicity and self-sacrifice offered for the Church and the whole world.

Archbishop Brislin presented her with a candle lit from the paschal candle, which is the symbol of Christ her Spouse.

In his homily, Fr Rohan Smuts reminded Sr Mary Lawrence of the aims of the present Year of Consecrated Life, which was proclaimed by Pope Francis.

The first is “to look to the past with gratitude, seeing the hand of God who in his Spirit calls individuals to follow Christ more closely, to translate the Gospel into a particular way of life, to read the signs of the times with the eyes of faith and respond creatively to the needs of the Church. This is essential for preserving our identity, for strengthening our unity as a family and our common sense of belonging,” Fr Smuts said.

The second aim is to “ live the present with passion. Grateful remembrance of the past leads us to implement ever more fully the essential aspects of our consecrated life”, he said.

“The absolute rule for the founders and foundresses was the Gospel, the ideal was Christ. The vows were intended as a concrete expression of this passionate love.

“The Gospel demands to be lived radically and sincerely. It is not enough to read it, nor even meditate on it. Jesus asks us to practise it, to put his words into effect in our lives.”

The third aim is “to embrace the future with hope. Consecrated life has its own difficulties, but this hope is not based on statistics or accomplishments but on the One in whom we put our trust, the one for whom ‘nothing is impossible’,” Fr Smuts said.

St John Paul II wrote in his 1996 apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata: “You have not only a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished! Look to the future, where the Spirit is sending you in order to do even greater things”.

After the homily Sr Mary Lawrence renewed her vows. Before doing so she expressed her desire from God and his holy Church: “Like Mary our Mother, in her life of prayer and contemplation, I ask for the fullness of God’s loving and healing presence, to radiate the joy of his resurrection all the days of my life.”

Then she expressed her joy by singing the Magnificat alternately with the community: “All that I am sings of the God who brings new life to birth in me. My Spirit soars on the wings of my Lord.” The congregation was touched and were also filled with joy.

Looking at the life of St Thérèse of Lisieux, the Little Flower, a Carmelite nun who never left her cloister of Carmel in France but was proclaimed patroness of the missions, one may ask how can that be?

This is the beautiful mystery of consecrated life. When one gives oneself totally to God in love, God takes over one’s life. In the case of a nun, he works through her so that everything she does becomes the work of the Lord. One becomes another Christ. Totally possessed by the Spirit, she can now transcend all barriers in her desire to help anyone anywhere in the world.

St Thérèse said that she was seen among soldiers in war zones, and in many other places helping many. There were many testimonies of what she has done, especially after her death, for which she merits to be called patroness of the missions.

To me, this truth and the many lights and blessings received from the jubilee celebration of Sr Mary Lawrence, concretise the importance of consecrated life.

It dawns on me how much we miss of God’s graces for ourselves and our world if we do not live fully our consecrated life.

God’s graces and blessings, St Thérèse wrote, are pent up, ready to be poured out to whoever opens her heart, her hands to receive it.

Our world today is in confusion. In the words the Carmelites’ holy mother, St Teresa of Avila, in her own time: “The world is in flames!” Many people do not know who they are or what their direction in life is.

It is we, especially in the consecrated life, who can give direction and point out to them the path to true happiness and eternal life, to the goal of our life here on earth, which is union with God, our Creator.