Young, old have much to share: Archbishop to religious

An excerpt from the homily given by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, for World Day of Consecrated Life and the feast of the Presentation. It took place Feb. 2 at St. Patrick's Church in Vancouver.

I am very grateful this evening for you, the consecrated women and men whose presence in the Archdiocese of Vancouver is such a great gift. In a very special and heartfelt way, I wish to congratulate those of you who are celebrating significant anniversaries of your consecration this year, especially if you are marking your silver, golden or diamond jubilee.

I am also very pleased to welcome the newest community of consecrated women to the Archdiocese: the Daughters of the Queen of the Rosary from Indonesia; they are now engaged in pastoral ministry at Our Lady of Mercy Parish. It is also a pleasure to share the good news that this coming August three Salesian Sisters, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, will come to serve at Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish. There they will share their charism, as followers of Don Bosco, of working with young people.

In the 30 communities of women and 24 of men in our local Church are found diverse charisms. You have different ways of living your vows, and different ways of witnessing to the poor, chaste and obedient Jesus. Your many splendid apostolic initiatives and your fidelity to a life of prayer enrich all of us beyond measure.

In the Gospel of today’s Feast, Mary and Joseph bring their 40-day old Child to the Temple in Jerusalem “to present him to the Lord” (Lk 2:22). 

Here the New Covenant, represented by Mary and Joseph, meets the Old Covenant, represented by Simeon and Anna.

St. Luke underlines, more than once, that the elderly were guided by the Holy Spirit. Simeon was a righteous and devout man, awaiting the Messiah. “The Holy Spirit rested on him” (Lk 2:25) and he went to the Temple “guided by the Holy Spirit” (Lk 2:27). For her part, Anna was a “prophet” (Lk 2:36); that is, one filled with the Holy Spirit. In short, these two elders were full of life because they were animated by the Holy Spirit, obedient to his action.

In this encounter between the Holy Family and the two representatives of the people of God, Jesus is at the centre. It is he who moves everything, who attracts all of them to the Temple, the house of his Father. Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecies of Simeon and Anna and of all Israel.

The Gospel also presents a paradox in contrasting the couples. It is striking that, while the young Mary and Joseph faithfully observe the Law – the Gospel tells us this four times – and never speak, the elderly Simeon and Anna come running into the Temple and prophesy. It seems it should be the other way around.

Nonetheless, this meeting of Mary and Joseph with Simeon and Anna, I believe, reflects what happens in many communities, where the enthusiasm of the younger members meets the wisdom of the more mature. As Pope Francis has written:

It’s good for the elderly to communicate their wisdom to the young; and is good for the young people to gather this wealth of experience and wisdom, and to carry it forward, not so as to store it in a museum, but to bring it forward addressing the challenges of life, to carry it forward for the sake of respective religious orders and of the whole Church.

While the young in a community are inclined by age to open new doors, new ways of living the consecrated life, the elderly still have the keys. In his homily for this occasion, the Pope said, “An institute remains youthful by going back to its roots, by listening to its older members. There is no future without this encounter between the old and the young.”

Encounters between the young and the old, the newly professed and the golden jubilarian can, at times, lead to misunderstanding and even conflict, if either group takes their eyes off what unites them. 

Just as Jesus linked the two couples together in the Temple, so is he the one who brings young and old together in mutual respect. Strong as the affective bonds may be that bind the consecrated, the ultimate foundation, the glue that holds every community together is – and has to be – Jesus Christ crucified and risen. Set him at the centre of your lives. Clearly show the beauty of following Christ, and radiate hope and joy, says the Holy Father.

Consecrated men and women are called to be visible signs of this closeness of God to his people, of this sharing in the condition of frailty, of sin. In this way they can heal the wounds of men and women and so can bring them the needed spiritual and physical healing.