What do you see in the night, tell us sentinel?
We are going through troubled times, times that seem to darken our vision, where consecrated life seems to have lost its place in the modern world.
For many young people of the new generation, the call to religious life seems irrelevant, and some have even given up hope, hoping to die without leaving heirs, without a witness to inspire others to follow this path of surrender to God.
Some proclaim that times have changed, that the “old days” were better.
In those days, they say, it was possible to invite young people to embrace the consecrated life, but not today.
However, it is important not to fall into easy judgment: the times are neither good nor bad in themselves; each one is a child of his own time.
Although we live in a different time, we cannot give up or fall into indifference.
St. Augustine reminds us: “Times are hard, times are hard, times abound in miseries. Live well, and you will change the times with your good life; you will change the times and you will have nothing to murmur about”.
It is up to us to live this time well, to see it as a Kairosan opportunity in the midst of crisis.
Kairos is God’s time, full of graces, opportunities and creativity.
It is time to seize this opportunity to leave behind pessimism, idleness and passivity.
We must tighten our belts and keep our lamps lit.
It is time to leave fears behind, because the Kairos is precisely that: a time when hope overcomes fear.
It is in these moments that the great prophets and saints emerge, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who lead us out of the darkness and guide us into the Easter light.
Even when all seems over, when only ashes remain, there is still hope.
As the poet Machado said: “I thought my hearth was extinguished, and in stirring the ashes… I burned my hand”. And as I once read: “In the heart of every winter there is a throbbing spring, and behind the curtain of night the smile of dawn is lit”.
“Consecrated life is like a seed that seems very small, but good farmers know that one day it will grow into a leafy tree.”
Throughout history, religious life has overcome numerous crises and difficulties.
This will be no exception, because consecrated life has been raised up by the Holy Spirit.
The saddest thing would be to close ourselves to the newness of the Spirit for fear of failure, hiding the gifts that the Lord has given us.
Often, fear paralyzes us.
We may be fewer in number, but it is not a question of quantity, but of quality.
The world needs, now more than ever, sentinels of hope.
Each one of us is responsible for not letting the light we received in baptism and religious consecration go out, so that we may continue to be witnesses to the Gospel in the midst of darkness.
As the Dominican Martín Gelabert Ballester says: “Consecrated life is like a seed that seems very small, but good farmers know that one day it will grow into a leafy tree. If we only look at the seed, we become discouraged. If we imagine the leafy tree, we walk joyfully and keep moving forward, even if sometimes the road is hard”.
Consecrated Life is life, and it is alive!
In conclusion, we consecrated persons must be, at all times, the light of sentinels, the feet of heralds and a clear witness of the resurrection of Jesus, of the certainty of eternal life and of the Kingdom.
Let us live our dedication and service with joy, with an interior fullness nourished by prayer, simplicity and evangelical fraternity.
Let us not lose heart and faith in the Lord of the harvest, who never abandons us.
Let us be signs of hope, and let us proclaim to the world, especially to the young: Consecrated Life is life, and it is alive!