Consecrated men and women have fully committed themselves to seeking and living God’s will, and they call everyone to trust God “with the same freedom and the same confidence,” Bishop George Murry, S.J., said at the annual celebration of World Day for Consecrated Life, held Feb. 7 in St. Columba Cathedral.
The bishop thanked men and women religious for “their example, their courage and their faith.” Their actions inspire people to “put aside our fears, our doubts and our hesitations,” he said, and to “allow [God] to show us a new way and, perhaps for the first time, let us truly live.”
The late Pope John Paul II designated Feb. 2 as World Day for Consecrated Life, an occasion to celebrate the service of women and men religious and to pray for more vocations to consecrated life.
Bishop Murry began the Mass by sprinkling holy water on the faithful, as a reminder of their baptism, and concluded it by leading a round of applause for the consecrated men and women who serve the Diocese of Youngstown.
The Liturgy of the Word consisted of readings from great biblical figures who heeded God’s will, despite their doubts and shortcomings. Dominican Sister Joan Franklin, pastoral associate for administration at Leetonia St. Patrick Parish, read from Isaiah about the young king’s vision of the Lord seated on his throne, surrounded by angels, and how one of the angels touched his lips with a burning ember to cleanse him of his sins and prepare him to serve God. Notre Dame Sister Bernadine Janci, pastoral associate at Campbell St. Joseph and St. Elizabeth parishes, read from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, in which he recalled how he had “persecuted the church of God” before he preached the word of God.
In his homily, Bishop Murry reflected on Luke’s gospel about Jesus’ first meeting with Peter, a fisherman. After a long night of fishing on a lake, only to find his nets empty, Peter was tired and discouraged. He heeded Jesus’ instruction to throw out his nets one more time, “perhaps just to humor the Lord,” Bishop Murry said. When the nets filled to capacity with fish, Peter fell to his knees and asked Jesus to leave him because he was a sinful man. Instead, Jesus recruited the future apostle to follow Him.
While the dramatic experiences of Isaiah and Peter are rare, it’s very common in every life that “our long-made plans and long-held expectations are often shattered,” Bishop Murry said. “Times of crisis are always times of opportunity, times of growth. Sometimes the only way God can get at us is to break us, or allow us to be broken. To set us on the right path, God sometimes must block our path. It may be the Lord’s summons to a closer but more difficult walk with Him.”
Jesus’ message to Peter is the same to all, Bishop Murry continued: “Leave the shallow waters near shore. Leave behind what is safe [and] secure. Then, like him, we too will experience a new life and a new way of living.”
The presence of consecrated women and men among us is a constant reminder that “God is faithful to those who trust in Him,” Bishop Murry added.
Joining Bishop Murry in celebrating the Mass was Dominican Father Regis Heuschkel, associate pastor of Youngstown St. Dominic Parish; Father John Keehner, rector of St. Columba Cathedral; and Deacon Ray West III of St. Columba Cathedral. A reception after Mass was held in St. Columba Hall.
Religious in the diocese
Dozens of orders of religious women and men — as well as one society of apostolic life and three secular institutes — are represented in the diocese. They include:
l Adorers of the Blood of Christ
l Antonine Sisters
l Benedictine Sisters of the Byzantine Rite
l Congregation of the Divine Spirit
l Dominican Sisters of Peace
l Oblate Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
l Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration
l Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill
l Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine
l Sisters of Divine Providence
l Sisters of Notre Dame
l Sisters of St. Francis of Mary Immaculate
l Sisters of St. Francis of Tiffin
l Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Mark
l Sisters of St. Joseph Third Order of St. Francis
l Sisters of the Humility of Mary
l Sisters of the Order of St. Basil the Great
l Ursuline Sisters of Cleveland
l Ursuline Sisters of Youngstown
l Apostles of Jesus
l Brothers of Christian Instruction
l Franciscan Friars
l Missionaries of the Sacred Heart
l Order of Preachers
l Society of Jesus
l Society of St. Paul
l Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
l Discalced Carmelite Seculars
l Holy Family Institute
l Secular Franciscan Order
l Consecrated Virgins Living in the World