PASTORAL
LETTER OF THE SOUTHERN AFRICAN CATHOLIC BISHOP’S CONFERENCE
THE
YEAR OF CONSECRATED LIFE
30
November 2014 – 02 February 2016
I
thank you Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden
these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to
infants; yes, Father, for such was your generous will.
(Matt 11:25)
Brothers
and Sisters in the Consecrated Life, Priests and the People of God,
Speaking
these words aloud, Jesus rejoiced immensely in the activity and
wisdom of the Holy Spirit as he thanked and praised his Father whose
mission he himself had come to accomplish.
We
rejoice in a similar way in the lives lived and the wonderful
activity and service carried out by so many consecrated men and women
in our country and in our world. We welcome the invitation of Pope
Francis to make this a year of thanksgiving and of deeper reflection
on the calling of the consecrated men and women among us.
We
think of all the consecrated men and women who have laboured in our
countries, from Bishop Griffith, the first Vicar Apostolic of the
Cape and Fr. George Corcoran, both Dominicans; the Missionary Sisters
of the Assumption and the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, to mention a
few of the first ones, up to the most recently consecrated persons
from within our countries and those who have come among us from
elsewhere. Consecrated men and women established the local church in
our dioceses and most of our parishes, schools and hospitals, and
still today they minister in the local church and outlying
communities, serving people of every background in countless ways. We
pay tribute to all deceased Religious who have served in our
countries and are buried in our soil, sometimes in obscure or
forgotten graves. We appreciate all those Religious who have grown
old among us, who have given courageous witness and led exemplary
lives.
We
ask that in our dioceses and parishes we celebrate the precious gift
of consecrated life together with the contemplative and active
Religious among us, also by visiting and supporting the sick and aged
among them.
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