Diocese of GalwayKilmacduagh & Kilfenora

To many, they seemed rather unusual, perhaps, even a bit strange. Their religious fervour and commitment to their faith drew a comment or two. They were an enigma – a mystery in themselves. Kind, helpful, respectful, thoughtful, prayerful, generous and wise were all words used to describe them. By all accounts, Anna was an elderly woman of the tribe of Ashar. Her father was Phanuel. She was a widow.

Although no one knew his, age Simeon was considered well on in years. He was a devout and holy man. He pondered and mediated on the Scriptures– especially those passages which promised that one day God would definitively intervene in the history of the people of Israel. As he aged, he felt deep within his heart an intense longing for that day. A burning desire to experience the transforming closeness of God.

There they were the two of them in the Temple. In that place of all places where the Jews held God was present among his people in an utterly unique way. The Temple was a special meeting place between God and humankind. A place of encounter between the human heart and the infinite mystery of God himself.

No one could have predicted it. No one could have written the script. An elderly tradesman from Nazareth in the North, accompanied by his young wife carrying their new born baby boy. They had come, like any other good Jews of their day, to present their Child to God and to thank God for the gift of this new life. To the ordinary eye they had no special look about them, no glow or sign that would have singled them out. They were ordinary people like you and I. However, to the eyes of faith, they were special indeed. Simeon and Anna, both guided by the Holy Spirit, immediately recognised in the child the unique and special presence of God. We are told how there and then – their life -long longing to encounter God himself come among his people was fulfilled. They exclaim in joy and break into prayer at his presence. Their deepest hopes in life have been fulfilled. In that sacred encounter they seem to find rest for their restless hearts. There is a longstanding tradition in the Church that calls today’s Feast of the Presentation – the “Feast of Encounter”. The “Feast of Encounter” not just between Jesus and Simeon and Anna but the “Feast of Encounter” between God and his people, between God and each and every human heart.

It is no coincidence that in 1997 Pope Saint John Paul instituted the Feast of the Presentation as a special day for those who have dedicated their life to God as religious men and women – as sisters, brother, monks, nuns, members of religious orders and religious institutes. For the “Feast of Encounter” reminds us that the beginning of every vocation to religious life lies in a very personal encounter between that person and God. Not only does religious life begin with an encounter with God. It is nourished and sustained by encounter after encounter with God. The way of life and service of religious women and men in so many different contexts unfolds out of encounter with God. The focus, the purpose of such religious life is to bring others into encounter with God so that they too can experience the joy and fulfilment that comes from a life lived in friendship with God.

I would invite, the religious gathered here today, to think back -through the mists of time -to their first lived encounter with God -that feeling of closeness – that warm spark of friendship with God that was the beginning of their vocation as a religious. I would invite you then to survey your life for your own special moments of encounter with God. Sometimes they are many -sometimes few. However, they are always moments of enlightenment .. moments of personal growth and renewal. Finally, I invite you to consider, whether you are young or old, how today you are living out of those encounters with God so that you in turn can be a source of encounter with God for other pilgrims on the road of life.

 

Celebrating the World Day for Consecrated Life, not only gives religious themselves an opportunity to reflect on their unique calling and path in life – it also gives us all the opportunity to give thanks to God for the presence, witness and service of religious men and women to the Christian community. The Religious Life is indeed a varied gift that greatly enriches the Church community in many different forms of service such as in education, in prayer and in caring for the least well off among us. Let us pray that God will continue to give us the gift of religious life – of sisters and brothers, of monks and nuns, of religious orders and institutes of religious life in abundance.

Today, on this “Feast of Encounter”, let us pray, that like Simone and Anna -like religious have down through the ages -we will also encounter God in the ordinariness of our everyday lives. Let us pray that that encounter with God will be “a light for those who dwell in the shadow of darkness”. A hope filled encounter that will bring with it fulfilment and peace for our own often restless hearts. Amen.