2016-02-02 L’Osservatore Romano
What is the relationship between consecrated life and mercy? Since the foundation of consecrated life is Christ "consecrated persons profess that Jesus is the model in whom every virtue comes to perfection" (Vita Consecrata, 18). Caterina Ciriello writes that this idea becomes vital to being witnesses of the image of Jesus, the Incarnation of the Father who is mercy. Ciriello adds that in Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis writes that "the Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pain and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction. True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others. The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness". This is material for deep reflection.