World Day for Consecrated Life
Instituted by St. Pope John Paul II in January 1997, the World day for Consecrated Life is celebrated February 2nd each year. In the message from the Holy Father on World Day for Consecrated Life, His Holiness writes “The celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life, which will be observed for the first time on 2 February, is intended to help the entire Church to esteem ever more greatly the witness of those persons who have chosen to follow Christ by means of the practice of the evangelical counsels and, at the same time, is intended to be a suitable occasion for consecrated persons to renew their commitment and rekindle the fervor which should inspire their offering of themselves to the Lord.”
Hence, the Council of Consecrated Life Institutes in Iraq, represented by the congregations located in Erbil, celebrated the Divine Liturgy for World Day for Consecrated life on February 2nd, 2024. The Divine Liturgy was presided by H.G. Archbishop Bashar Warda, the Archbishop of the Chaldean Archdiocese of Erbil.
In his homily, His Grace focused on several aspects of the consecrated life, and especially on the real center of consecration, which is to show Christ’s face in everything we do. His Grace also expressed his concern, along with the congregations, about the decrease in the number of vocations; however, he added that we must accept that God has chosen us, and that the small flock is not important, for we are promised eternal life.
All congregations and consecrated life institutes, as well as the lay faithful, participated in this celebration.