Parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Baltimore will honor the dedicated service of religious sisters, brothers and priests Feb. 3, the World Day for Consecrated Life.
The official archdiocesan celebration for those in consecrated life will be observed at St. Martin’s Home in Catonsville beginning with a prayer service led by Archbishop Edwin F. O’Brien and followed by a dinner for invited guests.
“It’s fitting for us as church to lift up different ways of being church,” said Sister Rosalie Murphy, S.N.D., Archbishop O’Brien’s delegate for religious. “It’s not that the consecrated life is superior to any other, but it is an honored form of living out our baptismal commitment.”
Whether expressed through apostolic ministries, contemplative prayer, in community or as private individuals, a life consecrated through the “evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience is lived in service to the Church and to the wider community,” Sister Rosalie said.
The World Day for Consecrated Life is a way of giving thanks for the lives of service offered by religious throughout the archdiocese, she said.
Pastors and pastoral life directors have been encouraged to offer prayers for sisters, brothers and priests during Masses on Feb. 3 and to express their gratitude to religious who may be serving in their communities.
Pope John Paul II initiated the World Day for Consecrated Life in 1997.