My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

It was with great joy this past Aug. 14 that three new sisters were received into the Novitiate for the Sisters of St. Francis of the Martyr St. George in Alton. In addition, four sisters made their first profession of vows, followed by the final profession of three sisters to this community.

Earlier that same morning, the headline of an article written by William McGurn in The Wall Street Journal caught my eye: "What Motivates a Modern Nun." McGurn wrote about 30-year-old Sister Bethany Madonna and seven other women, also in their 30s, all dressed in blue habits and long white veils, sitting before the altar on the day they would consecrate themselves to Jesus Christ by making their final vows as members of the Sisters of Life. This provoked a question for McGurn, which he asked and answered as follows:

What could lead a personable young woman from a happy family to give up everything — especially at a moment when women have never had as many opportunities before them? It's a reasonable question. Yet amid the palpable jubilance of this jam-packed basilica, it is clear that this question is the wrong one. There are no sad sacks or martyrs on this altar today. These are happy, excited women. What is it they believe they have found? Sister Bethany says it's the "peace in your heart" that comes from knowing you are where you are meant to be. ... Indeed, for all the material things the sisters lack, they say their work impresses upon them what they do have: the security of knowing they are loved, by God certainly, but also by their families and fellow sisters. It is a love, the sisters say, that many of the women who come to them for help have never felt before.

William McGurn's reflection on what motivates a modern nun provides good insights into why women and men continue to enter religious life. The publication of his column on this topic is also very timely. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, has designated this year as a Year of Consecrated Life. In his Apostolic Letter To All Consecrated People on the Occasion of the Year of Consecrated Life, Pope Francis encourages the church in general and the various religious communities in particular during this year to "look to the past with gratitude" for the many gifts that have been bestowed on the church through the various forms and expressions of consecrated religious life. He also invites us to "live the present with passion," remaining ever faithful to the mission of the church and the particular charisms of each community. Finally, the Holy Father urges us to "embrace the future with hope," seeing the consecrated life as a vehicle by which the Holy Spirit will continue to build up the church.

This Year of Consecrated Life was called to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the promulgation of Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, promulgated at the Second Vatican Council. This landmark document offers profound insights into the nature and mission of the church, which has been entrusted with the task of drawing the faithful into a deeper communion with the Mystical Body of Christ in her head and members.

In his Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata on the Consecrated Life and Its Mission in the Church and in the World, Pope St. John Paul II wrote that the consecrated life is a "particularly profound expression of the Church as the Bride who, prompted by the Spirit to imitate her Spouse, stands before him 'in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish' (Ephesians 5:27)."

As a way of expressing our profound gratitude to all the women and men who have dedicated their lives as consecrated religious, all the faithful are invited to an Evening of Prayer with Religious on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 6:30 p.m. in our Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, followed by a reception in our Cathedral Atrium. I have also asked that all parishes and schools in the diocese have some type of celebration of consecrated life within their parishes or schools during the week of Sept. 13 through Sept. 20. May we take this opportunity not only to thank, but also to pray for religious sisters and brothers to guard this great gift of their consecration to Christ in their hearts, so that when the Bridegroom comes, they will be found ready to enter the wedding feast of Heaven and experience joy and peace forever in the Kingdom of Heaven.

May God give us this grace. Amen.