PartTwo

COURAGE TO FACE TRIALS
AND CHALLENGES

11. A realistic look at the situation of the Church and of the world impels us to also consider the difficulties encountered in living consecrated life. We are all aware of the trials and purification which consecrated life is undergoing in these days. The great treasure of the gift of God is held in fragile earthen vessels (cf. 2 Cor 4:7) and the mystery of evil also threatens those who dedicate their whole lives to God. In turning our attention now to the sufferings and challenges which trouble consecrated life today, we do so, not to bring a critical judgment or condemnation but to once again show our wholehearted solidarity and loving closeness as those who seek to share not only the joys but also the sufferings. As we consider some particular difficulties, we will seek to do so from the point of view of those who know that the history of the Church is being led by God and that all things work out unto good for those who love him (cf. Rom 8:28). With this vision of faith even the negative can be an occasion for a new beginning, if one recognizes therein the face of the abandoned and Crucified Christ who took on our limitations even to the point of “bearing our sins in his body on the wood of the cross” (1Pt 2:24).⁴¹ In fact, the grace of God is fully manifested in weakness (cf. 2Cor 12:9).