The General Assembly of the Consolation opens with a call to awaken consecrated life through care and prophecy.
On Tuesday, June 16, the General Assembly of the Consolation began with the celebration of the Eucharist of the Holy Spirit at 7:45 a.m. The celebration was presided over by Claretian priest Gonzalo Fernández, who invited the participants to live this time of encounter, reflection, and discernment with a profound openness to the action of the Spirit.
During his homily, he reminded those present that consecrated life is called to be a prophetic witness in the world, making the newness of the Gospel visible in everyday life. In this context, he especially highlighted the call to live and bear witness to the forgiveness of enemies, a deeply evangelical and countercultural sign that helps renew community life and human coexistence. He also emphasized that forgiveness enables people to overcome prejudice and division, fostering more fraternal relationships and reaffirming the dignity of every person as a child of God.
The opening day continued with a reflection led by Gonzalo Fernández himself, a Claretian priest and a widely respected observer of contemporary religious life, under the title “Awakening Our Consecrated Vocation Through Care and Prophecy.” Drawing on Saint Paul’s invitation to “wake from sleep” (cf. Rom 13:11-12), he offered a hopeful reading of the current reality of consecrated life, marked by very different situations across cultural and geographical contexts.
Throughout his presentation, he invited the assembly participants to look at reality through the eyes of faith rather than resignation. Beyond the challenges facing religious life in some parts of the world, he stressed that the real challenge is to remain centered on God, overcoming distractions, fears, and comforts that can weaken vocational commitment. An authentic consecrated life, rooted in an encounter with Christ, continues to be an attractive and meaningful sign for today’s world.
Another central theme of his reflection was the call to fraternal care. In the face of growing individualism, he emphasized the importance of strengthening communion through relationships marked by mutual attention, shared responsibility, and closeness. He recalled that fraternity is not only a gift received but also a daily task that requires us to learn how to care for one another and allow ourselves to be cared for, especially throughout the different stages of life.
The prophetic dimension of consecrated life also occupied a prominent place in his reflection. Inspired by the words of Pope Francis, he encouraged the sisters to be women capable of reading the signs of the times, interpreting history through God's perspective, and responding with compassion to the needs of the most vulnerable. Prophecy, he affirmed, is born from a profound experience of God and is expressed through the ability to discern, proclaim the Good News, and denounce whatever undermines human dignity.
Finally, he presented the “seven spiritual journeys” that can help religious communities face today’s challenges with hope: moving from resignation to a living faith, from individualism to fraternal care, from authority-centered leadership to synodal leadership, from merely functional spaces to life-giving spaces, from fragmented time to renewed time, from individual works to shared mission, and from a vocation ministry focused on numbers to a culture of encounter that accompanies young people in discovering their vocation.
With this first day, the participants officially began the journey of the General Assembly, entrusting the work of the coming days to the Holy Spirit and renewing their commitment to live consecrated life as a sign of fraternity, hope, and prophecy for our time.
The General Assembly of the Consolation will continue over the coming days with moments of prayer, reflection, and discernment aimed at strengthening the mission of the Congregation in the various places where it is present.
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