Dear Brothers and Sisters,

1. Let us continue with joy our journey towards the Year of Conse- crated Life, so that our preparation may itself be a time of conver- sion and grace. By his words and actions, Pope Francis continues to demonstrate the fruitfulness of a life lived according to the counsels of the Gospel and the joy that lies in proclaiming this, as he invites us to go forward, to be “a Church which goes forth,”1 according to a logic of freedom.

He urges us to leave behind us “a worldly Church with superficial

spiritual and pastoral trappings,” in order to breathe “the pure air of the Holy Spirit who frees us from self-centredness cloaked in an outward religiosity bereft of God. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of the Gospel!”2

Consecrated life is a sign of good things to come in human civilisa- tion, as it travels onwards “in exodus” along the paths of history. It is willing to come to grips with provisional certainties, with new situ- ations and challenges as they develop, with the clamorous demands and passions of contemporary humanity. In this watchful pilgrimage it preserves the search for the face of God, lives in discipleship to Christ, and allows itself to be guided by the Spirit, so as to live its love for the Kingdom with creative faithfulness and ready diligence. Its identity as a pilgrim and prayerful presence on the threshold of history (in limine historiae) belongs to its very nature.