VATICAN - Benedict XVI tells Ordo Virginum Congress: “Let your figures constantly irradiate the dignity of being Spouse of Christ and express the novelty of Christian existence and serene expectance for the life to come.”

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - To the participants in the Congress of the Ordo Virginum with the theme: “Consecrated virginity: a gift in the Church and for the Church,” whom he received in an audience on the morning of May 15, the Holy Father Benedict XVI said, “In choosing the theme for these days, you have been inspired by an affirmation I have made that summarizes what I have said regarding your state as women who live in consecrated virginity in the world: a gift in the Church and for the Church. In light of this, I wish to confirm you in your vocation and invite you to grow day by day in the understanding of what is such a luminous and fruitful charism in the eyes of faith, although it may appear obscure and futile in the eyes of the world.”
In his address, the Pope recalled that “the Order of Virgins represents a particular form of consecrated life which flowered anew in the Church after Vatican Council II,” however whose origins date back to the beginning of evangelical life, “when, in an unprecedented novelty, the hearts of certain women began to open to a desire for consecrated virginity: in other words, the desire to give one's entire being to God, which had had its first extraordinary fulfillment in the Virgin of Nazareth and her 'yes.'” “Your charism must reflect the intensity, but also the freshness, of its origins,” said the Pope, citing the institutionalization of this charism over the course of the centuries until “finally becoming a full public and solemn consecration conferred by the bishop through an inspirational liturgical rite that made the consecrated woman 'sponsa Christi,' an image of the Church as bride.”
After recalling that this vocation is deeply rooted in the particular Church to which they belong, the Pope commented that, “From the diocese, with its traditions, its saints, its values, limits and difficulties,” these persons “open up to the scope of the universal Church, sharing particularly in her liturgical prayer... In this way your prayerful 'I' progressively broadens out until in the prayer there is nothing more than a great 'we.'” This is the prayer of the Church and authentic liturgy.”
Usually each consecrated person follows her own rhythm of life, “however, through you, love is transformed in following: your charism implies a total self-giving to Christ, an assimilation of the Spouse that implicitly requires the observance of the evangelical counsels, in order to safeguard your fidelity to Him,” the Pope continued. “Being with Christ requires interior life, but it also implies openness in communicating with brothers: here is your mission...Among you there are different styles and manners of living the gift of consecrated virginity...I exhort you to go beyond the external appearances, receiving this mystery of God’s kindness that each one of you possesses and recognizing one another as sisters, even in the midst of your diversity.”
In concluding his address, Pope Benedict XVI made the following exhortation: “Let your figures constantly irradiate the dignity of being Spouse of Christ and express the novelty of Christian existence and serene expectance for the life to come. Thus, leading a noble life, you can be stars that point out the way to the world... Be witnesses of vigilant and industrious hope, of joy, of the peace that belongs to those who abandon themselves to the love of God. Be present in the world, yet pilgrims on the journey to the kingdom.” (SL) (Agenzia Fides 16/5/2008; righe 44, parole 576)