“Pope Francis announced that 2015 will be a year dedicated to the promotion of consecrated life, and is asking the church's religious sisters, brothers and priests to "wake up the world" with their testimony of faith, holiness and hope.”                /www.catholic.org.au/year-of-consecrated-life/blog

We, the Daughters of the Holy Spirit have participated in various ways in this celebration grom the community level to the diocesan level and then national and international level. The year of faith has been a time of renewal for us. Thanks to God for His church and for this opportunity.

Sr Elizabeth Babalola DHS’ article on year of consecrated life is as follows:

The year of Consecrated Life Awareness, which the Holy Father Pope Francis declared on  November 2^, 2016 is a great opportunity to create awareness and let people appreciate more the role of Religious in our world of today marked with violence, war, insurgency, ethnic cleansing, economic melt down e.t.c.

            Consecrated men & women  have a lot to teach us about listening to the signs of the time, having peace of mind and keeping silence, even in the face of trouble or noise all round.

            Consecrated men & women are signs of God’s Kingdom present here on earth and what the marriage feast will look like. The world today has a lot to learn from the way the desert fathers & consecrated virgins prayed and communed with God through a deep relationship and interactions. It was through hope, that they were helped  to build a strong faith. Moral Virtues were uppermost in their minds and they passed this on to all those around them.

            So I congratulate all Consecrated men & women and implore all of  us to take up the challenge thrown at us by the Holy Father, to look at the past, present and future, give thanks to God for them and move on to be lights and authentic witnesses in the midst of our brothers & sisters.

            To go back to our beginnings, re-learn from our founding Fathers and mothers how to order peace & love in this generation.

Sr. Elizabeth Babalola, DHS.