Pope Francis, Vatican City, World Day of Consecrated Life, February 02, 2015

Here is a translation of the text of the Pope’s homily given in St. Peter's Basilica at a Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Lord, marking the World Day of Consecrated Life.

We have before our mind’s eye the icon of Mother Mary, who walks with the Child Jesus in her arms. She takes him to the Temple, introduces him to the people, carries him to encounter his people.

The Mother’s arms are as the “stairs” on which the Son of God comes down to us, the stairs ofGod’s condescension. We heard this in the First Reading of the Letter to the Hebrews: Christ “had to be made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest” (2:17). It is the twofold way of Jesus: He came down, made himself like us, to ascend to the Father together with us, making us like Him.

My name is DAMIBA Honoré Ramondgwendé.

I am from Burkina Faso and grew up in the parish of the cathedral, Our Lady of Grace, in Koupela, about 140 km east of Ouagadougou (the capital of Burkina-Faso). I got to know the Assumptionists when I paid a visit to Br. Bernard BAMOGO and his community. That's all it took for me to change my mind from entering the diocesan seminary to joining the Assumptionists. I was totally taken up with the way they lived their life together, their charism and spirituality. I enjoy the life in community marked by simplicity, real brotherhood, genuine warmth, mutual respect and support, transparency, and an international character.

Hello! My name is AKPO Dovi Augustin.

Born on June 7, 1987 in Ahassomé (in the Prefecture of Moyen-Mono, Togo), I am the tenth and last child of my family. I would say that my vocation dates back to the age of ten or eleven when I was attending Mass and was deeply impressed by the pastor of Christ the King parish, Fr. Cephas. There was a special reverence with which he celebrated the Eucharist. It was as if he belonged to another world. I wasn't even baptized yet since my father was a non-practicing Catholic and my mother a follower of the ancestral religion. I started preparing to enter the Church and in 2003 was baptized and received First Communion. Afterward I joined many Church groups, all of which nourished my desire to become a priest. These groups got me involved in helping others ----  the handicapped, the sick, prisoners, the homebound. There grew in me a desire to serve God and his people.

Centennial Mass (left to right): Fr. Benoît Gschwind, provincial of Europe, Fr. Leo van der Klauuw, Fr. Benoît Grière, superior general

On Tuesday, January 6, 2015, the feast of the Epiphany, a large group of Assumptionists from Holland, Belgium, Paris, Rome, and Bucharest gathered in Boxtel and were joined by Oblate Sisters of the Assumption, lay Assumptionists, friends, and local dignitaries to mark the centenary of the Assumptionist presence in this country.

Instead of relaxing at home during their winter break from school, nearly 50 Assumption College students have opted to participate this month in community service trips to Ecuador, Tuscaloosa, Ala.; Baltimore, M.D.; and Camden, N.J. The students are volunteering their time to help families impacted by economic strife and to rebuild neighborhoods.