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Foreword Cardinal Seán Patrick O’Malley, O.F.M., Cap. Religious life provides a means of saying yes to Christ and to the Church. It is only in the context of the Church that religious charisms can be discerned, cultivated, and authentically lived. The Second Vatican Council calls for all Catholics to read the signs of the times. We religious must read the signs of the times today and respond to a new generation of Catholics, who are different from the young people of twenty, thirty, or forty years ago. I frequently hear the presidents of Catholic colleges and universities share that they have never experienced such openness to the faith and the practice of life in the Church as they see in the young people of the new millennium. We cannot fail these young people in their quest to grow closer to the Lord. I have seen firsthand that strong community life and genuine happiness with ministry makes all the difference to young people who would be open to a religious vocation. Our young adult Catholics want to be part of the Church’s mission. They are drawn to the service projects and the missionary affiliations of our religious communities , as witnessed by the wonderful proliferation of “alternative spring breaks” for high school and college students, when they give of their time and effort on behalf of people in need. When these experiences are marked by faith formation, prayer, and spiritual divii viii Foreword rection, they can provide young people with a powerful motivation to consider religious life. Religious communities that can read the signs of the times and say yes to a new generation of Catholics will have the greatest opportunity to flourish. We must be able to hear and engage constructive criticism from within our communities and the wider Church. We must not be inordinately attached to and unwilling to let go of models of ministry and life that have not succeeded. If we insist on holding on to lifestyles that are more for our gratification than the good of the Church, then we will not attract new members to our communities; we will not experience renewal. Religious communities have a unique opportunity to welcome and minister to the new Catholics who have come to our shores. A strong sense of community is of great importance to our immigrant brothers and sisters; it is in the very fabric of their lives. We need only recognize that almost half the Catholics in the United States today between the ages of twenty and thirty are Hispanic, and that one-tenth of our priests ordained each year are Asian, mostly Vietnamese . The religious in the United States are ideally suited to nurture the piety and the traditions of our immigrant Catholics, who before long will be the leaders of our Church. We must all recommit ourselves to the task of spreading the Catholic faith. Evangelization necessarily includes the proclamation of the social Gospel of preferential option for the poor, the Gospel of Life, and the defense of the family, which is the sanctuary of life. Consecrated life is a grace of discipleship that is born out of a deep love for Christ and the Church. Religious women and men need to be artisans of the civilization of love. We must recommit ourselves to the mission we professed. Great love and great humility will bring about a renewal, a new springtime, for religious life and for the new generation of Catholics who look to us for leadership. ...

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