Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram
INTRODUCTION
"Let your face shine upon us and we shall
be saved" (Ps 79:4)
Consecrated Life as a witness of the
search for God
1. "Faciem tuam, Domine, requiram": your
face, O Lord, I seek (Ps 27:8). A pilgrim
seeking the meaning of life, enwrapped in
the great mystery that surrounds him, the
human person, even if unconsciously, does,
in fact, seek the face of the Lord. "Your
ways, O Lord, make known to me, teach me
your paths" (Ps 25:4): no one can ever take
away from the heart of the human person the
search for him of whom the Bible says "He is
all" (Sir 43:27) and for the ways of
reaching him.
Consecrated life, called to make the
characteristic traits of the virginal, poor
and obedient Jesus visible,1 flourishes in
the ambience of this search for the face of
the Lord and the ways that lead to him (cf.
Jn 14:4-6). A search that leads to the
experience of peace - "in his will is our
peace" 2 - and which underlies each day's
struggle, because God is God, and His ways
and thoughts are not always our ways and
thoughts (cf. Is 55:8). The consecrated
person, therefore, gives witness to the
task, at once joyful and laborious, of the
diligent search for the divine will, and for
this chooses to use every means available
that helps one to know it and sustain it
while bringing it to fulfilment.
Here, too, the religious community, a
communion of consecrated persons who profess
to seek together and carry out God's will: a
community of sisters or brothers with a
variety of roles but with the same goal and
the same passion, finds its meaning. For
this reason, while all in the community are
called to seek what is pleasing to the Lord
and to obey Him, some are called, usually
temporarily, to exercise the particular task
of being the sign of unity and the guide in
the common search both personal and
communitarian of carrying out the will of
God. This is the service of authority.
A path of liberation
2. The culture of Western Society, strongly
centred on the subject, has contributed to
the spread of the value of respect for the
dignity of the human person, positively
fostering the person's free development and
autonomy.
Such recognition constitutes one of the most
significant traits of modernity and is a
providential given which requires new ways
of conceiving authority and relating to it.
One must also keep in mind that when freedom
tends to become arbitrariness and the
autonomy of the person, independence from
the Creator and from relationships with
others, then one finds oneself before forms
of idolatry that do not increase freedom but
rather enslave.
In such cases, believers in the God of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the God of
Jesus Christ, must embark upon a path of
personal liberation from every idolatrous
cult. It is a path which can find its
motivation in the Exodus experience: a path
of liberation which leads from the
acceptance of the common scattered way of
thinking to the freedom of adhering to the
Lord and from the monotony of one way of
looking at things to itineraries that bring
one to communion with the living and true
God.
The Exodus journey is guided by the cloud,
both bright and obscure, of the Spirit of
God, and, even if, at times, it seems to
lose itself down paths which do not make
sense, its destiny is the beatifying
intimacy of the heart of God: "I bore you up
on eagle wings and brought you here to
myself" (Ex 19:4). A group of slaves is
freed to become a holy people who know the
joy of free service to God. The Exodus
events are a paradigm which accompanies the
entire biblical reality and is seen as a
prophetic anticipation of the same earthly
life of Jesus, who, in turn frees from
slavery through obedience to the
providential will of the Father.
Addressees, intent and limitations of the
document
3. The Congregation for Institutes of
Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic
Life during its last Plenary Session, which
took place 28-30 September 2005, turned its
attention to the theme of the exercise of
authority and obedience in consecrated life.
It was recognized that this theme calls for
careful reflection, first of all because of
the changes that have taken place in the
internal lives of Institutes and communities
in recent years, and also in light of what
more recent Magisterial documents on the
renewal of consecrated life have proposed.
The present Instruction, the fruit of what
emerged in the above cited Plenary Session
and in the reflection of this Dicastery that
followed, is addressed to members of
institutes of consecrated life who live a
community life, that is to all men and women
who belong to religious institutes, to which
societies of apostolic life are very
similar. However, other consecrated persons,
in relation to their type of life, can also
cull useful information from it. This
document hopes to offer help and
encouragement to all those, called to
witness to the primacy of God through free
obedience to his will, to live their yes to
the Lord in joy.
In confronting the theme of this
Instruction, it is well recognized that its
implications are many and that there exists
in the vast world of consecrated life today
not only a great variety of charismatic
projects and of missionary commitments, but
also a certain diversity of models of
governance and practices of obedience,
differences often influenced by the various
cultural contexts.3 Moreover, one must keep
in mind the differences that characterize
also under the psychological profile,
communities of men and women. In addition
one must consider the new problems which the
numerous forms of missionary collaboration,
particularly those with the laity, pose to
the exercise of authority. Also the
different weights, attributed to local and
central authorities in various religious
institutes, determine ways of practicing
authority and obedience that are not
uniform. Finally one must not forget that
consecrated life commonly sees, in the "synodal"
figure of the general chapter (or of
analogous gatherings), the supreme authority
of the institute,4 to which all the members,
beginning with the superiors, must make
reference.
To all this one must add the realization
that in recent years the way of listening to
and living authority and obedience has
changed both in the Church and in society.
This is due to, among other things: the
coming to awareness of the value of the
individual person, with his or her vocation,
and intellectual, affective and spiritual
gifts, with his or her freedom and rational
abilities; the centrality of the
spirituality of communion,5 with the valuing
of the instruments that help one to live it;
a different and less individualistic way of
understanding mission, in the sharing of all
members of the People of God, with the
resulting forms of concrete collaboration.
Nevertheless, considering some elements of
the present cultural influence one must
recall that the desire for self realization
can at times enter into conflict with
community projects; the search for personal
well-being, be it spiritual or material, can
render total dedication to the service of
the common mission difficult; visions of the
charism and of apostolic service which are
too subjective can weaken fraternal sharing
and collaboration.
Also not to be excluded is the recognition
that in some settings the opposite problems
are prevalent, determined by an unbalanced
vision on the side of collectivity and of
excessive uniformity, with the risk of
stifling the growth and responsibility of
the individuals. The balance between the
individual and community is not an easy one
and thus neither is that between authority
and obedience.
This Instruction does not intend to treat
all the problems raised by the various
elements and sensibilities just cited. These
remain, so to say, at the base of the
reflections and those directions which are
proposed. The principle intent of this
Instruction is that of reaffirming that
obedience and authority, even though
practiced in many ways, always have a
relation to the Lord Jesus, the obedient
Servant. Moreover, it proposes to help
authority in its triple service: to the
individual persons called to live their own
consecration (first part); to construct
fraternal communities (second part); to
participate in the common mission (third
part).
The considerations and directives which
follow are proposed in continuity with those
of the documents which have accompanied the
path of consecrated life in these past not
easy years, especially Potissimum
institutioni of 1990,6 Fraternal Life in
Community of 1994,7 the Post-Synodal
Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata of
1996 8 and the 2002 Instruction, Starting
Afresh from Christ: A Renewed Commitment to
Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium.
FIRST PART - CONSECRATION AND SEARCH FOR THE WILL OF GOD
"Because freed we can serve him in justice and holiness" (cf. Lk
1:74-75)
Whom are we seeking?
4. The Lord asks the first disciples, who, perhaps, still uncertain
and doubtful begin to follow a new Rabbi: "What are you looking
for?" (Jn 1:38). We can read into this question other radical
questions: What does your heart seek? What concerns you? Are you
looking for yourself or are you looking for the Lord your God? Are
you pursuing your own desires or the desire of the One who made your
heart and wants to bring it to fullness, as he knows and understands
it? Are you running after only passing things or are you seeking the
One who does not pass away? "In this world of dissimilarity, with
what do we need to be concerned, Lord God? From the rising of the
sun to its setting I see men overwhelmed by the turmoil of this
world: some look for riches, others, privilege, others yet again the
satisfactions of popularity," observed St. Bernard.10
"Your face, O Lord, I seek" (Ps 27:8) is the response of the person
who has understood the uniqueness and the infinite greatness of the
mystery of God and the sovereignty of his holy will but is also the
response, even if it is only implicit and confused, of every human
creature in search of truth and happiness. Quaerere Deum has always
been the quest of every being thirsting for the Absolute and the
Eternal. Many today tend to consider any kind of dependence
humiliating, but the status of creature in itself implies being
dependent on an Other and, therefore, as a being in relation,
dependent on others.
The believer seeks the living and true God, the Beginning and the
End of all things, the God not made in his or her image and likeness
but the God who made us in his image and likeness, the God who makes
known his will, who indicated the ways to reach him: "You will show
me the path of life, fullness of joys in your presence, delights at
your right hand forever" (Ps 16:11).
To seek the will of God means to seek a friendly and benevolent
will, which desires our fulfilment, that desires, above all, a free
response in love to its love, in order to make of us instruments of
divine love. It is along this via amoris that the flower of
listening and obedience blooms.
Obedience as listening
5. "Listen, child" (Pr 1:8). First of all, obedience is an attitude
of a son or daughter. It is that particular kind of listening that
only a son or daughter can do in listening to his or her parent,
because it is enlightened by the certainty that the parent has only
good things to say and give to him or her. This is a listening, full
of the trust, that makes a son or daughter accept the parent's will,
sure that it will be for his or her own good.
This is most completely true in regard to God. In fact, we reach our
fullness only to the extent that we place ourselves within the plan
with which He has conceived us with a Father's love. Therefore,
obedience is the only way human persons, intelligent and free
beings, can have the disposition to fulfil themselves. As a matter
of fact, when a human person says "no" to God, that person
compromises the divine plan, diminishing him or herself and
condemning him or herself to failure.
Obedience to God is the path of growth and, therefore, of freedom
for the person because this obedience allows for the acceptance of a
plan or a will different from one's own that not only does not
deaden or lessen human dignity but is its basis. At the same time,
freedom is also in itself a path of obedience, because it is in
obeying the plan of the Father, in a childlike way, that the
believer fulfils his or her freedom. It is clear that such obedience
requires that persons recognize themselves as sons and daughters and
enjoy being such, because only a son or a daughter can freely place
him or herself in the hands of his or her Father, exactly like the
Son, Jesus, who abandoned himself to the Father. Even if in his
passion he gave himself up to Judas, to the high priests, to his
torturers, to the hostile crowd, and to his crucifiers, he did so
only because he was absolutely certain that everything found its
meaning in complete fidelity to the plan of salvation willed by the
Father, to whom, as St. Bernard reminds us, "it is not the death
which was pleasing, but the will of the One who died of his own
accord".11
"Hear, O Israel !" (Dt 6:4)
6. For the Lord God, Israel is a child. Israel is the people whom he
has chosen, begotten, brought up, held by the hand, raised to his
cheek and taught to walk (cf. Hos 11:1-4), to whom - as the highest
expression of affection - he constantly addressed his Word, even if
this people did not always listen to it or considered it a weight,
as a "law". The entire Old Testament is an invitation to listen, and
listening is a way of coming to the New Covenant when the Lord says:
"I will place my laws in their minds and I will write them on their
hearts; I will be their God and they shall be my people" (Heb 8:10;
cf. Jer 31:33).
As a free and liberating response of the New Israel to the proposal
of a new covenant, obedience flows from listening. Obedience is part
of the New Covenant, which has obedience for its distinctive
characteristic. From this it follows that obedience can be
completely understood only within the logic of love, intimacy with
God and the definitive belonging to the One who finally sets all
free.
Obedience to the Word of God
7. The first act of obedience on the part of the creature is that of
coming into existence in conformity with the divine fiat that calls
one into being. Such obedience reaches its full expression in a
creature free to recognize and accept him or herself as a gift of
the Creator, to say "yes" to coming into being from God. This
constitutes the first real act of freedom which is also the first
and fundamental act of authentic obedience.
Thus, the real obedience of the believing person is adhering to the
Word with which God reveals and communicates himself, and through
which he renews his covenant of love every day. From that Word
flowed life which continues to be transmitted every day. Therefore,
every morning the believing person seeks a living and faithful
contact with the Word which is proclaimed that day, meditating on it
and holding it in his or her heart as a treasure, making of it the
root of every action and the primary criterion of each choice,
allowing him or herself to be edified by that Word. And at the end
of the day placing him or herself before the Word, praising God as
Simeon did for having seen the fulfilment of the eternal Word within
the small events of the day (cf. Lk 2:27-32), and confiding to the
strength of the Word whatever has remained unaccomplished. The Word,
in fact, does not work only by day, but continuously, as the Lord
teaches in the parable of the seed (cf. Mk 4:26-27).
The loving encounter with the Word shows one how to discover the way
to life and the way through which God wishes to free his children,
nourishes one's spiritual instincts for the things which are
pleasing to God, conveys the sense and the taste for his will, gives
peace and joy for staying faithful, making one sensitive and ready
for all the expressions of obedience: to the Gospel (Rm 10:16; 2 Th
1:8), to the faith (Rm 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7), and to the truth (Gal
5:7; 1 Pt 1:22).
However, one must not forget that the authentic experience of God
always remains an experience of otherness. "However great the
similarity that may be established between Creator and creature, the
dissimilarity between them is always greater".12 The mystics and all
those who have tasted intimacy with God, remind us that the contact
with the sovereign Mystery is always contact with the Other, with a
will which is at times dramatically dissimilar from our own. To obey
God means in fact to enter into an order of values which is "other",
taking on a new and different sense of reality, experiencing an
unthought-of freedom to reach the threshold of the mystery: "For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the
Lord. As high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are my
ways above your ways and my thoughts above your thoughts" (Is
55:8-9).
This entering into the world of God can arouse fear. Such an
experience based on the example of the Saints can show that what is
impossible for man is made possible by God. Additionally, it becomes
authentic obedience to the mystery of God who is, at the same time,
"interior intimo meo"13 and radically other.
In the following of Jesus, the obedient Son of the Father
8. On this journey we are not alone: we are guided by the example of
Christ, the Beloved on whom the Father's favour rests (Mt 3:17;
17:5), but also he who has freed us thanks to his obedience. It is
he who inspires our obedience in order that the divine plan of
salvation be completed through us.
In him everything is a listening to and acceptance of the Father
(cf. Jn 8:28-29); all of his earthly life is an expression and
continuation of what the Word does from eternity: letting himself be
loved by the Father, accepting his love in an unconditional way, to
the point of deciding to do nothing by himself (cf. Jn 8:28) but to
do always what is pleasing to the Father. The will of the Father is
the food which sustains Jesus in his work (cf. Jn 4:34) and which
merits for Him and for us the superabundance of the resurrection,
the luminous joy of entering into the very heart of God, into the
blessed company of his children (cf. Jn 1:12). It is by this
obedience of Jesus that "all shall become just" (Rm 5:19).
He also lived obedience when it presented a difficult chalice to
drink (cf. Mt 26:39, 42; Lk 22:42), and he made himself "obedient to
the point of death, and death on a cross" (Phil 2:8). This is the
dramatic aspect of the obedience of the Son wrapped in a mystery
which we can never totally penetrate, but which for us is very
relevant, because it uncovers for us even more the filial nature of
Christian obedience: only the child who senses himself loved by the
Father and loves him with his whole self, can arrive at this type of
radical obedience.
The Christian, like Christ, is defined as an obedient being. The
unquestionable primacy of love in Christian life cannot make us
forget that such love has acquired a face and a name in Christ Jesus
and has become Obedience. Therefore, obedience is not humiliation
but the truth on which the fullness of human persons is built and
realized. Hence, the believer so ardently desires to fulfil the will
of the Father as to make of it his or her supreme aspiration. Like
Jesus, he or she wants to live by this will. In imitation of Christ
and learning from Him, with a gesture of supreme freedom and of
unconditional trust, the consecrated person has placed his or her
will in the hands of the Father to make a perfect and pleasing
sacrifice to him (cf. Rm 12:1).
However, even before being the model for all obedience, Christ is
the One to whom every true obedience is directed. In fact, it is the
putting of his words into practice that renders one a disciple (cf.
Mt 7:24) and it is the observance of his commandments which
concretizes love for Him and draws the love of the Father (cf. Jn
14:21). He is at the centre of the religious community as the One
who serves (cf. Lk 22:27) but also as the One to whom one professes
one's own faith ("You have faith in God; have faith also in me" [Jn
14:1]) and to whom one gives his or her own obedience, because only
in this does one carry out a sure and persevering following. "In
fact, it is the Risen Lord himself, newly present among the brothers
and sisters gathered in his name who points out the path to take".14
Obedient to God through human mediation
9. God manifests his will through the interior motion of the Spirit,
who "guides to all truth" (Jn 16:13), through multiple external
mediations. In effect, the history of salvation is a story of
mediation, which makes the mystery of grace which God completes in
the intimacy of the heart visible in some way. Even in Jesus' life,
it is possible to recognize not a few human means through which He
became aware of, interpreted, and accepted the will of the Father,
as the raison d'être and as the constant food for his life and his
mission.
Mediations that exteriorly communicate the will of God must be
recognized in the events of life and in the specific requirements of
a particular vocation, but they are expressed as well in the laws
that give order to the life of groups of people and in the
dispositions of those who are called to lead such groupings. In the
ecclesial context, laws and dispositions, legitimately given,
provide an insight into the will of God, becoming the concrete and
ordered realization of the demands of the Gospel from which they are
formulated and perceived.
Consecrated persons moreover are called to the following of the
obedient Christ within an "evangelical project" or a charismatic
one, inspired by the Spirit and authenticated by the Church.
Approving a charismatic program that is a religious institute, the
Church guarantees that the inspiration that animates it and the
norms that regulate it can provide a path for seeking God and
holiness. Therefore, the Rule and the other indications concerning
the way of life also become means of mediating the will of the Lord:
human mediation but still authoritative, imperfect but at the same
time binding, the starting point from which each day begins, and
also for moving forward in a generous and creative impulse towards
that sanctity which God "wills" for every consecrated person. In
this journey persons in authority are invested with the pastoral
task of leading and deciding.
It is evident that all this will be experienced coherently and
fruitfully only if the desire to know and do the will of God, the
awareness of one's own fragility and the acceptance of the validity
of the specific mediations remain alive, even when the reasons
presented are not fully grasped.
The spiritual intuitions of the founders and foundresses, especially
of those who have significantly marked the path of religious life
throughout the centuries, have always given great importance to
obedience. Already at the beginning of his Rule, St. Benedict
addresses the monk: "To thee, therefore, my speech is now directed,
who, giving up thine own will, takest up the strong and most
excellent arms of obedience, to do battle for Christ the Lord, the
true King".15
It must also be remembered that the authority-obedience relationship
is situated in the larger context of the mystery of the Church and
constitutes a particular actualization of its function as mediator.
In this regard the Code of Canon Law recommends that "superiors are
to exercise their power, received from God through the ministry of
the Church, in a spirit of service".16
Learning obedience in the day-to-day
10. Therefore, for the consecrated person it might also come to
having "to learn obedience" through suffering or from some very
specific and difficult situations: when, for example, one is asked
to leave certain personal projects or ideas, to give up the pretext
of managing one's life and mission by oneself; or all the times in
which what is asked (or who asks it) does not seem to be very
humanly convincing. Those who find themselves in such situations now
should not forget that mediation by its nature is limited and
inferior to that to which it refers, even more so if it deals with
human mediation in relation to the divine will; but one should
remember that every time one finds oneself faced with a command
given legitimately that the Lord requests obedience to the person in
authority who, at that moment, represents him17 and that Christ also
"learned obedience from what he suffered" (Heb 5:8).
In this regard, it is fitting to recall the words of Paul VI: "You
must feel something of the force with which Christ was drawn to His
Cross - that baptism He had still to receive, by which that fire
would be lighted which sets you too ablaze - (cf. Lk 12:49-50)
something of that ‘foolishness' which St. Paul wishes we all had,
because it alone makes us wise (cf. 1 Cor 3:18-19). Let the Cross be
for you, as it was for Christ, proof of the greatest love. Is there
not a mysterious relationship between renunciation and joy, between
sacrifice and magnanimity, between discipline and spiritual
freedom?" 18
It is precisely in these cases of suffering that the consecrated
person learns to obey the Lord (cf. Ps 119:7), to listen to him and
to remain devoted only to him, waiting patiently and full of hope
for his revealing Word (cf. Ps 118:81), in complete and generous
openness to accomplishing his will and not one's own (cf. Lk 22:42).
In the light and strength of the Spirit
11. One remains devoted to the Lord when sensing in some way his
presence in human intermediaries, such as in the Rule, the
superiors, the community,19 the signs of the times, the expectations
of others and, above all, the poor; when one has the courage to cast
the nets on the "strength of his word" (cf. Lk 5:5) and not only
from solely human motivations; when one chooses to obey not only God
but also others, but in every case, for God and not for others. In
his Constitutions, St. Ignatius writes: "Genuine obedience considers
not the person to whom it is offered but Him for whose sake it is
offered: and if it is exercised for the sake of our Creator and Lord
alone, then it is the very Lord of everyone who is obeyed".20
If in difficult moments those who are called to obey request
insistently the Father for the Spirit (cf. Lk 11:13), he will give
them the Spirit and the Spirit will give light and the strength to
be obedient and will help them to know the truth - and it is the
truth makes one free (cf. Jn 8:32).
Jesus himself, in his humanity, was led by the action of the Holy
Spirit: conceived in the womb of the Virgin Mary by the work of the
Holy Spirit, at the beginning of his mission, in his baptism he
receives the Spirit which descends upon him and guides him; risen he
pours forth the Spirit on his disciples that they might enter into
the same mission, announcing the salvation and pardon which he
merited. The Spirit who anointed Jesus is the same Spirit who can
make our freedom similar to that of Christ, perfectly conformed to
the will of God.21
Therefore, it is indispensable that all open themselves to the
Spirit, beginning with superiors, who properly receive authority
from the Spirit,22 and "docile to the will of God",23 under his
guidance must exercise it.
Authority at the service of obedience to the Will of God
12. In consecrated life everyone must sincerely seek the will of the
Father, because otherwise the reason itself for this choice of life
would disappear; but it is equally important to carry out such a
search together with the brothers or the sisters because it is
properly that which unites them, "making them a family united to
Christ".
Persons in authority are at the service of this search to ensure
that it occurs in sincerity and truth. In the homily at the
beginning of his Petrine ministry, Benedict XVI affirmed
significantly: "My real program of governance is not to do my own
will, not to pursue my own ideas, but to listen, together with the
whole Church, to the word and the will of the Lord, to be guided by
Him, so that He himself will lead the Church at this hour of our
history".24 On the other hand, it is necessary to recognize that the
task of being a guide for others is not easy, especially when the
sense of personal autonomy is excessive or conflictive and
competitive in its relations with others. Therefore, it is necessary
on everyone's part to sharpen his or her ability to see the
encounters of this task in faith, in order that he or she might be
inspired to have the attitude of Jesus the Servant who washes the
feet of his apostles so that they might have a part in his life and
in his love (cf. Jn 13:1-17).
This calls for a great consistency on the part of those who guide
institutes, provinces (or other sections of the institute) and
communities. Persons called to exercise authority must know that
they will be able to do so only if they first undertake the
pilgrimage that leads to seeking the will of God with intensity and
righteousness. The advice that St. Ignatius of Antioch gave to one
of his fellow bishops is valuable for them: "Nothing is done without
your agreement, but you do not do anything without God's
agreement".25 Persons in authority must act in such a way that the
brothers or the sisters can perceive that when they give a command,
they are doing so only to obey God.
Reverence for the will of God keeps those in authority in a state of
humble seeking, so that their acting conforms as much as possible to
that holy will. St. Augustine reminds us that the one who obeys
always fulfils the will of God, not because the command of the
authority necessarily conforms to the divine will, but because it is
the will of God that is obeyed by the one who is in charge.26 But
those in authority, on their part, must search assiduously with the
help of prayer, reflection, and the advice of others for what God
really wills. Otherwise, instead of representing God, superiors risk
putting themselves carelessly in God's place.
With the intention of doing God's will, authority and obedience are
not therefore two distinct realities or things absolutely opposed
but rather two dimensions of the same evangelical reality, of the
same Christian mystery, two complementary ways of participating in
the same oblation of Christ. Authority and obedience are personified
in Jesus: for this reason they must be understood in direct relation
to him and in a real configuration to him. Consecrated life intends
simply to live His Authority and His Obedience.
Some priorities in the service of authority
13. a) In consecrated life authority is first of all a spiritual
authority.27 Persons in authority recognize that they are called to
serve an ideal that is much greater than themselves, an ideal which
can be approached only in an atmosphere of prayer and humble
seeking, which allows them to grasp the action of the same Spirit in
the heart of every brother or sister. Persons in authority are
"spiritual" when they place themselves at the service of what the
Spirit wants to realize through the gifts which he distributes to
every member of the community, in the charismatic project of the
institute.
To be in the position of promoting the spiritual life, persons in
authority will have to cultivate first in themselves an openness to
listening to others and to the signs of the times through a daily
familiarity in prayer with the Word of God, with the Rule and the
other norms of the life. "The service of authority demands a
persevering presence, able to enliven and take initiative, to recall
the raison d'être of consecrated life, to help the persons entrusted
to you to correspond with ever-renewed fidelity to the call of the
Spirit".28
b) Persons in authority are called to guarantee to the community the
time for and the quality of prayer, looking after the community's
daily faithfulness to prayer, in the awareness that the community
approaches God with small but constant steps, everyday and by
everyone's effort, and that consecrated persons can be useful to one
another to the extent that they are united to God. Furthermore,
persons in authority are called to take care that, beginning with
themselves, daily contact with the Word does not disappear, since
"it has the power to edify" (Acts 20:32) individual persons and the
community and to indicate ways for the mission. Mindful of the
command of the Lord, "Do this in memory of me" (Lk 22:19), persons
in authority will assure that the holy mystery of the Body and of
the Blood of Christ is celebrated and venerated as "the source and
summit"29 of communion with God and among the brothers and sisters.
Celebrating and adoring the gift of the Eucharist in faithful
obedience to the Lord, the community draws from it the inspiration
and strength for its total dedication to God, in order to be a sign
of his gratuitous love for humanity and an efficacious pointing
toward future goods.30
c) Persons in authority are called to promote the dignity of the
person, paying attention to each member of the community and to his
or her growth, giving to each one the appropriate appreciation and
positive consideration, nurturing sincere affection towards all and
keeping reserved all that is said in confidence.
It is appropriate to recall that before invoking obedience
(necessary) one needs to practice charity (indispensable). It is
also good to make an appropriate use of the word communion, which
cannot and must not be understood as a kind of delegation of
authority to the community (with the implicit invitation to each to
"do what he or she wants"), but neither as a more or less veiled
imposition of one's own point of view (each one "does what I want").
d) Persons in authority are called to inspire courage and hope in
the midst of difficulties. As Paul and Barnabas encouraged their
disciples, teaching that "we must undergo many trials if we are to
enter into the reign of God" (Acts 14:22), persons in authority must
help in accepting the difficulties of the present moment,
remembering that they are part of the sufferings which are often
strewn along the road that leads to the Reign of God.
Faced with some difficult situations in consecrated life, for
example, where its presence seems to be weakening and even
disappearing, the one who leads the community will recall the
perennial values of this kind of life, because today, as yesterday,
and as always, nothing is more important, beautiful and true than
spending one's own life in the service of the Lord and for the
littlest of his children.
Leaders of the community are like the Good Shepherd who gives his
life for the sheep, because even in the critical moment they do not
retreat, but are present, participating in the concerns and the
difficulties of the people confided to their care, involving
themselves personally; and like the Good Samaritan they will be
ready to care for any possible wounds. Furthermore, leaders humbly
recognizes their own limits and need for help from others, knowing
how to turn their own failures and defeats into rich learning
experiences.
e) Persons in authority are called to keep the charism of their own
religious family alive. The exercise of authority also includes
putting oneself at the service of the proper charism of the
institute to which one belongs, keeping it carefully and making it
real in the local community and in the province or the entire
institute, according to the plans and orientations offered, in
particular by General Chapters (or analogous meetings).31 What is
required of persons in authority is an adequate knowledge of the
charism of the institute, making it part of themselves, in order
then better to see it in relation to community life and in relation
to its place in ecclesial and social contexts.
f) Persons in authority are called to keep alive the "sentire cum
Ecclesia". Persons in authority have the task of helping to keep
alive the sense of faith and of ecclesial communion, in the midst of
a people that recognizes and praises the wonders of God, witnessing
to the joy of belonging to him in the great family of the one, holy,
catholic, and apostolic Church. The task of following the Lord
cannot be taken by solitary navigators but is accomplished in the
bark of Peter, which survives the storms; and consecrated persons
contribute a hardworking and joyful fidelity to good navigation.32
Persons in authority should therefore remember that "Our obedience
is a believing with the Church, a thinking and speaking with the
Church, serving through her. What Jesus predicted to Peter also
always applies: ‘You will be taken where you do not want to go'.
This letting oneself be guided where one does not want to be led is
an essential element of our serving and precisely that which makes
us free".33
Sentire cum Ecclesia that shines in founders and foundresses implies
an authentic spirituality of communion, that is "an effective and
affective relationship with the Bishops, primarily with the Pope,
the centre of unity of the Church".34 To him every consecrated
person owes full and confident obedience also in virtue of the vow
itself.35 Moreover, ecclesial communion demands a faithful adhesion
to the Magisterium of the Pope and Bishops as a concrete witness to
love for the Church and passion for her unity.36
g) Persons in authority are called to accompany the journey of
ongoing formation. A task always to be considered most important
today on the part of persons in authority is that of accompanying
the persons for whom they are called to care throughout their lives.
This they do not only by offering help in resolving possible
problems or in managing possible crises but also in paying attention
to the normal growth of each one in every phase and season of life,
in order to guarantee that "youthfulness of spirit which lasts
through time"37 and that makes the consecrated person ever more
conformed to the "sentiments which were in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5).
Therefore, it will be the responsibility of persons in authority to
keep a high level of openness to being formed as well as the ability
to learn from life. In particular, this is important to do regarding
the freedom of letting oneself be formed by others and for each one
to feel a responsibility for the growth of others. Both will be
fostered by making use of means of growth in community passed on by
tradition and that are today especially recommended by those who
have solid experience in the field of spiritual formation: sharing
of the Word, personal and community plans, communitarian
discernment, review of one's life and fraternal correction.38
The service of authority in the light of ecclesial norms
14. In the preceding paragraphs the service of authority in
consecrated life was described in reference to the search for the
will of the Father and some of its priorities were pointed out.
In order that these priorities not be understood as purely
facultative, it seems appropriate to consider the particular
characteristics of the exercise of authority according to the Code
of Canon Law.39 In it the evangelical traits of the power exercised
by religious superiors on various levels are translated into norms.
a) The obedience of the superior. Moving from the characteristic
nature of munus of ecclesial authority, the Code reminds the
religious superior that he or she is first of all called to be the
first one to be obedient. In the strength of the assumed office, he
or she owes obedience to the law of God, from whom his or her
authority comes and to whom he or she must render an account in
conscience, to the law of the Church, to the Roman Pontiff, and to
the proper law of the institute.
b) The spirit of service. After having reaffirmed the charismatic
origin and the ecclesial mediation of religious authority, it is
reaffirmed that, as all authority in the Church, so too the
authority of the religious superior must be characterized by the
spirit of service, in imitation of Christ who "came not to be served
but to serve" (Mk 10:45).
In particular, some aspects of such a spirit of service are pointed
out, whose faithful observance will assure that superiors, in
fulfilling their service, will be recognized as "docile to the will
of God".40
Therefore, every superior is called to bring to life again, brother
to brother or sister to sister, that love with which God loves his
children, avoiding, on the one hand, any attitude of domination and,
on the other, any form of paternalism or maternalism.
All of this is made possible by confidence in the responsibility of
the brothers or the sisters "promoting the voluntary obedience of
their subjects with reverence for the human person",41 and through
dialogue keeping in mind that bonding must come about "in a spirit
of faith and love in the following of the obedient Christ"42 and not
for other motivations.
c) Pastoral care. The Code points out, as the primary goal of the
exercise of religious power, that of building "a community of
brothers or sisters in Christ in which God is sought after and loved
before all else".43 Therefore, in the religious community authority
is essentially pastoral by its nature in that it is entirely in
function of the building of fraternal life in community, according
to the very ecclesial identity of consecrated life.44
The principle means that the superior should use to attain such a
primary end can only be based on faith: they are, in particular,
listening to the Word of God and the celebration of the Liturgy.
Finally, some areas of particular care on the part of superiors as
regards the brothers or sisters are singled out: "they are to meet
the personal needs of the members appropriately, solicitously to
care for and visit the sick, to correct the restless, to console the
faint of heart, and to be patient toward all".45
In mission with the freedom of the children of God
15. Today, it is not rare that the mission is addressed to people
concerned with their own autonomy, jealous of their freedom, fearful
of losing their independence.
With their very existence, consecrated persons present the
possibility of a different way for the fulfilment of their own life,
a way where God is the goal, his Word the light, and his will the
guide, where consecrated persons move along peacefully in the
certainty of being sustained by the hands of a Father who welcomes
and provides, where they are accompanied by brothers and sisters,
moved by the same Spirit, who wants to and knows how to satisfy the
desires and longings sown by the Father in the heart of each one.
This is the primary mission of the consecrated person: he or she
must witness to the freedom of the children of God, a freedom
modelled on that of Christ who was free to serve God and the
brothers and sisters; and moreover to affirm with his or her very
own being that that God who formed the human creature from clay (cf.
Gen 2:7, 22) and knitted that creature in his or her mother's womb
(cf. Ps 139:13), can form his or her life, modelling it on that of
Christ, the new and perfectly free man.
SECOND PART AUTHORITY AND OBEDIENCE IN COMMUNITY LIFE
"One among you is your teacher and you are all brothers" (Mt
23:8)
The New Commandment
16. To all those who seek God, in addition to the commandment, "You
shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole
soul and with your whole mind", there is given the second
commandment "similar to the first": "you shall love your neighbour
as yourself" (Mt 22:37-39). Thus, the Lord Jesus adds, "Love one
another as I have loved you", because from the quality of your love
"they will know that you are my disciples" (Jn 13:34-35). The
building of fraternal community constitutes one of the fundamental
tasks of consecrated life, to which the members of the community are
called to dedicate themselves, moved by that same love that the Lord
has poured out into their hearts. In fact, fraternal life in
community is a constitutive element of religious life, an eloquent
sign of the humanizing effects of the presence of the Reign of God.
If it is true that there is no meaningful community without
fraternal love, it is likewise true that a correct view of obedience
and authority can offer a valid help for living the commandment of
love in daily life, especially when it is a question of facing
problems regarding the relationship between the individual and the
community.
Persons in authority at the service of the community, the
community at the service of the Reign of God
17. "All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Rm
8:14): we are, therefore, brothers and sisters since God is the
Father who guides the community of brothers and sisters with his
Spirit, configuring them to his Son.
The function of authority enters into this plan. Superiors, in union
with the persons entrusted to them, are called to build a fraternal
community in Christ in which God is sought and loved above things,
in order to fulfil God's redemptive plan.46 Therefore, persons in
authority are at the service of the community as was the Lord Jesus
who washed the feet of his disciples, in order that the community in
its turn be at the service of the Reign of God (cf. Jn 13:1-17).
Exercising authority in the midst of one's brothers or sisters means
serving them, following the example of him who "gave his life in
ransom for the many" (Mk 10:45), in order that they might give their
lives.
Only if superiors themselves live in obedience to Christ and
sincerely observe the Rule can the members of the community
understand that their obedience to the superior is not only not
contrary to the freedom of the children of God but causes it to
mature in conformity with Christ, obedient to the Father.47
Docile to the Spirit who leads to unity
18. One and the same call from God has gathered the members of a
community or of an institute together (cf. Col 3:15); one and the
same desire of seeking God continues to guide them. "Life in
community is thus the particular sign, before the Church and
society, of the bond which comes from the same call and the common
desire - notwithstanding differences of race and origin, language
and culture - to be obedient to that call. Contrary to the spirit of
discord and division, authority and obedience shine like a sign of
that unique Fatherhood which comes from God, of the brotherhood born
of the Spirit, of the interior freedom of those who put their trust
in God, despite the human limitations of those who represent him".48
The Spirit opens each one to the Reign of God, while maintaining his
or her different gifts and roles (cf. 1 Cor 12:11). Obedience to the
action of the Spirit unifies the community in its witness to his
presence, makes the steps of all joyful (cf. Ps 37:23), and becomes
the basis of community life in which all obey, each with various
tasks. The search for the will of God and the willingness to carry
it out is the spiritual cement that saves the group from the
fragmentation that can arise from the great variety of persons in
all their diversity when they are lacking a unifying principle.
For a spirituality of communion and a communitarian holiness
19. In these last few years, a renewed concept of anthropology has
made the importance of the relational dimension of the human person
much more evident. Such a conception finds ample confirmation in the
image of the human person that emerges from the Scriptures and,
undoubtedly, has also influenced the way of conceiving relations
within the religious community, making it more attentive to the
value of openness to someone other than oneself, to the fruitfulness
of the relation with the diversity and enrichment that come to each
one from it.
Such a relational anthropology has also exercised an influence, at
least indirectly as we have already recalled, on the spirituality of
communion, and has contributed to the renewal of the concept of
mission understood as a shared commitment with all members of the
people of God, in a spirit of collaboration and co-responsibility.
The spirituality of communion presents itself as the spiritual
climate of the Church at the beginning of the Third Millennium and,
therefore, as an active and exemplary task of religious life at all
levels. It is the main pathway for the future of a believing life
and of Christian witness. It finds its uncompromising reference in
the Eucharistic mystery always seen as more central, precisely
because "the Eucharist is thus constitutive of the Church's being
and activity" and "it is found at the root of the Church as a
mystery of communion".49
Holiness and mission pass through the community because the risen
Lord makes himself present in it and through it,50 making it holy
and sanctifying the relationships. Has not Jesus promised to be
present where two or three are gathered in his name (cf. Mt 18:20)?
Thus, brothers and sisters become sacraments of Jesus and of the
encounter with God, a concrete possibility of being able to live the
commandment
of mutual love. In this way the path of holiness becomes a way that
all members of the community follow together; not just a path for an
individual but ever more a community experience: in the reciprocal
welcoming; in the sharing of gifts, above all the gift of love, of
pardon, and of fraternal correction; in the common search for the
will of the Lord rich in grace and mercy; in the willingness of each
one to bear one another's burdens.
In today's cultural atmosphere, community holiness is a convincing
witness, perhaps even more than that of the individual: this shows
the perennial value of unity, a gift left by the Lord Jesus. This
becomes particularly evident in international and intercultural
communities that demand high levels of welcoming and dialogue.
The role of persons in authority for the growth of the community
20. The growth of the community is the fruit of an "ordered"
charity, which respects its points of reference. Consequently, "it
is also necessary that the proper law of each institute be as
precise as possible in determining the respective competence of the
community, the various councils, departmental coordinators and the
superior. A lack of clarity in this area is a source of confusion
and conflict. ‘Community projects,' which can help increase
participation in community life and in its mission in various
contexts, should also take care to define clearly the role and
competence of authority, in line with the constitutions".51
Within this picture persons in authority promote the growth of
fraternal life through the service of listening and dialogue, the
creation of a favourable atmosphere for sharing and
co-responsibility, the participation of everyone in the concerns of
each one, service balanced between the individual and the community,
discernment and the promotion of fraternal obedience.
a) The service of listening
The exercise of authority implies that persons in authority should
gladly listen to those who have been entrusted to them.52 St.
Benedict insists: "The abbot calls the whole community together";
"all of us have been called to give advice...because often it is to
the youngest that the Lord reveals the best solution".53
Listening is one of the principal ministries of superiors for which
they must always be available, above all for those who feel isolated
and in need of attention. In fact, listening means accepting the
other unconditionally, giving him or her space in one's own heart.
For this listening conveys affection and understanding, declares
that the other is appreciated, and that his or her presence and
opinion are taken into consideration.
Whoever presides must remember that the one who does not listen to
his brother or sister does not know how to listen to God either,
that an attentive listening allows one to better coordinate the
energy and gifts that the Spirit gives to the community and also,
when making decisions, to keep in mind the limits and the
difficulties of some members. Time spent in listening is never time
wasted, and listening can often prevent crises and difficult times
both on the individual and community levels.
b) Creation of an atmosphere favourable to dialogue, sharing and
co-responsibility
Persons in authority will have to be concerned with creating an
environment of trust, promoting the recognition of the abilities and
the sensitivities of individuals. Moreover, with words and deeds
they will nourish the conviction that the community requires
participation and therefore information.
In addition to listening, persons in authority will value sincere
and free dialogue - sharing feelings, perspectives and plans: in
this atmosphere each one will be able to have his or her true
identity recognized and to improve his or her own relational
abilities. Persons in authority will not be afraid to recognize and
accept those problems that can easily arise from searching,
deciding, working and together undertaking the best ways of
realizing a fruitful collaboration. On the contrary, they will look
for the causes of any possible uneasiness and misunderstandings,
knowing how to propose solutions, shared as much as possible.
Moreover, they will commit themselves to finding ways of overcoming
any form of childishness, and discourage whatever attempts are made
to avoid responsibility or to evade major commitments, to close
oneself in one's own world and in one's own interests or to work in
an isolated manner.
c) Soliciting the contribution of all for the concerns of all
Whoever is in charge has the responsibility for the final
decision,54 but must arrive at it not by him or herself but rather
by valuing the greatest possible free contribution of all the
brothers or sisters. The community is what its members make it.
Therefore, stimulating and motivating a contribution from every
person so that each one feels the duty to contribute his or her own
charity, competence and creativity will be fundamental. In fact, all
the human resources are strengthened and brought together in the
community project, motivating and respecting them.
It is not enough to place material goods in common, but still more
significant is the communion of goods and personal abilities of
endowments and talents, of intuitions and inspirations, and still
more fundamental, and to be promoted, is the sharing of spiritual
goods, of listening to the Word of God, of faith: "the more we share
those things which are central and vital, the more the fraternal
bond grows in strength".55
Probably not all will be immediately disposed to this type of
sharing. When faced with possible resistance, far from giving up the
project those in authority should seek to balance wisely the urgency
for a dynamic and enterprising communion with the art of being
patient, not expecting to see immediately the fruits of their own
efforts. They must also recognize that God is the one and only Lord
who can touch and change persons' hearts.
d) At the service of the individual and of the community
In entrusting various responsibilities to members of the community,
persons in authority must take into account the personality of each
brother or sister and each one's difficulties and predispositions,
in order to give to each a way to express his or her own gifts,
respecting the freedom of all. Simultaneously they must necessarily
consider the good of the community and the service to the work
eventually entrusted to them.
Such organizing to realize goals is not always easy to put into
practice. It is then that the balance of persons in authority, which
manifests itself in the ability to take the positive aspects of each
one and to make the best use of the strengths available, becomes
indispensable. This must be done with that righteousness of
intention that makes authority interiorly free, not too concerned
with pleasing and humouring, but clear in indicating the true
meaning of the mission for the consecrated person that cannot be
reduced to a simple valuing of the abilities of each one.
However, it will likewise be indispensable that consecrated persons
accept, in the spirit of faith and from the hands of the Father, the
responsibility entrusted to them even when it does not agree with
their desires and expectations or with their way of understanding
the will of God. For each person, still being able to express the
specific difficulties by candidly pointing them out as a
contribution to the truth, obeying in such cases means relying on
the final decision of the person in authority, with the conviction
that such obedience is a precious contribution - even if involving
suffering - for the building of the Reign of God.
e) Community discernment
"In community life which is inspired by the Holy Spirit, each
individual engages in a fruitful dialogue with others in order to
discover the Father's will. At the same time, community members
together recognize in the one who presides an expression of the
fatherhood of God and the exercise of authority received from God,
at the service of discernment and communion".56
Sometimes, when the proper law provides for it or when the
importance of the decision to be taken demands it, the search for an
adequate response is entrusted to community discernment, in which it
is a matter of listening to what the Spirit is saying to the
community (cf. Rev 2:7).
Even if true and appropriate discernment is reserved to the most
important decisions, the spirit of discernment ought to characterize
every decision-making process that involves the community. A time of
individual prayer and reflection together with a series of important
attitudes for choosing together what is right and pleasing to God,
should never be missing prior to every decision. Here are some of
these attitudes:
- determination to seek nothing other than the divine will, letting
oneself be inspired by God's way of acting as seen in the Sacred
Scriptures and in the history of the charism of the institute, and
with the awareness that evangelical logic is often "upside-down" in
relation to human logic that looks for success, efficiency and
recognition;
- openness to recognize in each brother or sister the ability to
discover the truth, even if partial, and consequently to welcome his
or her opinions as mediation for discovering together the will of
God - an openness to the point of knowing how to recognize the ideas
of others as better than one's own;
- attention to the signs of the times, to the expectations of the
people, to the needs of the poor, to the pressing needs of
evangelization, to the priorities of the Universal Church and of
particular churches and to the indications of Chapters and of major
superiors;
- freedom from prejudices, from excessive attachment to one's own
ideas, from perceptual frameworks which are rigid or distorted and
from strong positions which frustrate the diversity of opinions;
- courage to ground firmly one's own ideas while also opening
oneself to new perspectives and to changing one's own point of view;
- firm proposal to maintain unity in any case, whatever the final
decision might be.
Community discernment is not a substitute for the nature and
function of persons in authority, from whom the final decision is
expected. Nevertheless, persons in authority cannot ignore that the
community is the best place in which to recognize and accept the
will of God. In any case, discernment is one of the peak moments in
a consecrated community where the centrality of God, that ultimate
end of everyone's search, as well as the responsibility and the
contribution of each one in the journey of all towards the Truth,
stand out with particular clarity.
f) Discernment, authority and obedience
Persons in authority will be patient in the delicate process of
discernment, which they will seek to guarantee in its phases and
support in its most critical steps, and to be firm in requesting the
implementation of whatever is decided. They will be attentive not to
abdicate their own proper responsibility, even for love of living in
peace or for fear of hurting someone's feelings. They will feel the
responsibility of not avoiding situations in which it is necessary
to make clear and, at times, unpleasant decisions.57 True love for
the community is really what makes persons in authority able to
reconcile firmness and patience, listening to each one, and the
courage to make decisions, overcoming the temptation to be deaf and
mute.
Finally, it must be observed that a community cannot be in a state
of continuous discernment. After the time of discernment there is
the time for obedience, which is the implementation of the decision.
Both are times in which it is necessary to live in the spirit of
obedience.
g) Fraternal obedience
Towards the end of his Rule, St. Benedict affirms: "The brethren
must render the service of obedience not only to the Abbot, but they
must thus also obey one another, knowing that they shall go to God
by this path of obedience".58 "That in honour they forerun one
another (cf. Rom 12:10). Let them bear their infirmities, whether of
body or mind, with the utmost patience; let them vie with one
another in obedience. Let no one follow what he thinketh useful to
himself, but rather to another".59 St. Basil asks himself: "In what
way do we have to obey each other?" He responds: "As servants to
their masters, as the Lord has ordered us: ‘Let him who would be
great among you become the servant of all (cf. Mk 10:44)'; Then he
adds these words which are still more impressive: ‘Like the Son of
Man who came not to be served but to serve' (Mk 10:45); and as the
Apostle says: ‘Through the love of the Spirit, be servants to each
other' (Gal 5:13)".60
True fraternity is based on the recognition of the dignity of the
brothers or sisters and becomes concrete in the attention given to
others and to their needs, in the capacity to rejoice in their gifts
and their fulfilment, in placing at their disposition the proper
time to listen and to be enlightened; however, this demands being
interiorly free.
Those persons are certainly not free who are convinced that their
ideas and their solutions are always the best; who suppose they can
decide by themselves without any mediation for knowing the divine
will; who think of themselves as always right and do not have any
doubts that it is the others who have to change; who think only of
their own things and do not pay any attention to the needs of
others; who think that to obey is something from another era, which
cannot be propounded in a world which is more evolved.
Rather, free are those persons who live constantly attentive and
reach out to take advice in every situation in life, and above all
from every person who lives next to them, a mediation of the will of
the Lord, however mysterious. "It was for liberty that Christ freed
us" (Gal 5:1). He has freed us that we might be able to encounter
God in the innumerable ways in daily life.
"The first among you must be your slave" (Mt 20:27)
21. Today, if assuming the responsibilities proper to authority can
also seem a particularly heavy burden and demand the humility of
being the servant of others, it is, however, always good to recall
the severe words the Lord Jesus turns on those who are tempted to
clothe their authority in worldly prestige: "Whoever wishes to be
first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not
to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many"
(Mt 20:27-28).
Those who seek in their own office a means of becoming greater or
affirming themselves, having themselves be served or making others
serve them, place themselves clearly outside the evangelical model
of authority. St. Bernard's words to his disciple who became a
successor of
St. Peter are worth some attention: "Consider if you have made
progress on the way of virtue, of wisdom, of intelligence, of
goodness. Are you more arrogant or more humble? More benevolent or
more haughty? More indulgent or more intransigent? What has
developed in you: the fear of God or a dangerous effrontery?" 61
Obedience even under the best conditions is not easy, but it is made
easier when the consecrated person sees persons in authority place
themselves at the humble and hardworking service of the community
and of the mission: an authority that even with all its human
limitations in its acting tries to present again the attitudes and
sentiments of the Good Shepherd.
"I pray that she who will have the office of responsibility for her
sisters," St. Clare of Assisi affirmed in her last will and
testament, "be committed to being in charge of the others through
virtue and holy behaviour more than by virtue of her office, in
order that the sisters, inspired by her example, obey her not so
much because of her office, but for love".62
Community Life as mission
22. Led by persons in authority, consecrated persons are called to
measure themselves against the new commandment, the commandment that
renews all things: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn
15:12).
To love each other as the Lord has loved means to go beyond the
personal merit of the brothers or sisters and to obey not one's own
desires but God who speaks through the condition and needs of the
brothers or sisters. It is necessary to recall that the time
dedicated to improving the quality of community life is not time
wasted because, as the late and fondly remembered Pope John Paul II
repeatedly emphasized, "all the fruitfulness of religious life
depends on the quality of community life".63
The tension of making real fraternal community is not only
preparation for the mission but also an integral part of it, from
the moment that "fraternal communion, as such, is already an
apostolate".64 In the continuous search for the will of God, being
in mission as communities that daily seek to build community means
affirming that by following the Lord Jesus, it is possible to
realize human life together in a new and humanizing way.
THIRD PART - IN MISSION
"As the Father has sent me, so I also send you" (Jn 20:21)
In mission with all one's being, as Jesus the Lord
23. The Lord Jesus makes us understand with his own form of life
that mission and obedience cannot be separated. In the Gospels Jesus
is always presented as the One sent by the Father to do his will
(cf. Jn 5:36-38; 6:38-40; 7:16-18); he always does what is pleasing
to the Father. It is possible to say that the entire life of Jesus
is the mission of the Father. He is the mission of the Father.
As the Word came in mission, enfleshing himself in a humanity that
he took on completely, we collaborate in the mission of Christ in
the same way and we permit him to bring it to its complete
fulfilment. Above all we welcome him, making ourselves the place of
his presence and, therefore, the continuation of his life in
history, to afford others the possibility of meeting him.
Considering that Christ in his life and work was the perfect amen
(cf. Rev 3:14) and the perfect yes (cf. 2 Cor 1:20) spoken to the
Father, and that to say yes means simply to obey, it is impossible
to think about the mission if not in relation to obedience. To live
the mission always implies being sent, and that includes referring
to the one who sends or to the content of the mission to be
developed. It is for this reason that, without reference to
obedience, the term mission becomes difficult to understand and is
exposed to the risk of being reduced to something that refers only
to those developing the mission. There is always the danger of
reducing the mission to a profession to be done in view of one's own
fulfilment, thereby being managed more or less by oneself.
In mission for service
24. In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola writes that
the Lord calls all and says: "Whoever will come with me must work
with me, so that following me in effort and suffering, will follow
me also into glory".65 The mission must be measured, today as in the
past, with notable difficulties that can be confronted only with the
strength that comes from the Lord, in the humble and strong
awareness of being sent by him and, because of this, being able to
count on his help.
Thanks to obedience we have the certitude of serving the Lord, of
being "servants of the Lord" in our acting and suffering. Such
certitude is the source of unconditional commitment, tenacious
faithfulness, interior serenity, disinterested service and
dedication of our best energies. "Those who obey have the guarantee
of truly taking part in the mission, of following the Lord and not
pursuing their own desires or wishes. In this way we can know that
we are guided by the Spirit of the Lord, and sustained, even in the
midst of great hardships, by his steadfast hand (cf. Acts
20:22-23)".66
One is in mission when, far from seeking one's own affirmation, one
is, in the first place, led by the desire to accomplish the will of
God, which is worthy of adoration. Such a desire is the very soul of
adoration ("Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done") and the strength of
the apostle. The mission demands the commitment of all one's human
abilities and talents that contribute to salvation when he or she is
placed in the river of the will of God, which transports passing
things into the ocean of the eternal reality where God, in unlimited
happiness, will be all in all (cf. 1 Cor 15:28).
Authority and mission
25. All this implies that authority be recognized as an important
task in carrying out the mission, faithful to the charism proper to
each. This is not a simple task, nor one without difficulties and
ambiguities. In the past, the risk could come from persons in
authority being directed mainly towards managing the work, with the
danger of not taking care of persons. Today, the risk can come
rather from excessive fear of hurting others' feelings or from a
fragmentation of competencies and responsibilities that weakens the
unified movement towards the common objective and frustrates the
role of authority.
However, persons in authority are not only responsible for the
animation of the community but also for the coordinating of the
various competencies in relation to the mission. Thus, they respect
the roles and follow the internal norms of the Institute. Even if
persons in authority cannot - and must not - do everything, they
nevertheless have the ultimate responsibility for everything.67
Many are the challenges that the present time places on persons in
authority in the task of coordinating energies for the mission. Some
important tasks are also listed here:
a) Persons in authority encourage the taking up of responsibilities
and respect them when taken up
For some, responsibilities can provoke a sense of fear. Therefore,
it is necessary that persons in authority convey to their
collaborators Christian strength and the courage to face
difficulties, overcoming fears and attitudes of giving up.
Their concern will be sharing not only information but also
responsibilities, committing themselves to respecting each one in
his or her own rightful autonomy. This involves, on the part of
authority, a patient coordination and, on the part of the
consecrated person, a sincere openness to working together.
Persons in authority need to "be present" when necessary, to foster
in the members of the community the sense of interdependence, as far
from childish dependence as from a self-sufficient independence.
This interdependence is the fruit of that interior freedom that
permits each one to work and collaborate, to substitute as well as
to be substituted for, to take an active part and to make his or her
own contribution, even from behind the scenes.
Whoever exercises the service of authority will have to be attentive
not to give into the temptation of personal self-sufficiency, to
believe that everything depends on him or her and that it would not
be important and useful to foster community participation; it is
better to take one step together than to take two or more alone.
b) Persons in authority invite us to confront diversity in a spirit
of communion
The rapid cultural changes in progress do not only cause structural
transformations that influence activities and the mission but also
can give rise to tensions within the community, where diverse kinds
of cultural or spiritual formation cause members to give different
readings to the signs of the times and, therefore, to propose varied
projects not always reconcilable. Such situations can be more
frequent today than in the past because there is a growing number of
communities that are made up of persons who come from different
ethnic groups or cultures, thereby making generational differences
more evident. Persons in authority are called to serve with a spirit
of communion even these composite communities, helping them to
offer, in a world noted for many divisions, the witness that it is
possible to live together and to love one another even if different.
It must then firmly maintain some theoretical-practical principles:
- to remember that in the spirit of the Gospel, a conflict of ideas
never becomes a conflict of persons;
- to recall that a plurality of perspectives fosters a deepening of
the question;
- to promote communication so that the free exchange of ideas makes
the positions clear and causes the positive contribution of each one
to emerge;
- to help free oneself from egocentrism and ethnocentrism, which
tend to place the causes of trouble onto others, in order to reach a
mutual understanding;
- to understand that the ideal is not that of having a community
without conflicts but instead a community that is willing to
confront its own tensions in order to resolve them positively,
looking for solutions that ignore none of the values that must be
taken into account.
c) Persons in authority maintain a balance between the various
dimensions of consecrated life
These dimensions can come into tension among themselves. Persons in
authority must assure that unity of life be preserved and that the
greatest possible attention is paid to the balance between time
dedicated to prayer and time dedicated to work, between individual
and community, between commitments and rest, between attention to
common life and attention to the world and the Church, between
personal formation and community formation.68
One of the most delicate balances is that between community and
mission, between life ad intra and life ad extra.69 Given that
normally the urgency of the things that need to be done can lead not
to caring about the things that regard the community and that ever
more often today one is called to work as an individual, it is
opportune that some inviolable rules that guarantee simultaneously
both a spirit of brotherhood or sisterhood in the apostolic
community and an apostolic sensitivity in community life be
respected.
It will be important that persons in authority be the guarantors of
these rules and remind each and everyone that a member of the
community who is in mission or is performing some apostolic service,
even if working alone, always acts in the name of the institute or
of the community and thus works thanks to the community. Often, if
some are able to accomplish that particular activity it is because
others of the community have given of their time for them, advised
them or conveyed a certain spirit. Furthermore, the one who remains
in the community substitutes in certain tasks in the house for the
persons committed outside the community or prays for them or
supports them with his or her own fidelity.
And now it is right not only that apostles be deeply grateful but
also that they remain closely united to their own community in all
that they do. The apostle must not act like the owner of the
community but should try at any cost to have the community move
along together, waiting, if necessary, for the one who goes more
slowly, valuing the contribution of each one, sharing as much as
possible the joys and efforts, insights and uncertainties, so that
all feel as theirs the apostolate of each one of the others, without
envy or jealousy. Apostles may be certain that no matter how much of
themselves they give to the community, it will never equal what they
have already received and will continue to receive from it.
d) Persons in authority have a merciful heart
St. Francis of Assisi, in a moving letter to a minister/superior,
gave the following instructions about the possible personal
weaknesses of his brothers: "And in this I want to know, if you love
the Lord and myself, His servant and yours, if you have done this,
namely, that there be no friar in the world, who has sinned, as much
as one could sin, that, after he has seen your eyes, never leaves
without your mercy, if he seeks mercy. And if he would not seek
mercy, you are to ask him if he wants mercy. And if afterwards he
would have sinned a thousand times before your eyes, love him more
than me for this, so that you draw him to the Lord; and you are to
always pity such ones".70
Persons in authority are called to develop a pedagogy of forgiveness
and mercy, that is, to be instruments of the love of God that
welcomes, corrects and always gives another chance to the brother or
sister who makes a mistake and falls into sin. Above all they will
need to remember that without hope of forgiveness a person finds it
hard to get back on the path and tends inevitably to add wrong to
wrong and failings to failings. The perspective of mercy, instead,
affirms that God is able to draw out, even from sinful situations, a
way that leads towards the good.71 May persons in authority spare no
efforts so that the whole community may learn this merciful style.
e) Persons in authority have a sense of justice
If the invitation of St. Francis of Assisi to forgive the brother
who sins can be considered a precious general rule, it must be
recognized that there can be behaviours in the members of some
communities of consecrated persons that seriously harm their
neighbour and that imply a responsibility vis-à-vis people outside
the community and also within the institutions themselves to which
they belong. If it is necessary to have understanding for the
wrongdoing of the individual, it is also necessary to have a
rigorous sense of responsibility and charity towards those who are
eventually damaged by the incorrect behaviour of some consecrated
person.
May he or she who errs know that he or she must answer personally
for the consequences of his or her acts. Understanding for the
confrere cannot exclude justice, especially in the face of
vulnerable persons and victims of abuse. To accept and recognize the
real evil and to assume the responsibility for it and its
consequences are already steps on the path that leads to mercy: as
for Israel who distanced itself from the Lord, the acceptance of the
consequences of evil, that is, the experience of the Exile, is the
first step in once again taking up the path of conversion and of
rediscovering more deeply that real relationship with him.
f) Persons in authority promote collaboration with the laity
The growing collaboration with the laity in the works and activities
conducted by consecrated persons raises new questions that require
new responses both on the part of the community and on the part of
authority. "The participation of the laity often brings unexpected
and rich insights into certain aspects of the charism," given that
the laity are invited to offer "religious families the invaluable
contribution of their ‘being in the world' and their specific
service".72
It was fittingly recalled that in order to reach the objective of
mutual collaboration between religious and laity, "it is necessary
to have: religious communities with a clear charismatic identity,
assimilated and lived, capable of transmitting it to others and
disposed to share it; religious communities with an intense
spirituality and missionary enthusiasm for communicating the same
spirit and the same evangelizing thrust; religious communities who
know how to animate and encourage lay people to share the charism of
their institute, according to their secular character and according
to their different style of life, inviting them to discover new ways
of making the same charism and mission operative. In this way, a
religious community becomes a centre radiating outwardly, a
spiritual force, a centre of animation, of fraternity creating
fraternity, and of communion and ecclesial collaboration, where the
different contributions of each help build up the Body of Christ,
which is the Church".73
Furthermore, it is necessary that there be a well-defined
description of the competencies and responsibilities of the laity as
much as of the religious, as well as of the intermediate entities
(administrative councils and the like). In all this, the one in
charge of the community of consecrated persons has an irreplaceable
role.
Difficult obedience
26. In the concrete development of the mission, some instances of
obedience can be particularly difficult because points of view or
means of apostolic or diaconal action can be perceived and thought
of in different ways. In the face of certain difficult situations of
obedience, to all appearances absolutely "absurd," there can arise
the temptation towards distrust and even abandonment. Is it worth
continuing? Could I not realize my ideas better in another context?
Why get worn out in pointless conflicts?
St. Benedict already confronted the question of an obedience "very
burdensome or positively impossible to perform"; and St. Francis of
Assisi considered the case in which "the subject sees things which
are better and more useful for his soul than those which the prelate
[superior] orders him to do". The Father of monasticism replies,
asking for a free, open, humble and trusting dialogue between the
monk and the abbot, though in the end, if requested, the monk "obeys
for the love of God and confiding in his help".74 The Saint of
Assisi invites the person to implement a "loving obedience," in
which the friar voluntarily sacrifices his views and carries out the
command requested, because in this way he "pleases God and neighbour",75
and sees a "perfect obedience, there, where even not being able to
obey because he is being commanded "something against his soul", the
religious does not break unity with the superior and community, and
is also ready to bear persecution because of it. "In fact," observes
St. Francis, "whoever chooses to suffer persecution rather than wish
to be separated from his brothers truly remains in perfect obedience
because he lays down his life for his brothers".76 This reminds us
that love and communion represent supreme values to which even the
exercise of authority and obedience are subordinated.
It must be recognized that it is understandable, on the one hand, to
have a certain attachment to personal ideas and convictions, fruit
of reflection or of experience and matured over time, and it is also
a good thing to seek to defend them and to carry them forward,
always in the perspective of the Reign of God, in a straightforward
and constructive dialogue. On the other hand, it is not to be
forgotten that the model is always Jesus of Nazareth, who even
during his Passion asked God that his will, as Father, be done, nor
did he pull back from death on the cross (cf. Heb 5:7).
When requested to give up their own ideas or projects, consecrated
persons might experience loss and a sense of rejection of authority
or to feel within themselves the "loud cries and tears" (Heb 5:7)
and pleading that the bitter chalice might pass. But that is also
the time to entrust oneself to the Father in order that his will
might be done, and thus to be able to participate actively, with all
one's being, in the mission of Christ "for the life of the world" (Jn
6:51).
It is in saying these difficult "yeses" that one can understand in
depth the sense of obedience as a supreme act of freedom, expressed
in total and confident abandoning of oneself to Christ, the Son
freely obedient to the Father, and one can understand the sense of
mission as an obedient offering of oneself that brings the blessing
of the Most High: "I will bless you with every blessing...(and) all
the nations of the earth shall gain blessing for themselves, because
you have obeyed my voice" (Gen 22:17, 18). In that blessing obedient
consecrated persons know that they will again find all that they
left with the sacrifice of their being detached; within that
blessing is also hidden the full realization of their own humanity
(cf. Jn 12:25).
Obedience and objections of conscience
27. Here one could ask: Can there be situations in which a person's
conscience would not seem to permit following the directives given
by persons in authority? Can it happen, in short, that the
consecrated person must state in relation to the norms or to their
superiors: "It is necessary to obey God rather than men" (Acts
5:29)? This is the case of the so-called objection in conscience of
which Paul VI spoke,77 and that should be considered in its
authentic meaning.
If it is true that conscience is the place where the voice of the
Lord resounds, the voice that indicates to us how to behave, it is
also true that it is necessary to learn to listen to this voice very
attentively in order to know how to recognize it and distinguish it
from other voices. In fact, it is necessary not to confuse this
voice with those which emerge from a subjectivism that ignores or
disregards the sources and criteria that cannot be given up and are
mandatory in the formation of judgments of conscience: "It is the
‘heart' converted to the Lord and to the love of what is good which
is really the source of true judgments of conscience",78 and
"freedom of conscience is never freedom ‘from' the truth but always
and only freedom ‘in' the truth".79
The consecrated person will then have to reflect long before
concluding that it is not the obedience received but what is sensed
within him or herself that represents the will of God. He or she
will also have to remember to keep the law of mediation in force in
all cases, guarding him or herself from making serious decisions
without any examination and verification. It certainly remains
indisputable that what counts is to arrive at knowing and fulfilling
the will of God, but it ought to be likewise indisputable that the
consecrated person is committed by vow to accept this holy will
through determined mediations. To say that what counts is the will
of God, not the means, and to reject them or to accept them only on
the basis of what is pleasing, can take away the meaning of the
person's vow, and empty his or her own life of one of its essential
characteristics.
Consequently, "apart from an order manifestly contrary to the laws
of God or the constitutions of the institute, or one involving a
serious and certain evil - in which case there is no obligation to
obey - the superior's decisions concern a field in which the
calculation of the greater good can vary according to the point of
view. To conclude from the fact that a directive seems objectively
less good that it is unlawful and contrary to conscience would mean
an unrealistic disregard of the obscurity and ambivalence of many
human realities. Besides, refusal to obey involves an often serious
loss for the common good. A religious should not easily conclude
that there is a contradiction between the judgment of his conscience
and that of his superior. This exceptional situation will sometimes
involve true interior suffering, after the pattern of Christ himself
‘who learned obedience through suffering' (Heb 5:8)".80
Difficult kinds of authority
28. But persons in authority can also become discouraged and
disillusioned. In the face of the resistance of some members of the
community and of certain questions that seem irresoluble, he or she
can be tempted to cave in and to consider every effort for improving
the situation useless. What we see here then is the danger of
becoming managers of the routine, resigned to mediocrity, restrained
from intervening, no longer having the courage to point out the
purposes of authentic consecrated life and running the risk of
losing the love of one's first fervour and the desire to witness to
it.
When the exercise of authority weighs heavily and is difficult, it
is good to recall that the Lord Jesus considers such a task an act
of love towards him: "Simon, son of John, do you love me?" (Jn
21:16). And listening again to the words of Paul becomes beneficial:
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in suffering, persevere in prayer,
contribute to the needs of the saints" (Rm 12:12-13).
The silent interior struggle that accompanies fidelity to one's own
task, marked at times by solitude or misunderstanding of those to
whom one gives oneself, becomes the way of personal sanctification
and a means of salvation because of what he or she suffers.
Obedient until the end
29. If the life of the believer is entirely a search for God, every
day of life becomes a continual learning of how to listen to his
voice in order to do his will. It is a question certainly of a
demanding school, almost a struggle between that I who tends to be
in control of oneself and one's history and that God who is "the
Lord" of every history, a school wherein one learns to entrust
oneself so much to God and to his Fatherhood, as also to trust in
men and women - his sons and daughters and our brothers and sisters.
In this way the certitude grows that the Father never abandons
anyone, not even when it is necessary to entrust the care for one's
own life into the hands of the brothers or sisters and to recognize
in them the sign of his presence and the mediators of his will.
With an act of obedience, even if unaware of it, we came to life,
accepting that good Will that has preferred our existing to
non-existence. We will conclude our journey with another act of
obedience that hopefully would be as much as possible conscious and
free but above all an expression of abandonment to the good Father
who will call us definitively to himself, into his reign of infinite
light, where our seeking will have found its conclusion and our eyes
will see him in a Sunday without end. Then we will be fully obedient
and fulfilled, because we will be saying "yes" forever to that Love
that has made us happy with him and in him.
Prayer for persons in authority
30. "O Good Shepherd, Jesus, good, gentle, tender Shepherd, behold a
shepherd, poor and pitiful, a shepherd of Your sheep indeed, but
weak and clumsy and of little use, who cries out to You.
"Teach me, Your servant, therefore, Lord, teach me, I pray You, by
Your Holy Spirit, how to devote myself to them and how to spend
myself on their behalf. Give me, by Your unutterable grace, the
power to bear with their shortcomings patiently, to share their
griefs in loving sympathy, and discretely to help them according to
their needs. Taught by Your Spirit, may I learn to comfort the
sorrowful, to strengthen the weak, to be weak with those who are
weak, to be indignant with those who suffer scandal, to become all
things to all in order to save all. Place true, just and pleasing
words in my mouth, so that they all may be built up in faith and
hope and love, in chastity and lowliness, in patience and obedience,
in spiritual fervour and submissiveness of mind.
"I commit them into Your holy hands and loving providence. May no
one snatch them from Your hand, nor from the hands of Your
servant's, unto whom You have committed them. May they always
persevere with gladness in their holy purpose, unto the attainment
of everlasting life with You, our most sweet Lord, their Helper, who
live and reign to ages of ages. Amen".81
Prayer to Mary
31. "O sweet and holy Virgin Mary, with Your believing and perplexed
obedience, at the announcement of the angel You gave us Christ. At
Cana with Your attentive Heart You showed us how to act responsibly.
You did not wait passively for the action of Your Son but You
anticipated it, making Him aware of the need and with discreet
authority taking the initiative to send the servants to Him.
"At the foot of the cross, obedience made You the Mother of the
Church and of believers while in the Upper Room every disciple
recognized in You the gentle authority of love and service.
"Help us to understand that every true authority in the Church and
in consecrated life has its foundation in being docile to the will
of God and help each one of us become in fact, authority for others
with our own life lived in obedience to God.
"O merciful and compassionate Mother, ‘You who did the will of the
Father, ever ready in obedience',82 make our lives attentive to the
Word, faithful in the following of Jesus, the Lord and Servant, in
the light and with the strength of the Holy Spirit, joyful in
fraternal communion, generous in mission, prompt in our service to
the poor, looking forward to the day in which obedience in faith
will flow into the feast of Love without end".
On 5 May 2008, the Holy Father approved this present Instruction
of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies
of Apostolic Life, and ordered its publication.
From the Vatican, 11 May 2008, the Solemnity of Pentecost.
Franc Card. Rodé, C.M.
Prefect
+ Gianfranco A. Gardin, OFM Conv.
Secretary
1 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita
consecrata (25 March 1996), 1.
2 Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, Paradise, III, 85.
3 Cf. Vita consecrata, 42: Congregation for Institutes of
Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life Instruction
Fraternal Life in Community (2 February 1994), 5; Congregation for
Religious and Secular Institutes, Instruction Essential Elements in
the Church's Teaching on Religious Life as Applied to Institutes
Dedicated to Works of the Apostolate (31 May 1983), 41.
4 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 631, § 1; Vita consecrata, 42.
5 Cf John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte (6
January 2001), 43-45; Vita consecrata, 46, 50.
6 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Instruction Potissimum institutioni (2 February
1990), in particular nn. 15, 24-25, 30-32.
7 In particular nn. 47-52.
8 In particular nn. 42-43, 91-92.
9 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of
Apostolic Life, Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ: A Renewed
Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium (19 May
2002), in particular nn. 7 and 14.
10 St. Bernard, De diversis, 42, 3: PL 183, 662B.
11 St. Bernard, De errore Abelardi, 8, 21: PL 182, 1070A.
12 Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Spe salvi (30 November 2007), 43;
cf. Fourth Ecumenical Lateran Council, in DS 806.
13 "More intimate than I am to myself": St. Augustine, Confessions,
III, 6, 11.
14 Benedict XVI, Letter to the Prefect of the Congregation for
Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life on
the occasion of the Plenary Assembly, 27 September 2005, in
L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 12 October 2005.
15 St. Benedict, Rule, Prologue, 3. Cf. also St. Augustine, Rule, 7;
St. Francis of Assisi, Regula non bullata 1, 1; Regula bullata, I,
1; cf. Vita consecrata, 46.
16 Code of Canon Law, can. 618.
17 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Decree on the Renewal of
Religious Life Perfectae caritatis, 14; Code of Canon Law, can. 601.
18 Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelica testificatio (29 June
1971), 29.
19 Cf. Evangelica testificatio, 25.
20 St. Ignatius of Loyola, Constitutions of the Society of Jesus,
84.
21 Cf. Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum
Caritatis (22 February 2007), 12.
22 Cf. Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes and
the Sacred Congregation for Bishops, Directives for the Mutual
Relations between Bishops and Religious in the Church Mutuae
relationes (14 May 1978), 13.
23 Perfectae caritatis, 14.
24 Benedict XVI, Homily during the Mass for the beginning of his
Petrine Ministry (24 April 2005), AAS XCVII (2005), 709.
25 St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to Polycarp, 4, 1.
26 Cf. St. Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos 70.1.2: PL 36, 875.
27 Cf. Fraternal Life in Community, 50
28 Benedict XVI, Address to Superiors General, 22 May 2006, in
L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 31 May 2006, 13; cf. Starting
Afresh from Christ, 24-26.
29 Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Dogmatic Constitution
Lumen gentium, 11; Starting Afresh from Christ, 26.
30 Cf. Sacramentum Caritatis 8; 37; 81.
31 Cf. Vita consecrata, 42.
32 Cf. Mutuae relationes, 34-35.
33 Benedict XVI, Homily during the Chrism Mass, 20 March 2008, in
L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 26 March 2008, p. 12.
34 Starting Afresh from Christ, 32.
35 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 590, § 2.
36 Cf. Vita consecrata, 46.
37 Vita consecrata, 70.
38 Cf. Fraternal Life in Community, 32.
39 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 617-619.
40 Code of Canon Law, can. 618.
41 Code of Canon Law, 618.
42 Code of Canon Law, 601.
43 Code of Canon Law, 619.
44 In fact, the religious community is able to follow and manifest
the primacy of the love of God that is the end itself of consecrated
life and, thus, also its first obligation and the first apostolate
of individual members of the community, cf. Code of Canon Law, can.
573, 607, 663, § 1, 673.
45 Code of Canon Law, can. 619.
46 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 619; 602; 618.
47 Cf. Perfectae caritatis, 14.
48 Vita consecrata, 92.
49 Sacramentum caritatis, 15.
50 Cf. Vita consecrata, 42.
51 Fraternal Life in Community, 51.
52 Cf. Perfectae caritatis, 14.
53 St. Benedict, Rule, 3, 1.3.
54 Cf. Vita consecrata, 43; Fraternal Life in Community, 50c;
Starting Afresh from Christ, 14.
55 Fraternal Life in Community, 32.
56 Vita consecrata, 92.
57 Cf. Vita consecrata, 43.
58 St. Benedict, Rule, 71, 1-2.
59 St. Benedict, Rule, 72, 4-7.
60 St. Basil, Short Rule Question 115.
61 St. Bernard, De consideratione, II, X, 20: PL 182, 754D.
62 St. Clare of Assisi, Testamento, 61-62.
63 John Paul II, To the Plenary of the Congregation for Consecrated
Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, 20 November 1992, in
L'Osservatore Romano, English Edition, 2 December 1992, p. 2; cf.
Fraternal Life in Community, 54, 71.
64 Fraternal Life in Community, 54.
65 St. Ignatius of Loyola, Spiritual Exercises, 95, 4-5.
66 Vita consecrata, 92.
67 Cf. Vita consecrata, 43.
68 Cf. Fraternal Life in Community, 50.
69 Cf. Fraternal Life in Community, 59.
70 St. Francis of Assisi, A Letter to a Certain Minister Provincial,
7-10.
71 Cf. John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Dives in Misericordia, 30
November 1980, 6.
72 Vita consecrata, 55; cf. Starting Afresh from Christ, 31.
73 Fraternal Life in Community, 70.
74 St. Benedict, Rule, 68, 1-5.
75 St. Francis of Assisi, Admonition III, 5-6.
76 St. Francis of Assisi, Admonition III, 9.
77 Cf. Paul VI, Evangelica testificatio, 28-29.
78 John Paul II, Encyclical Letter Veritatis splendor, 6 August
1993, 64.
79 Veritatis splendor, 64.
80 Evangelica testificatio, 28.
81 Aelred of Rievaulx, Pastoral Prayer, 1, 7, 10. CC CM Vol. I
757-763.
82 Vita consecrata, 112.
