Unbounded Generosity

Welcome to the fifth and final part of the Vita Consecrata Series! Thank you for joining us as we finish walking through Saint John Paul II’s reflection on what the consecrated life is and what role it plays in the Church and in the world.

In his conclusion for the exhortation, the late Holy Father responds to those who do not understand what the point of consecrated life is in today’s world. He relates their questioning to the Gospel story of the anointing at Bethany:

The precious ointment poured out as a pure act of love, and thus transcending all “utilitarian” considerations, is a sign of unbounded generosity, as expressed in a life spent in loving and serving the Lord, in order to devote oneself to his person and his Mystical Body. From such a life “poured out” without reserve there spreads a fragrance which fills the whole house. The house of God, the Church, today no less than in the past, is adorned and enriched by the presence of the consecrated life. What in people's eyes can seem a waste is, for the individuals captivated in the depths of their heart by the beauty and goodness of the Lord, an obvious response of love, a joyful expression of gratitude for having been admitted in a unique way to the knowledge of the Son and to a sharing in his divine mission in the world.

Consecrated religious reveal “the fatherly face of God and the motherly face of the Church” in the world. They are a gift, one that should be respected, supported through prayer, and encouraged as young people discern their own vocations. Our world needs these “joyful witnesses and prophets of the beneficent power of God’s love,” St. John Paul II writes, and it needs men and women who “are able to sow seeds of peace and fraternity.” 

With prayers to the Holy Trinity and to our Blessed Mother, the late Holy Father ends his exhortation by encouraging consecrated religious to become more like Christ, to whom they belong. As we conclude this series, let us pray for this in the life of those who have given themselves completely to Him. 

Saint John Paul II, in this Year of Consecrated Life, Pray for Us!

Servitium Caritatis

Welcome to part four of the Vita Consecrata Series! Thank you for joining us as we walk through Saint John Paul II’s reflection on what the consecrated life is and what role it plays in the Church and in the world.

After exploring the nature of consecrated life in previous chapters, the late Holy Father spends the third chapter of the exhortation reflecting on how consecrated religious serve as a “Manifestation of God’s Love in the World.” He writes:

In the image of Jesus, the beloved Son “whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world” (Jn 10:36), those whom God calls to follow him are also consecrated and sent into the world to imitate his example and to continue his mission. Fundamentally, this is true of every disciple. In a special way, however, it is true of those who, in the manner that characterizes the consecrated life, are called to follow Christ “more closely,” and to make him the “all” of their lives.

Consecrated persons are on mission “by virtue of their very consecration,” John Paul II writes, and they have the “prophetic task of recalling and serving the divine plan for humanity.” This is made possible through an intimate relationship with God, a solid experience with dialogue in fraternal life, and a deep understanding of the challenges of their time. In other words, there must be a close union between contemplation and action in their lives. 

Signum Fraternitatis

Welcome to part three of the Vita Consecrata Series! Thank you for joining us as we walk through Saint John Paul II’s reflection on what the consecrated life is and what role it plays in the Church and in the world.

As we saw in our last post, John Paul II spends much of the first chapter describing the connection between the consecrated life and the life of the Trinity. In the second chapter of the exhortation, he notes how the consecrated life can “be credited with having effectively helped to keep alive in the Church the obligation of fraternity as a form of witness to the Trinity.”

Not only do religious communities witness to the Trinity through their communion with the Church, but they also provide this witness in the different cultures that they find themselves in:

Placed as they are within the world's different societies — societies frequently marked by conflicting passions and interests, seeking unity but uncertain about the ways to attain it — communities of consecrated life, where persons of different ages, languages and cultures meet as brothers and sisters, are signs that dialogue is always possible and that communion can bring differences into harmony.

The Good News inspires “a self-giving love towards everyone,” and that is what consecrated religious witness to when they live in solidarity with others in their own communities. This is true of consecrated life in all of its different forms, and as St. John Paul II writes, it should remain true despite any difficulties that communities face.

Confessio Trinitatis

Welcome to part two of the Vita Consecrata Series! Thank you for joining us as we walk through Saint John Paul II’s reflection on what the consecrated life is and what role it plays in the Church and in the world.

In the first chapter of the exhortation, the late Holy Father reflects on “The Origins of the Consecrated Life in the Mystery of Christ and of the Trinity.” He first notes the unique and sacred connection that consecrated religious have with the Transfiguration:

All are equally called to follow Christ, to discover in him the ultimate meaning of their lives.... But those who are called to the consecrated life have a special experience of the light which shines forth from the Incarnate Word. For the profession of the evangelical counsels makes them a kind of sign and prophetic statement for the community of the brethren and for the world.

Just like the Apostles who were present on Mount Tabor, consecrated religious share in a “special grace of intimacy,” which makes possible the demands of total self-giving and shapes them as tangible signs of God’s divine love.

The source of this grace lies in the Holy Trinity. As St. John Paul II says, “they are in fact an expression of the love of the Son for the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit.” The chastity of consecrated religious reflects the infinite love between the three Divine Persons. Poverty according to the example of Christ is “an expression of that total gift of self which the three Divine Persons make to one another.” And obedience reflects the harmony between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The Vita Consecrata Series

In his 1996 Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata, Saint John Paul II relayed the fruits of a Synod of Bishops on “The Consecrated Life and its Mission in the Church and in the World.”

Out of thanksgiving for the gift of consecrated life to the Church—in its many forms—the late Holy Father reflected on the consecrated life and what the Lord wishes to accomplish through it in the Church today: 

The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly “visible” in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven.

St. John Paul II wrote this exhortation as a source of encouragement for all members of the Church, and so we thought it might be fitting to reflect on his words as we continue to celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life.

In the coming weeks, we will walk through the document piece by piece, hopefully growing in appreciation of what consecrated life is and what role it plays in the Church and in the world.

Please join us! And St. John Paul II, please pray for us!