Religious Life – A Gift to the Church and Society

Throughout the Church’s history, the Holy Spirit has moved women and men to answer a call to religious life and share God’s love revealed in the work and person of Christ. Women and men committed themselves to imitate Jesus and binding themselves to Him by professing public religious vows of obedience, chastity, and poverty according to the doctrines of the Catholic Church. Independent from the hierarchical structures of the Church, religious life originated from the desire that God’s people had to live a prolific life inspired by the Gospel.

History of Religious Life

Jesus`s Apostles did not create structured religious life. When the following of Christ developed into a religion (Christianity) in 380 AD, Jesus`s apostles discovered a new way of answering the calling of the Gospel by living a simple life of solitude and prayer in the desert of Egypt, far from an evolving society. The origination of religious life can be traced to the Old Testament – the Israelites consecrated themselves to the covenant they had with God in Exodus 19:9-15:

“The LORD said to Moses: I am coming to you now in a dense cloud, so that when the people hear me speaking with you, they will also remain faithful to you.
When Moses, then, had reported the response of the people to the LORD, the LORD said to Moses: Go to the people and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow. Have them wash their garments and be ready for the third day; for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.
Set limits for the people all around, saying: Take care not to go up the mountain, or even to touch its edge. All who touch the mountain must be put to death.
No hand shall touch them, but they must be stoned to death or killed with arrows. Whether human being or beast, they must not be allowed to live. Only when the ram’s horn sounds may they go up on the mountain.
Then Moses came down from the mountain to the people and had them sanctify themselves, and they washed their garments.
He said to the people, “Be ready for the third day. Do not approach a woman.””

Religious life can also be traced to the times of John the Baptist, Elisha, Elijah, Samson, and Samuel who consecrated and bound themselves through promises to an austere life. Through their own lives, they inspired other people to live godly and consecrated lives.

In the Catholic Church, the teachings of Saint Francis and Saint Augustine cultivated religious life. Saint Augustine`s teachings are extensively used by religious congregations and Orders of women and men. The teachings of Saint Augustine became a foundation for numerous constitutions of religious Orders in the Catholic Church. Priests, monks, nuns, and hospital sisters all found good motives for hospital work, education, mission work, self-abnegation Saint Augustine`s evangelical wisdom.

Apart from constitutions and charisms, religious life is about supportive community for missionary work, close relationship with the risen Lord in contemplative prayer, and prayerful reading of the Gospel in contextualized situations. It is also about ongoing theological and spiritual formation, spiritual guidance, virtuous living, openness to the marginalized and the poor, dialogue as a way of being drawn to modern-day society, and good and effective religious leadership.

As society evolves, there is a great need for the reformation and the rethinking of organized structures of consecrated life to make provision for new collaborations with God`s people without abandoning the distinctive purpose of every religious Order or congregation.

Renewing the Church through Religious Life

By living a life inspired by the Gospel, consecrated life brings about change and it becomes prophetic. Making the Gospel message of love relevant to modern society is what being prophetic means. Being prophetic is about giving exaltation to the One who chose men and women to live a religious life and bear fruit for other people (John 15: 16):

It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name he may give you.

Being prophetic implies is about being in touch with the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to reveal the unknown, the misunderstood, and analyzing human situations through contemplative prayer. Contemplative prayer is the bedrock of religious life. It helps religious women and men to acknowledge Jesus on a deeper level and to immerse themselves in His distinctive ministry. As Jesus had dedicated Himself to redeeming the people He met during His ministry, religious women and men are called to do the same.

Even though life today is fast-paced, religious women and men are always called to slow down in contemplative prayer so that they continue to grow spiritually and personally. Contemplative prayer is the only thing that holds these men and women together with God, the Church, and the lay faithful. Prayer done in faith liberates them from any anxieties and they continue to breathe new life into the Church.

Being contemplative in prayer helps these men and women to renew their zeal for the callings and for the Church as an institution and a home. Every time a man or woman answers their call to religious life, the Church is renewed. Moreover, every time religious men and women renew the commitment to their callings and to the Church, the Church is yet again renewed.

As these men and women continue engaging in prayer, they personally experience God’s compassion and love flow into the ministries that they have dedicated themselves to; Jesus`s love and compassion for the marginalized and poor are passed on to them. Compassion and love are the main sources of ministries for men and women who have been called to religious life. Like Jesus, they are to express selfless love for the people of God (John 10:10):

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.

Selfless love pays special attention to the needs of the people of God, as it is written in Luke 10: 29-37:

 But because he wished to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Jesus replied, “A man fell victim to robbers as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho. They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road, but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place, and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim, poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them. Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to an inn and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction, ‘Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have given you, I shall repay you on my way back.’
Which of these three, in your opinion, was neighbor to the robbers’ victim?”
He answered, “The one who treated him with mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Selfless love is what has given birth to organizations such as Caritas. A religious man, Fr. Lorenz Werthmann, a Catholic priest of German descendant founded the humanitarian aid organization. Like Jesus who multiplied the fish and bread, Fr. Werthmann was moved to assist the less fortunate and establish the organization that has helped millions of people to date.

Religious women and men, through their countless commitments towards the society and the Church bring hope for a prosperous future that leads to a fraternal and just world. When one looks at continents such as Africa, it is evident how much of a blessing is religious life. Orders such as The Religious Sisters of Mercy founded by Catherine McAuley and the Congregation of the Sacred Stigmata of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Stigmatine Fathers) founded by St. Gaspar Bertoni, went into a country such as South Africa and they built homes, churches, schools, and clinics. They became a blessing to the less fortunate; all in the name of love and compassion that Jesus showed to the ones He healed and fed.

Final Thoughts…

Religious life is God`s gift to society and the Church. Different religious Orders and congregations play a huge role in the renewal of society and the Church. As a multicultural manner of living according to Christian principles, consecrated life is a ministry of breathing life into a deteriorating world of selfish pleasure, greed, and power. By answering the call to religious life and by being one with Jesus Christ, religious women and men are spreading God’s love and being channels of hope.

These men and women have offered their talents and gifts for the greater good of the Church and society. By bringing harmony into other people`s lives, and bringing peace and joy, religious women and men through their empathetic ministries are leading distinct lives. They are evangelizing God`s love through their commitment to the Church and to their callings, in a world that is consumed by self-indulgence and satisfaction. By doing good and going beyond themselves, men and women who live a consecrated life are the prophets who bring light and hope for a prosperous future of solidarity, communion, and love.