The Emphasis of the Pre-Vatican II

Theology
There is a separation / dichotomy between the earthly
/ temporal life and the eternal life (life after death).
Eternal life is viewed as the authentic life and the
earthly life is seen as a stage-setting where people are
put to the test so that their eternal destiny might be
decided.
The world is seen as evil, so the religious left it and
retired to the desert, monastery, convent (clausura).
This is the so-called fuga-mundi
The New Perspective of the
Second Vatican Council Theology
The new understanding emphasizes Gods presence
in the world. The world is the bearer of Gods grace.
The dynamism of the Spirit is present in creation and
everything is in the process of transformation. Our
concern is not to escape from the world but to be
immersed in the world and become the salt of the
earth and the light of the world.
To be a religious today is to be a communitarian man
or woman who journeys with the Church.
Major Sources of Contemporary
Theological Reflections on Religious Life
1) Primacy of Theology - theologically criticized praxis
rather than canonical legislation is becoming the primary
source of the evolving theology and practice of religious
life, including the vows.
2) The Ecclesial Dimension - the emerging theology of
religious life tends to speak less about the works of the
institutes and more about the life of the institutes as
essentially missionary.
3) The Universal Call to Holiness - an understanding of
the vows that does not imply a separation of religious from
other Christians or exalt them above their sisters and
brothers in the Christian community.
Identity of Religious Life Today
Religious life is a prophetic life form in the Church
whose prophetic character is rooted in and derives
from the celibate solitude that unites immediacy to
God and solidarity with the marginalized of
society and expresses itself in the vows that address to
the world the challenge of the Reign of God.
Religious are challenged to re-examine the meaning of
their life, their identity in the Church, which has been
defined erroneously in terms of separation from the
world and superiority of their life over that of lay
Christians.
Main Tasks of Religious / Vowed Life in
the Third Millennium
1) The Call to a Prophetic Voice / Witness in the World -
The task of the prophet is to channel the archetypal values
into prophetic and apostolic action. She/He must hold
together the tasks of energizing and criticizing. He/She
is tasked to energize the community through the
proclamation / annunciation of the Good News, and the
Kingdom values.
2) The Call to a Contemplative Presence in the World -
Contemplation is the core of religious identity. As a
contemplative presence to the world, the religious engages
in biblical contemplation that is never divorced from life or
from the world.
Characteristics of a Christian Religious
personal and interpersonal - prayer is central to
Christian experience. It is always an encounter with an
Other
necessarily communitarian - The God of Christian
revelation is not the Alone but the Emmanuel, God is-
with-us
sacramental or symbolic - The Incarnation / Self-
manifestation of God in the historical person of Jesus
Christ marks Christian religious experience as historical
necessarily apostolic - Mission belongs to the very
meaning of Christian religious life, not because it is
religious but because it is Christian.
Archetypal Values: Chastity, Poverty, Obedience
The archetype denotes a set of values, hopes, dreams,
and aspirations, which all human beings are assumed
to possess because we all share in that universal
consciousness or collective unconscious.
Religion exists to express and mediate archetypal and
spiritual aspirations. Archetypal values are clearly
related to the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience.
As archetypal values, the vows are not just for religious
themselves, but they say something to all human
beings.
Religious / Vowed Life: A Liminal State
A liminal state is a sacred, social state in which a
person or group of persons is separated for a time from
the normal structures of society.
the function of the liminal group is to mirror for the
wider community the deepest hopes, dreams, and
aspirations of the people.
Some religious congregations /orders are no longer
serving their liminal purpose because their lives are no
longer lived on the periphery of society, living out the
values of the Gospel in a prophetic manner
Religious Profession
Profession is the formal, solemn, and public
declaration of ones profound faith convictions and of
ones desire and intention to embody those convictions
in ones entire life.
By religious profession members make a public vow to
observe the three evangelical counsels. Through the
ministry of the Church they are consecrated to God,
and are incorporated into the institute, with the rights
and duties defined by law. (CIC 654)
Content of Religious Profession
a. Commitment to Celibacy
Nuptial Understanding - The persons experience
of her/his relationship with Christ is marital in
character and this impedes her/his marriage with
another
Ascetical Understanding celibacy is a means to
the realization of the purpose of religious life,
whether this be contemplation, community life,
apostolic activity, or eschatological or prophetic
witness
 b. Lifestyle
What distinguishes religious life from other forms of
Christian life is the fact that religious life raises explicit
articulation in lifestyle that which is not common to all
Christians, namely, the vocation to follow Jesus by
leaving behind all that impede our discipleship so that
we can freely participate in his filial identity and his
salvific mission.
Celibacy is the only evangelical counsel in the
traditional sense of a gift and call not addressed to all
Christians. Poverty and obedience, in themselves, are
not matters of choice, but celibacy is optional.
Structures of Religious Profession
a. Formal Act. - It occurs at a particular time, in a
particular place, by means of explicit expressions.
b. Solemn Act. - Profession involves life-long
commitment. Religious do not approach this decision
except after prolonged, serious reflection and adequate
testing of its maturity.
c. Public Act. - The term public does not have to do
with where the ceremony takes place or how many
people attend. It has to do with the assumption of the
social consequences of ones acts.
Brief History of Religious Profession
1st Century - Virgins and widows, in their total response to the
Gospel, dedicated themselves to the exclusive love of Christ in a
life of prayer, meditation on the Scriptures, and good works.
4th Century - A new form of religious life emerged in the
Church. Men and women fled to the desert ( fuga mundi ) where
they could live their discipleship with single minded intensity.
Consequently, they abandoned human companionship, sought
to silence their sexuality, and renounce material goods, which
were not strictly necessary for their physical survival
5th Century - St. Benedict in the West. - St. Basil in the East.
A classical cenobitical monasticism developed. Monasticism was
essentially a communitarian venture. The religious participated
in the common life of prayer and work. It is in this form of
religious life that profession came to include the making of
explicit vows
 Middle Ages - Especially under the inspiration of Dominic Guzman
and Francis and Clare of Assisi, the mendicant form of religious life
developed. A further step was taken toward the eventual equation of
profession with the making of vows. The mendicants shifted the
primary emphasis from community life to the preaching of the
WORD.
16th Century - Another form of religious life emerged such as regular
clerics (example: Jesuits) and the development of this theology of the
vows continued. This new form of religious life assigned an unqualified
priority to mission and suppressed all aspects of monasticism
such as the cloister and office in common, which impeded total
apostolic mobility and involvement.
Reformation Period (Martin Luther) - In this period, there was a
virtual equation not only of profession with the making of the vows but
also of the keeping of the individual vows with religious life itself
became so absolute. Religious claimed their superiority over other
forms of life such as marriage because of their vows.
19th-20th Century ( Period After the French and American
Revolutions ) - Another form of religious life developed, namely the
congregations of simple vows devoted to alleviatory works of charity
and to the Christian education of youth. The vows of poverty, chastity
and obedience constituted religious life.
Vows in General
A vow is a free and deliberate promise made to God. It
is a voluntary act of religion by which we deliberately
bind ourselves to something better, which is not
commanded by God. It is a sign of self-offering.
Free and Deliberate
Act of Religion
A Generous Self-Offering
An Act of Worship and a Prayer
By means of these vows both dimensions of religious
profession, the prophetic stance toward the world
and the commitment to the transformation of the
world in Christ are specified.
Common Elements/ Characteristics of the Vows
1. Gifts/ charisms of the Holy Trinity ( Trinitarian Dimension)
2. Means and not ends in themselves
3. Signs
4. Task
5. Embraced for the sake of the Kingdom of God
6. Interrelated, inseparable and they form a total way of life
7. The goal is love or perfect Charity (common goal to all
Christians)
8. Christological origin: namely, the life and teaching of
Christ
9. Based on a persons baptismal consecration
10. Require discipline and self-mastery in living it out
11. Multi-faceted reality / Multi-dimensional