Consecrated Life, Prophecy, Postmodernism
by Mary Donahey, BVM
In his Nov. 21, 2014, letter, Pope
Francis said he is counting on his brothers and sisters in consecrated life “‘to
wake up the world,’ since the distinctive
sign of consecrated life is PROPHECY.” To
follow the Lord in a prophetic way “is the
priority that is needed right now: to . . .
witness to how Jesus lived on this earth,”
said the pope.
This connection between prophecy and
consecrated life is emphasized in the works
of the preeminent scholar on religious
life—Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM. She
notes that there is a unitive, a communitarian and a prophetic function in each of the
three vows taken by Catholic sisters and
brothers and priests in religious orders.
Each vow functions to unite religious
to God, community, and creation and
from that unity religious can join others
in speaking and acting prophetically, that
is, expressing God’s loving concern, especially for the needy. There is to be “no one
in need among you” (Deut. 15:4). (In the
often-used description, the true prophet
speaks truth to power, comforts the
afflicted and afflicts the comfortable. If
prophecy expresses God’s loving concern,
perhaps that often-used description is too
harsh. On the other hand, Luke 1:52 does
refer to God throwing “down the rulers
from their thrones”).
Schneiders defines Catholic religious
life as “constituted by the total consecration of the members to God in Jesus
Christ through the perpetual Profession
of the vows lived in community and mission.” Each of the vows contributes to
“creating, living in, and ministering from
. . . [the] Reign of God,”1 i.e., from God’s
activity in the world.
Specifying the vows as consecrated
celibacy, evangelical (i.e., Gospel) poverty,
and prophetic obedience (enlightened discernment), Schneiders indicates that those
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are the ways religious relate to persons,
possessions and power.
Like other Christians, religious aim
to follow the prophet Jesus who modeled obedience to God. Obedience is “the
commitment to hear and heed all indications and intimations of the will of God
. . . as Jesus attended to the One who
sent him.”2 Searching for the will of God
occurs in prayer, study and shared dialogue leading to enlightened discernment
and action.
Religious carry on their prophetic vocation by bearing witness to the Gospel “in
and to the context in which they live.”3
Jesus’ mission was to those in his cultural
context. However, with his resurrection
and the coming of the Spirit, Jesus’ mission
was universalized. Through the centuries,
then, Christians have been involved in
continuing the mission of Jesus in and to
many cultures, including the postmodern
culture in the last 50 years.
In evaluating postmodern culture,
John Sivalon, MM notes that scientific,
technological and other developments
have changed understandings that were so
certain in the modern period (from 1500
to 1900). He is therefore led to appreciate
the postmodern gift of uncertainty which
fosters questioning, contemplation, discernment, imagination, creativity, change
and growth in faith.4 He also sees how
globalization has made us increasingly
aware of diversity and the interconnectedness of social life.
However, environmental problems
and economic inequality have been growing in postmodern capitalism. Because
of these environmental problems and the
increasing economic disparity, prophetic
voices are speaking out for the common
good, for cooperation, and for as much
equal exercise of power as possible.
While in the Catholic social justice
tradition there is appreciation for the
productivity of capitalism, this tradition
insists that capitalism needs to be surrounded by a juridic structure. Therefore,
out of consideration for all (including
laborers and the environment), there is in
Catholic social teaching a moral preference for democratically regulated capitalism over unfettered capitalism. Maybe
the prophets will help us arrive at a more
humanistic capitalism.
One who is hoping to help preserve
creation while using some of the wealth
created under capitalism is Jeffrey Sachs,
a 61-year-old American economist and
director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University in New York City.
Thinking that many of the world’s
1,826 billionaires would like to help save
the world, Sachs intends to knock on their
doors for a contribution to a fund that governments seem incapable of providing.
This fund would be used worldwide
to convert wind, water and solar power
so that these clean and renewable sources
of energy could replace fossil fuel, which
is polluting and nonrenewable. Sachs
sees the real possibility of harnessing sun
energy from a part of Africa with energy
developed elsewhere from wind and water
power (Sachs explained his plan recently
on C-Span).
In that effort and out of hope that
all might be empowered and creation
preserved, Pope Francis can rely on his
prophetic brothers and sisters both in and
beyond religious institutes.
Endnotes:
1 Sandra M. Schneiders, IHM. Buying the Field;
Catholic Religious Life in Mission to the World,
2013. New York/Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, p. 512.
2 IBID., 653.
3 IBID., 431.
4 John Sivalon, MM. God’s Mission and Postmodern
Culture; The Gift of Uncertainty, 2012. Maryknoll,
New York: Orbis Books, p. 17.
About the author: Mary Donahey, BVM (Thomas Daniel) is retired and lives at Mount Carmel.