Religious life has its own mission within the situation of the present world. What is it?
Liminal function of religious life
Religious life is a universal reality present in all religions. In Hinduism there are monks living alone, the asramic communities or monasteries [matha]. The monks [sannyasi] practice right vision, right knowledge and right conduct. This is supported by universal friendship, seeing the good side of others, universal compassion and tolerance of evildoers [nonviolence].
In Buddhism there is Sangha, the communitarian form of monastic life. Buddhist monks, striving to eliminate suffering [dukka] by the cessation of desire, practice nonviolence, charity, poverty and meditation.
The mystical quest of Sufis for a closer relationship with God brought to life Tariqahs—the religious communities of Islam. The goal of the Sufis’ mysticism is to immerse totally in God through meditation and asceticism.
The prototype of religious life present in history, even before Hinduism, is Shamanism. Shaman at the beginning renounced the world and entered into a desert.
There, they passed through the long period of spiritual discipline, including fasting, heroic deeds, celibacy. There, they encountered and struggled with evil forces. Finally, they were able to achieve their own personal wholeness and integrity.
The main task of liminal [state of transition] groups is to criticise the unhealthy and inhuman values of cultures and to bring a new value system, a credible one, into the life of society, thus transforming the life of the people. This liminal role of religious life is also present within Christianity. But, the uniqueness of the Christian religious life lies in its relation to the historical phenomenon of Jesus of Nazareth and his message, within the mystery of the Church
Having become a transformed person, they came back to society as a healer and mediator. This spiritual journey describes a liminal function of holy persons in Shamanism: withdrawing from the world to achieve inner integration and then coming back to the world as a transformed person; it took pace through an encounter of good end evil, through an encounter of the sacred.
The main task of liminal [state of transition] groups is to criticise the unhealthy and inhuman values of cultures and to bring a new value system, a credible one, into the life of society, thus transforming the life of the people. This liminal role of religious life is also present within Christianity. But, the uniqueness of the Christian religious life lies in its relation to the historical phenomenon of Jesus of Nazareth and his message, within the mystery of the Church.
Prophetic function of religious life as memory of Jesus
Being a Christian is manifested through different forms of life. Laypersons realise it by being instruments of change and transformation of reality towards the event of the kingdom. Their role lies in the consecration of the world and transformation of the society.
Religious men and women realise it through their symbolic function of being parables of the kingdom. They should inspire, give meaning, sense and direction towards the event of the kingdom.
Ordained ministers realise their vocation of being Christian faithful in their shepherding of the ecclesial community and converting this community into a sacramental and priestly community.
Within that given context, religious life is seen as lay in relation to the ordained ministries, and as liminal in relation to the other ways of Christian secular existence. Religious men and women are a tiny minority within the Christian community of believers, and most of them are lay brothers and sisters.
Religious life, seen from such perspective, has a critical role in the Church and in society. It reminds the Church about the radical nature of the gospel that is in danger of over-adaptation. Religious orders, for the most past, have arisen in times when the Church was disoriented and unsure of herself. Thus, they are a kind of shock treatment of the Holy Spirit for the institutional Church.
They constitute a liminal group within the community of the people of God. They are called to be existential parable of the event of Jesus Christ, a living memory of him in the Church, a symbol-memory of the Lord through their lifestyle.
Religious life is a re-enactment of the liminal and prophetic form of life of Jesus, namely, his three years of preaching of the Reign of God. It is possible due to the Holy Spirit. The Father through the Son is communicating him to the people. “Now, the Lord is the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:18).” Jesus Christ is now accessible to us only through the Spirit. He is also the giver of every possibility to follow Jesus in any form of life.
To be the living memory of Jesus in the world is not an obligation. It is a given grace, thanks to the loving action of the Holy Spirit. It is a grace of being seduced by Jesus, his beauty, his teaching and his way of life. That grace is the inner power that transforms religious, making them the new people. It brings them to the mystical experience of Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ in me (Galatians 2:19).”
To be “memory of Jesus” in the midst of the people is a gift but also a responsibility. Religious men and women need to be people of passionate love for the historical person of Jesus. From that love will sprout their prophetic way of life. It enables them to embrace his fundamental form of existence—kenosis. They will be able to pass over Gethsemane and to come closer to the Cross.
Mystical and political aspects of following Christ
The identity of religious life is in following Christ. This following has twofold structure made of a mystical element and of situational that is practical and political.
To follow Christ is to follow his ways here, in society and within a particular political situation. Contemplating Jesus’ way of life continually guides and stimulates the following of Christ. It means that to follow Jesus is to follow his way to the Father—and not any kind of way—toward ethical perfection.
Following him is more radical and more dangerous, because it means to “put on Christ” [Romans 13:14], to become one with him. To follow Jesus Christ means to continue Jesus’ kind of standing up for the glory of God in the midst of the individual and social contradiction of our life.
Religious life, seen from such perspective, has a critical role in the Church and in society. It reminds the Church about the radical nature of the gospel that is in danger of over-adaptation. Religious orders, for the most past, have arisen in times when the Church was disoriented and unsure of herself. Thus, they are a kind of shock treatment of the Holy Spirit for the institutional Church.
The critical role of religious regarding society is connected with the evangelical counsels. Poverty is a protest against the tyranny of having, possessing and pure self-assertion. It leads into solidarity with the poor. Celibacy is the expression of being radically seized by the coming of Jesus, the Lord. It leads into solidarity with those without hope and future. Obedience is the radical and uncalculated surrender of one’s life to the Father who raises up and liberates. It leads into solidarity with those who are oppressed and without freedom.
The political dimension of following Christ impels religious life to stand up for those whose dignity is in danger. The option for those without dignity also enables religious men and women to be in suspicion of any political order. Their hope is in the coming of the Lord and the final realization of his kingdom. Together with the oppressed, they pray, “Come, Lord Jesus.” This apocalyptic dimension expects a shortening of time and imminent coming of the Lord.
Through various charisms of religious life the mystery of Christ is expressed in all its fundamental dimensions: contemplation, incarnation, liberation, healing, faithfulness, poverty, chastity, apostolic mission, crucifixion and resurrection. Thus, it is a way of life that goes back to Jesus. It intends to make visible the historical life of Jesus. It tries to be a permanent memory of his life and mission.
This apocalyptic awareness is a protest against prevailing social structures focused only on development and progress. It is also a sign of solidarity with the poor and suffering, those who can hope only in the Lord.
Religious life as service to the Kingdom
Religious life can also be seen as a peculiar form of “evangelic memory” of Jesus’ way of life. It is “memory” of his hope, his faith, his love and his mission. It was not invented by people. It is a charismatic way of life. It is a charism of the Holy Spirit and a gift for the Church. This way of life announces the presence of the glorified Christ in the Church. This way of life gives testimony to the presence of the Holy Spirit in his marvelous deeds in the Church.
Religious men and women, being part of the people of God, are followers of Jesus Christ. They are liminal and prophetic people called to criticize the sinful structures of our society and bring to it a new system. They live the charism of being living memory of Jesus within the world that yearns for a better future. Thus, they are called to bring the message of hope to the lives of poor, marginalized and oppressed.
Through various charisms of religious life the mystery of Christ is expressed in all its fundamental dimensions: contemplation, incarnation, liberation, healing, faithfulness, poverty, chastity, apostolic mission, crucifixion and resurrection. Thus, it is a way of life that goes back to Jesus. It intends to make visible the historical life of Jesus. It tries to be a permanent memory of his life and mission.
In trying to be a memory of Jesus’ life and mission, religious life is given an eschatological dimension. The kingdom of God was the centre of Jesus’ message. To follow Jesus is to look towards the future. To follow Jesus is to expect the immediate coming of the kingdom. It was his hope and that of his followers. To be a memory of the earthly Jesus is to hope in what he hoped for.
To hope that the kingdom will come soon and struggle for its final arrival is the role of religious life. It is, at the same time, the critical function of religious life in the Church and in society. Maintaining the eschatological tension “already—not yet”, religious life reminds that this world and this history are not the only aspects of reality. It points towards the heavenly reality, towards the glory of the kingdom of God already acting in the world and history.
The reality of the kingdom defines our future. It is the only thing needed. It relativises our fears, troubles, problems, difficulties and style of life. It opens before us the future we desire.
Through contact with Jesus during his earthly ministry, people were able to experience the presence of the kingdom here and now. It is still valid today. To welcome Jesus, his message and his praxis is to experience the kingdom here and now.
Conclusion
Religious men and women, being part of the people of God, are followers of Jesus Christ. They are liminal and prophetic people called to criticize the sinful structures of our society and bring to it a new system. They live the charism of being living memory of Jesus within the world that yearns for a better future. Thus, they are called to bring the message of hope to the lives of poor, marginalized and oppressed.
They are called to relativise this worldly reality and to oppose any form of idolatry. This can become possible if they open themselves to the grace of God and if they follow faithfully in the footsteps of Jesus to the Father. In this way, they will be able to fulfill their task to be at the service of the kingdom of God and bring the presence of the Kingdom to the life of the people.
Father Piotr Krakowczyk CMF
