An adult marked by compassionate concern, or a hidden politician playing power games?
Seeking Downward or upward mobility—seeking to be close to the weakest and raise them up, or to catch up with the rich and powerful?
Katherine was a novice in her religious order when I got to know her in Boston. She was in her mid-thirties, and was a professional pianist. Since I did not have a car, she would come, pick me up and we would go together to attend programmes.
One day, I asked her: “Do you have to get someone’s permission to take the car and come out?”
Her reply surprised me, as I think it will surprise you:
“No, that is my responsibility as an adult. But since I am taking this car, I will leave that info in writing in the community room; so the others know I am taking this car out today.”
I asked her one more question: “When you get back to your community tonight, do you have to inform someone?”
“No, that is my responsibility as an adult.”
I am talking of a novice in a women’s congregation. This happened in the 1980’s.
With my Indian upbringing in religious life, I was surprised to hear her replies.
Young people are brought up differently in different cultures. Young religious are treated differently in different countries.
We, in India, have a rather authoritarian culture. In families, parents make many decisions concerning their sons and daughters—at times even about the choice of the marriage partner. We tend to bring this way of doing into religious life, too, and think this is the only way of living our religious life. (Some of you will notice that I avoid the term, “Consecrated Life.” The reason is simple: If Baptism is what consecrates us, as we say in the formula of professions, our parents and married siblings are consecrated, just as we are. Our call is not superior to theirs.)
It is good to know that what you and I have been used to is not the only way of living religious life, nor the best.
The essentials—whether of the Catholic faith or of religious life or marriage—are taught by the Universal Church. But the interpretations vary a lot—from one culture to another and from one religious order to another, and even from one superior to another!
That is why it is good—even essential—to be exposed to different religious orders and different cultures. Otherwise, we tend to absolutize what is really relative and partial, and miss the chance of learning from others.
In the message he gave on May 8, Pope Francis invites us to celebrate the differences. May we be open to all vocations, and rejoice at the differences. His message insists also on understanding vocation correctly—as a gift God gives to everyone, not just to some groups.
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This is our third issue on the vows. May it help us to understand the vow of obedience correctly, and become truly “obedient” men and women. Obedience comes from the Latin word, ob-audire, which means “to listen intently.” May we truly listen deeply, with our whole heart and mind, to what the Lord, in his love, wants to tell us, and to listen compassionately to the cries of the poor and the weak. If this double “listening with love” is missing, there is no point in being part of a structure which has rules, superiors, time-tables, transfers, etc. Simply letting someone else take decisions for me, or keeping quiet when I should speak, would reduce me to an immature and irresponsible adult who behaves more like a frightened adolescent than a grown-up
Any setting can be used to become better or worse, mature or irresponsible. May our vow of obedience help us become passionate seekers and compassionate healers, full of creative ideas to build a world of love.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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