THE CREDO OF THE CONSECRATED LIFE

Donatus Ogun

Abstract


Lord let me know You that I may know myself - (St Augustine) That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands … that life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this to you so that our joy may be complete. (I Jn 1:2ff) This text summarizes the content of the Kerygma of the Apostle John. It is a preaching about faith in Jesus Christ whom the Apostle knew through personal experience and had come to love and the same Jesus he felt the world should know. These words of the venerable Evangelist capture the faith of the consecrated life as an attempt at replicating the life of Jesus Christ in the Church and to the world. In this epoch of great technological advancement the restlessness of the human heart seems to have reached its peak, where science tends to answer almost every question and what cannot be explained scientifically for many does not exist. Yet in the poorer nations of the world more emphasis is placed on the providence of God and the eradication of poverty and failed structures through prayer and miracles. Even though great Shrines and Pilgrimage centers across Europe are filled to breaking point with people searching for God, the parallel or paradoxical situation is that in the same Europe, churches are getting emptier on Sundays and sports complexes are filled to capacity as a response to the lurking deep emptiness, as an outlet for expressing suppressed anger, pain and similar emotions through chants and war cries etc. On the flip side our churches in Africa are filled to capacity in the quest for miracles and liberation from poverty and different forms of oppression, real or imagined, psychological, physical and metaphysical. We can say that both scenarios find a common ground for a reflection on the nature of faith of the consecrated life today as we celebrate “The Year of Faith†declared by Pope Benedict XVI.

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References


I.

Examples abound in this regard, Peter, Paul and even the Old Testament heroes like Moses,

Elijah, Amos, Isaiah, and Jeremiah etc.

ii.

Cf. Rom 10:14, where St Paul talks about faith through hearing what is preached.

iii.

One would do well to read the Confessions of St Augustine, especially Book One where he

prayerfully pours out his heart in the best language one could use to capture personal

experience

iv.

Cf. Karl Rahner, Theological Investigations IV, London 1974, 36-73

v.

Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) art 176

vi.

Cf. CCC 157

vii.

Cf. Heb 1:1-2

viii.

Cf. Dei Verbum, 5

ix.

Cf. Heb 11:1ff; St. Thomas and other disciples of Jesus received the singular gift of being

eyewitnesses of the risen Jesus. Modern-day Christians, however, have not seen the risen

Lord in the flesh. Yet joyfully referring to us, Our Lord says: “Blessed are those who have

not seen and have believed†(Jn. 20:29). Christ speaks to us today through the Holy Spirit

who breathes life into the Church. All baptized Christians have received the Holy Spirit, who

instructs the faithful and leads them into all truth. (cf. CCC 91)

x.

We would recommend for further reading in this regard, John O'Donnell, “Faith†in, The

New Dictionary of Theology, edited by Joseph Komonchak et al, Bangalore 1996

xi.

Jn 1:12; 2:23; 4:39; 6:35

xii.

Cf. CCC 150 ff

xiii.

Cf. Ruth Burrows, Guidelines for Mystical Prayer, 1980, 83-84 (Emphasis is mine). St

Therese is a striking model of this type of spiritual childhood, for she refused to take herself

seriously and was unwilling to play the Saint. It was told that when they asked her to say a

few pious words to her doctor on her deathbed, she refused, letting him think what he wanted.

Most saints have some form of 'neurotic qualities' which help them quite often to be

scrupulous, sometimes, in the extreme. Therese reached true sanctity, for she had the courage

to accept herself as she was, since her centre of gravity was not in herself but in Christ.

xiv.

Cf. Ruth Burrows, ibid, 89

xv.

Cf. Ps 71:1; Rom 10:11

xvi.

Cf. Dt 9:23; Ps106:24f

xvii.

The paradigm of faith in the OT is Abraham (Gen 15:6) who, despite all odds, left his land

for an unknown place; believed he would be the father of many nations even in his old age;

was ready to sacrifice Isaac, and all the while trusting in God. This faith remains the perfect

model even in the New Testament. (cf. Rom 4; Heb 11:8 Like Abraham, Israel was called to

let go of its own security and to risk all on God. Without this rock of faith, one is left only

with counterfeit securities. The prophet Isaiah puts it beautifully that, “If you will not believe,

you shall not be established†(7:9).

xviii.

He told Peter to put out into the deep. Peter, bemused, yet obeyed and his doubt came

crashing down. The feeding of the thousands amidst the skepticism of the Apostles is another

case in point. When again, the father of the epileptic boy comes to Jesus and asks in

desperation, “If you can do anything, have pity on us and help us†(Mk 9:23), it is Jesus'

rebuke that stirs up faith in the man, so that he cries out, “I do believe; help my unbelief †(v

. In that moment the father's act of faith helps him to share in the power of Jesus and his

son was healed. Such episodes are typical in the gospels where it is precisely Jesus' mission

to summon people to faith.

xix.

See also, Rom 10:17; 1:5; 16:26.

xx.

By the term Christofication we intend the gradual transformation into the likeness of Christ.

xxi.

Vatican I addressing the crises of its times discussed faith as the submission of the intellect

and will to God when he makes a revelation. (cf. Denz 3008) The teaching of the Penny

Catechism is culled from this, that “faith is a supernatural virtue by which with the inspiration

and help of God's grace, we believe that what he has revealed is true – not because its

intrinsic truth is seen with the natural light of reason – but because of the authority of the God

who reveals itâ€. This definition was an attempt to strike a balance between faith and reason,

that man is capable of receiving and interpreting God's action. Just as faith is rooted in God's

historical events culminating in Jesus Christ, so faith is challenged to discover God's presence

amid the vicissitudes of the historical realities of everyday life.

xxii.

K. Rahner, Theological Investigations, V

xxiii.

Cf. The Glory of the Lord, A Theological Aesthetics, vol 1, 1982

xxiv.

Cf. H. Staffner, What does it mean to be a Christian?, Badrai Mumbai 1999, 8. The crisis of

proselytization in the days of Paul of wishing converts to be circumcised. (Acts 15:5; Gal 2:4).

Paul thought it absurd to oblige pagans to “Judaize†for it was faith in Jesus Christ that had

saved the Jews themselves (Gal 2:15; 5:2; 6:12). This new crisis was for St Paul the occasion

of deep reflection on the role of the Law and of the faith in salvation history. The Pastoral

Letter of Bishop Hilary Okeke, “Faith rooted and built up in Christâ€, Nnewi 2011

xxv.

Cf. Acts 11:26. The disciples were called Christians because they lived like Christ.

xxvi.

Sometimes we are tempted to ask whether some persons had any faith before entering the

religious life. It would seem that some expected to find faith after entering the life, but this

does not always happen. There are others who are simply emotional about faith and can only

relish that aspect of their relationship with God. These often block any meeting point between

faith and reason. A reaction of this sort only ends up limiting each to its camp. It is more of a

consistent denial of the proper objective of faith. While faith as an act of self-expression

cannot be devoid altogether of strong emotional elements, the sentiments must be separated

from the source of faith, since sentiments do not define the complete person.

xxvii.

The difficulties of the existence of Israel until the exile were a severe temptation of its faith.

The prophets denounced idolatry (Hos 2:7-15; Jer 2:5-13) which suppressed faith in Yahweh

and alone, the formalism of worship (Amos 5:21; Jer 7:22) which fatally limited its demands,

the seeking of salvation by arms (Hos 1:7; Isa 31:1). Isaiah was the most striking of the

heralds of faith (Isa 30:15). He called Ahaz from fear to peaceful confidence in Yahweh (7:4-

; 8:5-8) who will keep his promises to the house of David (Ps 89:21-38). It was in faith that

he uncovered the paradoxical wisdom of God (19:11-15; 29:13-30; I Cor 1:19). The faith of

Israel was essentially threatened at the taking of Jerusalem and the exile. “Wretched and

poorâ€, (Isa 41:17) Israel ran the risk of attributing its lot to the impotence of Yahweh and of

turning toward the gods of victorious Babylon. The prophets then proclaim the omnipotence

of the God of Israel (Jer 32:27; Ezek 37:14).

xxix.

This is an indictment to situations of priest and religious visiting prophets, seers, fortunetellers and even native doctors for protection and infliction of curses or diseases on a fellow

consecrated person.

xxx.

Cf. I Kgs 19; Jer 15:10-21; 20:7-18

xxxi.

Cf. Gal 6: 15; 2 Cor 5:17

xxxii.

Cf Lumen Gentium, 46

xxxiii. Cf. CCC 168-169

xxxiv. Cf. Lumen Gentium 1

xxxv.

Cf. Lumen Gentium 44

xxxvi. Cf. PC 15, canon 602

xxxvii. Cf. Vita Consecrata, 20

xxxviii. Cf. S. Schneiders, Selling All: Commitment, Consecrated Celibacy, and

Community in

Catholic Religious Life, New York / Mahwah 2001, 80 – 81).

xxxix. Cf. S. Schneiders, Selling All: Commitment, Consecrated Celibacy, and Community

in

Catholic Religious Life, 92

xl.

Cf Schneiders, ibid, 93

xli.

Cf. Schneiders, ibid, 95-96

xlii.

Cf. Schneiders, ibid, 98


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