Tomorrow is the day once I
promised solemnly to enter into the Carmelite Order and committed myself to its
rule of life by the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, on December 8, on
which the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of
Our Lady. And that was the most beautiful day in my life. I was so happy to
enter into a different way of life totally opposite to that of my friends. I professed
the first and perpetual commitment and became a Religious priest.
Even now, when I meet my friends
they throw a lot of questions: Why did you joined the priesthood? Was it your
choice or the force from your family? What is vocation? Is it possible to marry
in Catholic priesthood? Are you satisfied in this particular lifestyle? What is
the difference between Diocesan priests and religious priests? What the
Religious priests do? Most of the priests will answer to the first question
like ‘I joined the priesthood to serve God and His People’. But the people are
not satisfied by our answers. They would say ‘there are governmental and other
projects to uplift the people’. Even in
the YouTube, most of the time I watch debates like: Is there a God? If yes, where
is He? Do we need a God to do good? Sometimes we are speechless to say ‘yes’ or
‘no’. Sometimes Mk 8:12 comes to my mind where Jesus sighed deeply in His
Spirit and said “Why does this generation ask for a sign?” The present
generation is in need of evidences and proofs to believe in something or
someone. At this juncture, I think it will be good to note the importance of
Religious life in this world.
The religious life is totally
different from the ordinary life and that of the diocesan priests. In short, we
can describe the three lifestyles this way.
Ordinary Life: This
particular lifestyle is led by most of the people in the world, enjoying the
worldly pleasures, earning for the livelihood, celebrating the festivities of
the religion and state in a family background. When it comes to the daily life
of a Christian, it is called Christian life, because he/she follows the
teachings of Christ, accepts the Holy Bible as the sacred Scripture, follows
the teachings of the Catholic Church, accepts the Pope as its Head, receiving
the Sacraments and participates the Holy Eucharist.
The Key Differences between
Secular (includes Diocesans) and Religious Life: Here are the three key
differences between diocesan priests and religious priests:
(a) Where they live: Diocesan
priests serve in the particular geographical region of a diocese or
archdiocese. Usually, the bishop assigns them to a parish, where they live
independently and interact with the parishioners and broader community.
Diocesan priests sometimes live with other priests who serve at their parish,
but each can own his own property. The bishop can move a diocesan priest to
another parish within the diocese.
Priests who are in a religious
order are not assigned to a particular diocese. Instead, the superior of the
order tells a religious priest where he will live to carry out his ministry. It
could be in a different city, or even a different country. Religious priests
live in community with one another. Communities vary in terms of rules and
lifestyles. The religious priests in community own possessions communally.
(b) What their mission is:
Every priest arguably has a different mission, depending on the particular circumstances
of his life. But there are some generalizable differences between the missions
of diocesan and religious priests. A diocesan priest is generally called to
serve the needs of his parish. He celebrates Mass and administers sacraments to
the parishioners, including Baptism and Reconciliation. At the same time, he
runs the parish by making administrative and financial decisions. Additionally,
a diocesan priest serves the particular pastoral needs of his parish, such as
visiting the sick and spiritually accompanying parishioners.
In contrast, religious priests
can work in a wide variety of ministries, though they also administer the
sacraments and celebrate Mass. Their work depends on the charism of their
religious order, which refers to the spirituality and particular focus for
which the order was founded. Ministries can include teaching, working with the
poor, assisting the elderly, leading a contemplative life of prayer, and much
more. Rather than running parishes, a religious priest receives orders from his
superior to do a particular job within the community’s charism.
(c) The promises they make:
All priests make an important and unique commitment to the Church when they
decide to enter seminary and when they are ordained. But there are some differences
in the types of promises priests make, and when they make them. Diocesan
priests make three promises to the bishop at their ordination:
·
To recite daily the Liturgy of the Hours
·
To obey the bishop
·
To live a life of celibacy
Religious priests make temporary
solemn vows before their ordination as part of their formation. After a certain
number of years, depending on the order, they make final solemn vows. These
vows, which are shared by religious brothers, sisters, and priests, are the
three evangelical counsels:
·
Poverty
·
Chastity
·
Obedience
Diocesan priests and religious
priests are wonderful gifts that Christ has given us in his Church, and in
their separate but complementary ways, they help the Church to flourish.
Importance of Religious Life: Religious take the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Poverty means living a simple life, not owning personal property and contributing to a life in common with the community. Chastity means not only forsaking marriage but also all unchaste desires. Obedience is bending one’s will in a discerning way to a rightful authority so as to bring about the good of all in the community. Historically, part of why
Religious take such vows is to become a “countersign” to the ways of the world.
Poverty: the slavery to things. Chastity: inordinate relations. Obedience:
selfish desires. Every Christian is called to be perfect as the Heavenly Father
is perfect. But, as I mentioned earlier, the religious are in a way lead a
separate life from that of the other people to be a “countersign” to others.
In the message of Pope Francis
for the Year of Consecrated Life, he focused on several ways in which the
religious can “Wake up the world.” Waking up the world is not a matter of
shaking those who are asleep into wakefulness. Rather, it is a matter of
witnessing to what is important in Christian life so that others will want to
imitate a Christian life. It is the spirit of God that motivates consecrated
women and men to be faithful to the mission of their individual communities and
institutes.
As Pope Francis said, “Living the
present with passion means becoming ‘experts in communion,’ ‘witnesses and
architects of the ‘plan for unity’ which is the crowning point of human history
in God’s design.’” How important being witnesses to communion and unity is to
the divided and fractured world in which we live. Religious, by their witness,
can do much to wake up the world to the unity intended by God.
Pope Francis always emphasizes
the joy that we should have in our religious life. How can a religious achieve
this joy? Only when he/she gets more souls for the sake of Christ, through
his/her pastoral, social and spiritual activities. There are lot of religious
doing these activities. But most of other religious supporting other Christians
through their prayers. At this point of view, it is better to touch the lives
of St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta and St. Damien. They gave their total lives
to be with the poor and to be with one of them, by serving them without any
hesitation. St. Theresa of Lisieux became a saint through her prayers. St.
Francis Xavier became a saint by preaching the Gospel throughout the world. This
is the joy of religious life.
The Religious life to Create a
Religion of Humankind : Till 19th century, the religious were
vertically transcendent, who always spent time in prayer to know God more
clearly, to experience Him more deeply and to be one with Him. After the 19th
century, the concept of religious life has been totally changed and they tried
to be horizontally transcendent, and horizontal transcendence means being drawn
out of oneself and into the other by way of vision. Horizontal transcendence is
deeply incarnational, reflecting the hidden presence of God in our world. Karl Rahner
also once said, “To be human is "to be there," to be thrown into a
world.” So the 21st century religious is a merging of vertical and
horizontal transcendence.
In the present generation who are
looking for a religion of humankind, while all other people are so busy with
their worldly activities to acquire money, possession and position; and secular
priests and secular institutes are busy with their parishes and other social
services, let us think different way so that the religious life can become a
religion of humankind. To create a religion of humankind in our religious life,
along with prayer and contemplation, we are badly in need of humanity to see
the people, to hear their cries, to wipe out their tears, to hug them with
love, and to heal the world to make it a better place for all.
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