The Liberating Beauty of Consecrated Life
by Fr. Vincenzo Bertolone, S.d.P.
Introduction
The Second Vatican Council was the first Council to treat extensively the theology of the consecrated life and to reveal its full breadth and depth.
The Decree on the Up-to-date Renewal of Religious Life, Perfectae Caritatis,1 completed as it were the doctrinal content set out in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium.2 In fact, it has a normative and practical layout: brief, essential and at the same time dynamic.
In light of the work of renewal that the Council encouraged, it aims to determine a strategy for the renewal of Religious Institutes and their members. Forty years after its promulgation, certain features that clearly attest to its timeliness can still be singled out.
Criteria for renewal
The need for criteria for the renewal of Religious life is the first element that shows clearly how up-to-date the Decree actually is. For Institutes of Consecrated Life, the discussion on renewal is quite the opposite of closed.
The Decree, especially in nn. 2 and 4, has the merit of having dealt with this subject by identifying a multitude of factors that can promote renewal, in the awareness that it is not merely a matter of restoring ancient values or reforming defective or obsolete aspects, but of truly creating new things.3
Pre-conciliar, conciliar and post-conciliar teaching and the ecclesiastical codes in force today clearly spell out the principle of the everlasting nature of the essential theological content and the diversity, newness and historicity of consecrated life.4
This principle is of fundamental importance to understand the way the consecrated life is evolving, hence, also where it comes from and where it is going.
Youth and newness are special features of the Church, which has always striven to combine the eternal quality of revelation with the newness and historicity of its forms. This pastoral requirement was very evident in the Council's preparatory work.5
John Paul II himself, in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata which can rightly be defined as the Magna Carta of consecrated life,6 says with regard to the new forms of consecrated life: "A fundamental principle, when speaking of the consecrated life, is that the specific features of the new communities and their styles of life must be founded on the essential theological and canonical elements proper to the consecrated life".7
These words highlight John Paul II's confirmation of the principle which holds that without prejudice to the essential elements that constitute the indispensable nucleus of the consecrated life, there must indeed be a plurality of forms and consequently, a continuous process of renewal.
Another passage of the same Document makes the concept even clearer: "There is reason to rejoice at the Holy Spirit's action", the Pope continues. "[T]he new forms are also a gift of the Spirit, enabling the Church to follow her Lord in a constant outpouring of generosity" (ibid.).
Further on, he states: "You have not only a glorious history to remember and to recount, but also a great history still to be accomplished! Look to the future, where the Spirit is sending you, in order to do even greater things" (ibid., n. 110).
Therefore, the application of the principle of the perennialness of the theological factor and the historicity of the form makes it possible to live to the full what John Paul II described as "creative fidelity", speaking of the courage that consecrated persons must have in order to propose anew the enterprising initiative, creativity and holiness of their founders and foundresses and to develop a dynamic fidelity to their mission in response to the signs of the times that are surfacing in our own historical context.8
It is in this great history yet to be accomplished that the Decree still preserves its actuality and relevance, remaining a road map for the journey of the consecrated life, hence, for the whole phenomenon of its new forms.
Nor should it be forgotten that the changes and acceleration of our times demand watchfulness, discernment and a continuous effort for renewal. The historicizing of the consecrated life cannot ignore the human being or the context in which human life is played out.
The person and space are crucial factors in the succession of historical decisions in the consecrated life, and the Decree proves enlightening and up-to-date also in this regard.
In n. 3, concerning the practical criteria for adaptation, emphasis is placed on the need for consecrated persons not only to adapt their modus vivendi, orandi and agendi to the present-day physical and psychological conditions, but also to the requirements of culture and financial and social circumstances.
Concerning the foundation of the consecrated life in recently established Churches, n. 19 of Perfectae Caritatis, echoing n. 3, also attests to the principle of imbuing the forms of Religious life with fresh dynamism in relation to both subjective and objective elements. The text reads: "[P]articular attention should be paid to the promotion and cultivation of forms of Religious life which take into account the character and way of life of the inhabitants, and the local customs and conditions".
Baptismal consecration
A second factor of perennial timeliness of the Decree Perfectae Caritatis is the connection it highlights between special consecration and baptismal consecration.
In n. 5, we read that members of each institute "have dedicated their whole lives to his [God's] service. This constitutes a special consecration, which is deeply rooted in their baptismal consecration and is a fuller expression of it".
In this way the conciliar text suggested the principle of diversity in unity inherent in Christian life, since it pointed to the root of consecrated life in Baptism (the principle of unity that is common to all Christians), specifying the special character related to it (principle of diversity). This reference continually requires the resumption of baptismal subjectivity, rediscovered particularly in our time as a root from which the consecrated life is called to bear more fruit.
This indicates the relationship of unity for all vocations of the Christian people, emphasized in particular in the post-conciliar period, based on chapter V of Lumen Gentium and later eloquently formulated in n. 55 of the Apostolic Exhortation Christifideles Laici: "In Church communion", John Paul II wrote, "the states of life by being ordered one to the other are thus bound together among themselves. They all share in a deeply basic meaning: that of being the manner of living out the commonly shared Christian dignity and the universal call to holiness in the perfection of love. They are different yet complementary, in the sense that each of them has a basic and unmistakable character which sets each apart, while at the same time each of them is seen in relation to the other and placed at each other's service . . . While different in expression, they [all states of life] are deeply united in the Church's 'mystery of communion' and are dynamically coordinated in its unique mission".9
In stressing that the three states of life have a common meaning, the late Pope also suggests that these states have a common root, since Baptism, together with the common priesthood, subsists in sacred ministers as well as in consecrated persons.
This theological fact is even more clearly spelled out in the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata: "The vocations to the lay life, to the ordained ministry and to the consecrated life can be considered paradigmatic, inasmuch as all particular vocations, considered separately or as a whole, are in one way or another derived from them or lead back to them, in accordance with the richness of God's gift. These vocations are also at the service of one another, for the growth of the Body of Christ in history and for its mission in the world. Everyone in the Church is consecrated in Baptism and Confirmation, but the ordained ministry and the consecrated life each presuppose a distinct vocation and a specific form of consecration, with a view to a particular mission" (n. 31).
John Paul II's words also reveal to us that the three states of life, in addition to being reciprocally ordered, are also immanent within each other. This reciprocal immanence is the ontological and structural basis of the principle of communio, a key concept of conciliar ecclesiology. And precisely in n. 15 of the Decree Perfectae Caritatis, this concept reaches a peak.
Indeed, in this paragraph, the Council Fathers highlighted the fact that communio is accomplished through fraternal life, which acquires this evangelical quality and becomes a sign of the communion of Trinitarian love.
Furthermore, from the principle of diversity in unity among the states of life stems the character of the objective excellence of consecration as the status perfectionis acquirendae,10 affirmed by the Decree and confirmed by John Paul II in Vita Consecrata, n. 18. The form of the chaste, poor and obedient life is actually the most radical way of living the Gospel, because it was the state that Jesus chose as an expression of his relationship as the Only-begotten Son with the Father and with the Holy Spirit.
In this regard, Lumen Gentium, n. 44, offers the so-called theology of the magis of consecrated life. Actually, the Council Fathers used three comparatives that link the consecrated life to eschatology in a very special way: consecrated life "reveals more clearly to all believers the heavenly goods which are already present in this age, witnessing to the new and eternal life and precluding our future resurrection and the glory of the heavenly kingdom".11
However, it should be stressed that the "objective superiority of the consecrated life" (Vita Consecrata, n. 18) is not a privilege but rather a greater responsibility for service and a greater responsibility for service and a greater commitment to a holy life.
Unity and pluralism
In line with what has been noted so far, let us mention by way of example two different experiences of Tradition in the life of the Church that have been placed under the banner of unity and pluralism in the application of the existing link between Baptism and the consecrated life: the Rule of St Benedict and the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius.
The Rule of St Benedict
In the historical and ecclesial context of Benedict's time, the Benedictine Rule was intended to build up an Order that considered initiation to monastic life as a new deepening of Christian initiation itself and of its stages (cf. Prologue, ch. 4; the chapters on community prayer that reflect a major part of the ecclesial prayer of the time; or also, ch. 73).
The monk's obedience, the difficulties of community life, the discipline, the various stages of formation and monastic clothing were all intended to revive the Church's ancient tradition, which prepared her children for Baptism in the same way.
The means chosen by the Patriarch of Western monks were the same that the Church offered to her catechumens and neophytes: the Psalter, Scripture, the Profession of Faith, the Lord's Prayer.
Benedict did not place much emphasis on the penitential and ascetical dimension of the monk. Rather, he presented monastic life with all the characteristics of a real post-baptismal catechumenate which demanded a radical choice of new life in Christ.
Benedict considered the monastery itself to be the continuation of that tent in the desert where Yahweh's people met their God and heard his voice. The Christian-monastic community would gather daily around the Word of God and the Abbot's teaching and had a daily experience of the desert.
Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius
After the long period of spirituality founded on "devotion" and penance, at a time of great tension among Christians caused in particular by Luther's attitude to the Word of God, the sacraments and Christian initiation, the Ignatian Exercises seemed a revitalization of the great Catholic tradition in this field.
Indeed, from the point of view of meditation on the Word of God and contemplation of Christ's mysteries, the Exercises appear as four stages that help the baptized person to examine more deeply the gift of faith he or she has received with Baptism in the Church.
This implies a new relationship of the baptized person with history and with the things that surround him or her: finding God in all things, and all things in God (contemplation to obtain love).
Thus structured, the Exercises were presented as a re-initiation into a personal choice of faith received in Baptism. In other words, St Ignatius wanted to propose anew through the Word of God, the Liturgy of the Hours and the sacraments, a true and proper journey of faith, understood as a post-baptismal catechumenate.
The evangelical counsels
A further factor demonstrating the perennial timeliness of the Decree on the Up-to-date Renewal of Religious Life is its recognition of the centrality of the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience (cf. nn. 12-14). Subsequent theological reflection, at times not without heated debate on this point, and the magisterial interventions reaffirmed this centrality.
Thus, Perfectae Caritatis, in referring to these three counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience to the very person of Christ and to the call that he addresses to some people to leave everything and follow him, also reaffirmed the theological foundation of this state of life.
The evangelical counsels are therefore above all a gift of the Most Blessed Trinity: "The consecrated life proclaims what the Father, through the Son and in the Spirit, brings about by his love, his goodness and his beauty", John Paul II says in Vita Consecrata.12 In other words, the evangelical counsels are the expression of the love that the Son gives to the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit. For these reasons, the consecrated life becomes a real mark that the Blessed Trinity leaves in history, awakening in human beings a yearning for God and his beauty.
Their theological foundation also reveals their prophetic character, also in relation to human reality. Essentially, chastity is not primarily a renouncement but a theological space where the infinite love that binds the three divine Persons is mirrored. Chastity, therefore, is a response of total love for God and others. It signifies spousal love with God and becomes a source of spiritual fruitfulness because it is a complete openness of the heart to all humanity in an attitude of spiritual parenthood.
The chaste heart is thus transfigured into an altar on which God celebrates the mystery of his infinite, freely given, continuous and personal love. Consequently, the consecrated person reveals the beauty of fidelity with his / her chaste life and becomes an example and an encouragement for an ever more radical fidelity in marriage.
As for poverty, it is an eloquent confession that God is the human being's one true treasure. In fact, poverty considered as an option to possess nothing in order to be possessed by God, is a proclamation that God has created us for himself. The consecrated person, by a life of poverty, becomes as it were a sign of complete fulfilment for others.
Blaise Pascal wrote that "Man infinitely exceeds man", because human realities do not in themselves possess the capacity for completely fulfilling human beings.
The practice of them, in the light of evangelical wisdom, makes them instead a bridge to encounter God and to discover the true treasure that fills the heart, illumines the mind and instils joy in the spirit.
In obedience, the consecrated person discovers the dimension of true freedom. After the example of Mary, a woman totally free because of her "yes" to God's will, obedience shows that the consecrated person with his or her obedience also lives the liberating beauty of filial dependence on God. Obedience then becomes the sign of true freedom: "If you live according to my teaching . . . you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (Jn 8:31-32).
These brief thoughts on the evangelical counsels reveal another element of great timeliness in the Decree. Number 12, on chastity, exhorts Religious "to see that the celibacy they have dedicated to God is beneficial to their whole personality". In n. 14, on obedience, the Council Fathers wrote that with their vows "[Religious and their superiors] are bound more closely to the Church's service and they endeavour to attain to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (cf. Eph 4:13)".
These two affirmations, in a cultural context that sometimes tramples on the values of the vows and implies they are unnatural,13 tell us on the contrary that the evangelical counsels are a way that leads the person to the full realization of his or her being, after the example of the One who was a perfect man: the chaste, poor and obedient Jesus Christ.
Another element in which the Decree demonstrates its prophetic quality appears in the affirmation concerning the primacy of the spiritual life, as it clearly shows in nn. 2 and 6. Despite a certain sociological drift expressed in some reflections and experiences of the consecrated life, today theology and Magisterial Documents are reaffirming the primacy of spiritual life as specific to consecrated men and women.
The Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata says in n. 93 that "the spiritual life must therefore have first place in the programme of Families of Consecrated Life, in such a way that every Institute and community will be a school of true evangelical spirituality".
The Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ, echoing the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, states: "It calls for a concentration on an intense spirituality in the strongest sense of the word, that is, life according to the Spirit. Consecrated life today needs a spiritual rebirth which will help to concretely bring about the spiritual and evangelical meaning of baptismal consecration and of its new and special consecration" (n. 20).
The Instruction just cited also emphasizes a fact of great theological and ecclesial importance: the consecrated life came into being through the creative prompting of the Spirit, who moved founders and foundresses along the Gospel path, inspiring a wonderful variety of charisms. Their experience must not only be preserved but must also and above all be deepened and developed. This is only possible on the basis of a profound spiritual experience. Indeed, the Instruction reminds us that the Holy Spirit alone "can keep alive the freshness and authenticity of the beginnings while at the same time instilling the courage of interdependence and inventiveness needed to respond to the signs of the times" (ibid.).
For its own part, the Decree Perfectae Caritatis stressed that the authenticity of the spiritual life was the basis of every authentic adaptation capable of renewal. In addition, the Decree underlines the need for this primacy to be pursued as a task for the entire Ecclesial Community.
The primacy of the spiritual life, in fact, concerns the specific mission of consecrated persons in the Church. This awareness on the part of consecrated people is indispensable if they are to be able to carry out the task entrusted to them by the Second Vatican Council: "Let them more and more live and think with the Church, and let them dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to her mission" (Perfectae Caritatis, n. 6).
This fundamental concept is reaffirmed in Starting Afresh from Christ, — where it says: "This dynamic sense of spirituality provides the opportunity to develop, at this stage of the Church's history, a deeper spirituality which is more ecclesial and communitarian, more demanding and mature in mutual support and in striving for holiness, more generous in apostolic choices; finally, a spirituality which is more open to becoming a teaching and pastoral plan for holiness within consecrated life itself and in its radiance for the entire People of God" (n. 20).
'Ecclesia' and 'missio'
The Decree Perfectae Caritatis, linked to the primacy of the spiritual life, still shows its timeliness in its decisive appeal to the strongly ecclesial and missionary dimensions of every form of consecrated life (cf. nn. 2d, 5, 8, 20).
In our day, when reflection on the ecclesiology of communion and mission is being ever more deeply examined, the words of the conciliar Decree manifest their spiritual depth, still valid today. In fact, the Church asks the consecrated life to make her crucial contribution in the face of the great challenge we have before us in the millennium that has just begun: "to make the Church the home and the school of communion".14
In Vita Consecrata, n. 92, John Paul II had already stressed that consecrated persons are called to be true experts of communion and to practise its spirituality. Thus, by promoting communion in the Church, the charismatic character of Religious Institutes points out the high road to a future of fraternal life and witness, so that holiness and mission may pass through the community.
The consecrated life, in other words, is called to be a prophecy of community holiness.
A well-known contemporary author wrote quite clearly about this: "The consecrated life must bear an increasingly unanimous witness to holiness, it must be able to propose community models of evangelical perfection; the individual saint can certainly edify, but the doubt that he or she may be an exception lives on; instead, the community gives a credible and convincing witness that holiness is possible for all, indeed, it is the only way of living together in diversity and in reciprocal acceptance, in mercy and in joy".15
The urgent need for communion as a primary task of consecrated life also proves decisive in relation to its renewal. The choice of communion between old and new charisms and between consecrated and lay people, and the choice of an effective and affective unity with the Pastors encourages the abandonment of obsolete forms of religious presence to open people to new forms of evangelization.
If we consider canon 605 of the Code of Canon Law, we find an eloquent confirmation that communion between Pastors and consecrated life is a source of authentic renewal. In fact, after establishing that the approval of new forms of consecrated life is reserved solely to the Apostolic See, this norm describes the role of diocesan Bishops in discerning new charisms of consecrated life: "Diocesan Bishops, however, should strive to discern new gifts of consecrated life granted to the Church by the Holy Spirit and they should aid their promoters so that they can express their proposals as well as possible and protect them with suitable statutes, utilizing especially the general norms contained in this section".
In this phase of assistance, in expressing the project in the best possible way and safeguarding it by means of suitable statutes, the hierarchy plays an essential role:16 it collaborates closely with the founder or foundress to guarantee an adequate and consistent practice of the charism, hence, its development and flourishing.
Indeed, by living active communion we are docilely opened to the renewing action of the Spirit who leads us on the paths of the whole truth. The Holy Spirit, "guiding the Church in the way of all truth . . . and unifying her in communion and in the works of ministry . . . , bestows upon her varied hierarchic and charismatic gifts, and in this way directs her" (Lumen Gentium, n. 4).
This theological fact is based on the co-originality of the hierarchical and charismatic dimensions of the Church, on their ontological vocation to communion and, therefore, on their complementarity and co-essentiality that lead the People of God to the total truth.
As for communion between old and new charisms, the words of John Paul II in Vita Consecrata are particularly illuminating: "The older Institutes, many of which have been tested by the severest of hardships, which they have accepted courageously down the centuries, can be enriched through dialogue and an exchange of gifts with the Foundations appearing in our own day.
"In this way the vigour of the different forms of consecrated life, from the oldest to the most recent, as well as the vitality of the new communities, will renew faithfulness to the Holy Spirit who is the source of communion and unceasing newness of life" (n. 62).
With regard to communion with lay persons, the new forms of consecrated life are a sign of how the dynamic of collaboration with them, in a renewed experience of evangelical fraternity and in a complementarity that respects diversity, contributes to deepening the understanding of the charism and hence, to ever new possibilities for actuation.
Challenge of formation
Lastly, the outstanding sensitivity to formation that is present in this conciliar Document remains extremely timely. The up-to-date renewal of Institutes, the Decree says, depends largely on the training of their members (cf. n. 18). This assertion is still fundamental today and indispensable to every form of consecrated life. An Institute's capacity for formation, in both initial and subsequent stages, is at the heart of every process of renewal.
In looking at these 40 years, we must recognize the correctness of what was said then: an Institute incapable of providing formation does not have the prerequisites for the necessary renewal. Moreover, the complexity and riches of the young generations only make this intuition of the Decree even more urgent for all forms of consecrated life.
Consequently, with special effectiveness and clarity, the Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ, addressing "Ongoing Formation", identifies the formation process as a theological and not merely pedagogical period in which the Holy Spirit shapes consecrated persons, making them ever clearer and more transparent images of Christ.
"If, in fact, consecrated life is in itself 'a progressive taking on of the attitude of Christ', it seems evident that such a path must endure for a lifetime and involve the whole person, heart, mind and strength . . . reshaping the person in the likeness of the Son who gives himself to the Father for the good of humanity.
"Thus understood, formation is no longer only a teaching period in preparation for vows but also represents a theological way of thinking of consecrated life which is in itself a never-ending formation, 'sharing in the work of the Father who, through the Spirit, fashions in the heart the inner attitudes of the Son'" (n. 15).
The timeliness of the conciliar Decree is confirmed by these words: renewal, precisely because it is a fruit of the action of the Holy Spirit who makes all things new, must also pass through an attentive and profound human and spiritual formation of the consecrated person. However, the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life had already grasped the prophetic and inalienable value of the Council Fathers' insight.
In fact, the Instruction Potissimum Institutioni, Directives on Formation in Religious Institutes, says: "The proper renewal of Religious Institutes depends chiefly on the formation of their members" (n. 1).
Conclusion
Forty years have passed since the promulgation of Perfectae Caritatis. Religious life in this period, complex but rich in prospects and questions, has gone through deep changes and is still facing new challenges. The journey of the consecrated life has never been halted but has continued to evolve towards new spheres of application and relations with a society that is ever more complex and polyvalent and often far removed from authentically Christian values.
Actually, as we have had the opportunity to emphasize above, all Documents subsequent to Perfectae Caritatis, from Fraternal Life in Community up to the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata and the more recent Document, Starting Afresh from Christ, are connected and in a certain way depend on its conclusions.
To conclude, I reaffirm the words of John Paul II on the Second Vatican Council: "With the passing of the years, the Council Documents have lost nothing of their value or brilliance. They need to be read correctly, to be widely known and taken to heart as important and normative texts of the Magisterium, within the Church's Tradition . . .
"I feel more than ever in duty bound to point to the Council as the great grace bestowed on the Church in the 20th century; there we find a sure compass by which to take our bearings in the century now beginning" (Novo Millennio Ineunte, n. 57).
Notes
1. The title De accomodata renovatione, applied to the renewal of Religious life, was already introduced and consecrated, so to speak, by the First International Congress on the states of perfection, which took place in Rome in 1950. It aimed to promote an adequate, healthy and beneficial renewal in the various Religious Institutes.
Immediately after the ante-preparatory phase of the Council (1960-1962), a Preparatory Commission of Religious was set up that was succeeded by the Council of Religious (1962-65). The Commission submitted for the attention of the Pope and Council Fathers the fruit of its hard work during the Council's Fourth Session: the Decretum de accomodata renovatione vitae religiosae. It was voted on at the 146th General Congregation (11 October 1965), with the following results: 2,126 for; 13 against; 3 abstentions.
The expensio modorum had already been the subject of 19 ballots, all in favour of it, from 6 to 8 October 1965 (at the 143rd to 145th General Congregations). The Decretum was to be definitively promulgated after receiving approval with 2,321 placet as opposed to only four votes against it, on 28 October 1965.
2. The Decree Perfectae Caritatis is based on and should be understood in light of the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, chapter VI, De Religiosis, the result of the Council's new vision of the Church.
3. Cf. V. Fagiolo, Perfectae Caritatis. Commento, Coll. Concilio Vat. II 7, Casale, 1987.
4. Cf. ch. VI, par. 45 of Lumen Gentium; Perfectae Caritatis, nn. 1, 19; Ad Gentes, n. 18 (in EV, n. 1, 1105-1107); the proemium of the Instruction Renovationis Causam for the renewal of Religious formation, published by the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes (in EV 3/694-747); nn. 9c and 51 of the Directives for the Mutual Relations between Bishops and Religious in the Church, Mutuae Relationes, published by the Sacred Congregation for Religious and Secular Institutes and the Congregation for Bishops (in EV 6/586-717).
For an attentive and profound analysis of this topic see: V. De Paolis, Le nuove forme di vita consacrata, in Informationes SCRIS, 2, 1993, 74-78.
5. R. Latourelle, referring to Paul VI during the Council, said: "The essential, in his eyes, was the renewal of the Church", in R. Latourelle (ed.), Vatican II — bilancio e prospettive venticinque anni dopo — 1962/1987. Assisi, 1984, 16.
6. Cf. G. Ghirlanda, L'Esortazione Apostolica Vita Consecrata: aspetti teologici ed ecclesiologici, in Periodica Canonica, 85 (1996), 555; this is confirmed by the Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ, published by the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life, which says, apropos of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata, that it "remains the most significant and necessary point of reference guiding the path of fidelity and renewal of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, while at the same time allowing for the rise of valid proposals for new forms of consecrated and evangelical life" (Starting Afresh, n. 3).
7. Vita Consecrata, n. 62. The Pontiff refers to the theological and canonical elements present in cann. 573 CIC and 410 CCEO.
8. Cf. ibid., n. 37. See also P. Vanzan, Nuove forme di vita evangelica: una panoramica, in Oltre la porta, i consacrati e le consacrate del nuovo millennio (edited by P. Vanzan, F. Volpi), Rome, 2002, 111.
9. John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 30 December 1988, n. 55, in EV 11/1675-1679. "It is not a question of separate or competitive states, but of dimensions of the permanence of Jesus Christ in history and in the world". P. Martinelli, Vocazione e stati di vita del Cristiano, riflessioni sistematiche in dialogo con H.U. von Balthasar, Edizioni Collegio S. Lorenzo da Brindisi Laurentianum, Rome, 2001, 365.
10. Summa Theologiae, II-II, 186, 2. Also in this regard, St Thomas cites the following text by Origen in Summa Theologiae, II-II, 186, 1: "He who has exchanged riches for poverty in order to become perfect does not become perfect at the very moment of giving his goods to the poor; but from that day the contemplation of God will begin to lead him to all the virtues" (Origen, in Mt., trat 15: MG 13, 1301). Summa Theologiae (II-II, 183, 2) in J.F. Castano, Gli istituti di vita consacrata (cann. 573-730), Millennium, Rome, 1995, 20-38.
11. Cf. Vita Consecrata, op. cit., n. 26; for a comment on the excellence of the consecrated life in comparison with other forms of life and for its connection with eschatology, see P. Cabra, Il rinnovamento della vita consacrata. 2/ Il primo post-concilio, in Vita Consecrata, 40, 2004, 360-387.
12. Cf. Vita Consecrata, nn. 17-21.
13. That nihilistic current of thought can be seen which reiterates the thought of the philosopher Nietzsche: "The preaching of chastity is an unnatural public instigation" (F.W. Nietzsche, L'Anticristo. Maledizione del Cristianesimo, Rome, 1993, 93).
14. John Paul II, Novo Millennio Ineunte, Vatican City, 2001, n. 43.
15. A. Cencini, Quando Dio chiama, Paoline, Milan, 2000, 16.
16. Cf. CIC, can. 605, where the legislator uses the verb "to strive" (satago) to indicate the effort made by Bishops to discern new charisms: "Diocesan Bishops, however, should strive (satagant) to discern new gifts of consecrated life . . . ". The Latin verb satago expresses the concept of profound and attentive commitment.
A practical demonstration of this commitment by the authority competent for the discernment and care of the new forms of consecrated life is given, for example, in the case of the Franciscan Fraternity of Bethany in the Italian Diocese of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi, as well as in the cases of the "Chiesa-Mondo" (Church-world) ecclesial family in Catania, and of the ecclesial family, "La Obra de la Iglesia" (The Work of the Church), in Spain.
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