Pope calls religious to ‘docility and obedience’
February 03, 2015
Pope Francis celebrated Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the evening of February 2, the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, and called upon religious to be docile and obedient.
February 2 is also the World Day of Consecrated Life, and the Church is currently commemorating the Year of Consecrated Life.
Citing the self-emptying of Christ, the obedience of Mary and Joseph to the “law of the Lord,” and the docility of Simeon and Anna to the Holy Spirit, the Pope said that religious attain wisdom through obedience.
Docility and obedience, he continued, are in accord with “the logic of the Incarnation of the Word: docility and obedience to a founder, docility and obedience to a concrete rule, docility and obedience to a superior, docility and obedience to the Church. It is concrete docility and obedience.”
Authentic renewal of religious life, he added, consists in a “great love for the rule” and in listening to the older members of the congregation, so that the charism of the religious institute is passed on from generation to generation.
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Further information:
- Santa Messa celebrata dal Santo Padre Francesco per la Giornata della Vita Consacrata (Holy See Press Office)
- Pope Francis to religious: obedience key to joy, creativity (Vatican Radio)
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Posted by: rjbennett1294 -
Feb. 04, 2015 7:06 AM ET USA
Have you ever noticed the way some members of the liberal clergy resist obedience to tradition, the Magesterium, or simple Church directives, but they absolutely DEMAND that faithful, traditional Catholics obey their every personal whim?
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Posted by: ElizabethD -
Feb. 03, 2015 4:52 PM ET USA
A sister of the LCWR group that has its motherhouse in my area told a friend of mine "we ditched our constitutions" and that she is happy about that. This group is also big on "circular notions of obedience" and obedience to the group rather than the specific superior. Pope Francis' words are knowing.
