We are in the beginning of new decade of the
21st century. Every day we witness new discoveries about life- world
and creatures. Technology, information, communication, media, industry are fast
growing that life has become easy, instant and comfortable. Religious life
faces the challenge to live it with the glamorous culture of consumerism. Seemingly
“worldy” and secular culture but also spiritual
as it strive to be faithful in living out the prophetic and mystical dimension
of religious life, in a life style of
simplicity, meditation, prayer, hospitality, and committed devotion to serve the poor and the marginalized.
We are now living in world of interconnectedness. Our aim is to bring up the vision on one with others, one with
the earth, in one world. All – is – one.
This is now the time for Religious life
to respond to the changing culture patterns. This is the responsibility of
religious life to empower and enable people, to grow, to change, and to find
meaning in the midst of success and failure of earthly life. We, as religious are
called to be agents of change and social promoter. We are challenged to be creative
and dynamic in bringing about change.
Religious
life as a consecrated life of service to
God and his people is filled with spiritual exercises like prayer,
evangelical counsels, gospel asceticism, renunciation lived in common. Mission
in this life has two aspects; the personal
interior life and community life
Mystical dimension has
to do with our relationship with God, the God as only source of our life by
trusting fully on his care for us. It is an experience of being at tune with God
in prayer, meditation and devotion. However,
we need to face the reality. Sometimes we feel that our life seems meaningless. We experience difficulties of our inner selves,
like the weight of the baggages of our woundedness, emptiness and crisis. And we question ourselves, what am I/we here
for? It is a time for us to entrust our lives to
God. We need God’s grace in our daily living to raise ourselves from those
moments of difficulties. We need to renounce
and humble ourselves to remove our pride and humbly walk with God. Living out
the vows of poverty, obedience and chastity that we professed is difficult if
we are not connected with God. Thus we need create constantly and experience more
of silence, solitude and prayer. Hopefully,
we can enter the deeper caves of the self and the unwanted elements inside be
transformed by the Spirit. This is not an easy process, but since we are rely
on God’s grace, we believe this is not something impossible for us.
Prophetic dimension as
lived in the community. Means living with another out of self is not an easy
task. We offered our life to others by
living in community. To be prophetic, demands a constant listening and
attentiveness to what the creative spirit of God is doing in the
community. Listening to others and
responding to the needs of others especially the marginalized and the poor among
us is the way to grow in our spirituality.
Prophetic dimension is also reading the sign of times and the
challenging to respond to the needs of our time. We are called to help enhance the lives of
people making them more human and conscious to its spiritual or contemplative
dimension.
bykristprast
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