Societies of Apostolic Life
11. Also worthy of special mention are Societies of
Apostolic Life or of common life, composed of men or women. These pursue,
each in its own particular way, a specific apostolic or missionary end. In many
of them an explicit commitment to the evangelical counsels is made through
sacred bonds officially recognized by the Church. Even in this case, however,
the specific nature of their consecration distinguishes them from Religious
Institutes and Secular Institutes. The specific identity of this form of life
is to be preserved and promoted; in recent centuries it has produced many
fruits of holiness and of the apostolate, especially in the field of charity
and in the spread of the Gospel in the Missions.
New expressions of consecrated life
12. The perennial youth of the Church continues to be
evident even today. In recent years, following the Second Vatican Council, new
or renewed forms of the consecrated life have arisen. In many cases, these
are Institutes similar to those already existing, but inspired by new spiritual
and apostolic impulses. Their vitality must be judged by the authority of the
Church, which has the responsibility of examining them in order to discern the
authenticity of the purpose for their foundation and to prevent the
proliferation of institutions similar to one another, with the consequent risk
of a harmful fragmentation into excessively small groups.
In other cases it is
a question of new experiments which are seeking an identity of their own in the
Church and awaiting official recognition from the Apostolic See, which alone
has final judgment in these matters.These new forms of consecrated life now
taking their place alongside the older ones bear witness to the constant
attraction which the total gift of self to the Lord, the ideal of the apostolic
community and the founding charisms continue to exert, even on the present
generation. They also show how the gifts of the Holy Spirit complement one
another.In this newness however the Spirit does not contradict himself. Proof
of this is the fact that the new forms of consecrated life have not supplanted
the earlier ones. Amid such wide variety the underlying unity has been
successfully preserved, thanks to the one call to follow Jesus — chaste, poor
and obedient — in the pursuit of perfect charity. This call, which is found in
all the existing forms of consecrated life, must also mark those which present
themselves as new.
Purpose of the Apostolic Exhortation
13. Gathering together the fruits of the Synod's labours, in
this Apostolic Exhortation I wish to address the whole Church in order to offer
not only to consecrated persons but also to the Bishops and the faithful the
results of a stimulating exchange, guided by the Holy Spirit with his gifts of
truth and love.
During these years of renewal, the consecrated life, like
other ways of life in the Church, has gone through a difficult and trying
period. It has been a period full of hopes, new experiments and proposals aimed
at giving fresh vigour to the profession of the evangelical counsels. But it
has also been a time of tension and struggle, in which well-meaning endeavours
have not always met with positive results.The difficulties however must not
lead to discouragement. Rather, we need to commit ourselves with fresh
enthusiasm, for the Church needs the spiritual and apostolic contribution of a
renewed and revitalized consecrated life. In this Post-Synodal Exhortation I
wish to address religious communities and consecrated persons in the same
spirit which inspired the letter sent by the Council of Jerusalem to the
Christians of Antioch, and I am hopeful that it will meet with the same
response: "When they read it, they rejoiced at the encouragement which it
gave" (Acts 15:31). And not only this. I also hope to increase the
joy of the whole People of God.
As they become better acquainted with the
consecrated life, they will be able with greater awareness to thank Almighty
God for this great gift.In an attitude of heartfelt openness towards the Synod
Fathers, I have carefully considered the valuable contributions made during the
intense work of the Assembly, at which I made a point of being present
throughout. During the Synod, I also sought to offer the entire People of God a
number of systematic talks on the consecrated life in the Church. In them I
presented anew the teachings found in the texts of the Second Vatican Council,
which was an enlightening point of reference for subsequent doctrinal
developments and for the reflections of the Synod during the busy weeks of its
work. I am confident that the sons and daughters of the Church, and consecrated
persons in particular, will receive this Exhortation with open hearts.
At the
same time, I hope that reflection will continue and lead to a deeper
understanding of the great gift of the consecrated life in its three aspects of
consecration, communion and mission. I also hope that consecrated men and
women, in full harmony with the Church and her Magisterium, will discover in
this Exhortation further encouragement to face in a spiritual and apostolic
manner the new challenges of our time.
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