Religious Life as a Prophetic Life Form

Religious life begins, both corporately and individually, in an experience analogous to the inaugural vision of the Old Testament prophets and of Jesus himself. All of the texts you might consult on this topic will indicate that the prophetic vision is not undertaken on one’s own initiative. Nor is one appointed to it by human beings. The call comes from God, often to one who feels frightened, unworthy, or incompetent. Religious orders begin, typically, in the charismatic experience of one or more founders who feel impelled to give themselves to God and to God’s work, almost always in response to some historically pressing need. Subsequent members respond to a personal call to join the founders in this divinely-originated enterprise. The ensuing process of mutual discernment for later candidates is designed to test the “fit” between the prospective member, the foundational charism, and the historical shape that the order has taken since its founding. Religious life, then, is a charismatic life form, called into existence by the Holy Spirit, to live corporately the prophetic charism in the Church. No congregation “needs” more members than are actually called to it by God. There is no optimal or minimum size for orders or length of their lifespan. Some orders have never had more than a few dozen members, and others have thousands. Some are centuries old and others have had a very brief history. The purpose of the life is not to perpetuate particular congregations nor to staff institutions; it is to live intensely the witness to the Gospel to which the congregation is called and for as long as it is so called. 

The distinguishing mark of the prophetic vocation is the proclamation of the Reign of God directly on and in a particular situation.  This is why, historically, most orders speak of being “founded for” a particular ministry such as education or helping the poor. Over time, this charism of bearing prophetic witness in the sphere of education, for example, may evolve into addressing all kinds of ignorance (intellectual, moral, political, spiritual, etc.) caused by all kinds of factors (poverty, discrimination, lack of pastoral care, etc.) in all kinds of different situations (schools, spiritual life centers, environmental projects, famine feeding centers, catechetical centers, etc.). But the question giving rise to the particular order is always contextually concrete and can never be answered once and for all or in general. Thus, ministerial innovation by a religious congregation belongs to the nature of the vocation as prophetic.