Evangelical Counsels: Our Vows and Way of Life

Evangelical Counsels: Our Vows and Way of Life

“Again, you have heard that the law of Moses says, ‘Do not break your vows; you must carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.’ But I say, don’t make any vows! If you say, ‘By heaven!’ it is a sacred vow because heaven is God’s throne. And if you say, ‘By earth!’ it is a sacred vow because the earth is his footstool. And don’t swear, ‘By Jerusalem!’ for Jerusalem is the city of the great King. Don’t even swear, ‘By my head!’ for you can’t turn one hair white or black. Just say a simple, ‘Yes, I will,’ or ‘No, I won’t.’ Your word is enough. To strengthen your promise with a vow shows that something is wrong.” Matthew 5:33-37

This passage at first look and for an untrained eye and mind could lead one to a vocational crisis. If marriage and consecrated life also involve vows, are we then doing the wrong thing? Is there something wrong with our choice in life? Are we simply wasting our time exchanging vows when it is in fact wrong according to the Scriptures and from the mouth of Jesus Himself? The answer is no.

The context of Jesus’ statement about vows is different from its literal meaning. Swearing on something or taking an oath or a vow has become a very common expression of people, almost always taken without necessity or validity; when people ask us if we can make it to a party and we promised just to disappoint the host; or if we are in a courtroom and being asked to take an oath to tell the truth and nothing but the truth although we know that we are actually lying to save someone or ourselves from jail sentence. These are abuses to the sanctity of an oath or a vow.

There is nothing wrong about taking an oath or a vow because it is a solemn and worthy act of a person. It is an expression of the person’s ultimate desire to fulfill something that is of great value or importance that would bring about something great. It affirms, confirms, and strengthens the truth about something. The covenant which God made with humanity is a promise, an oath, and a vow to love us no matter what we become and who we are.

Chastity

“Blessed are the pure of heart for they shall see God.” (Mt. 5:8)

Many people have limited view of chastity; that the essence of it is only within the context of sexual abstinence. However, this is just one of the many aspects of chastity. Chastity is about purity of heart, soul, spirit and mind.  It is about freeing one’s self from anger, hatred, boastful heart malice, and all forms of evil. It is about living the life of Christ the way the saints did. It is like becoming like a newly born infant in the arms of a mother that is free from the impurities caused by the wrong exercise of the will. “Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of God.” (Mt 18: 3)

Chastity is a gift to the Church that can be lived by all and not only for those who are in the consecrated life like nuns, priests, and brothers. We can all be chaste regardless of our sexual orientation, work, economic status or marital status. Children can be chaste as much as the elders do. Chastity is for all.

There are many things that influence us to keep from living a chaste life. This highly competitive world that we have tells us that earning money for our future is the best thing to do to survive. But by doing so, we tend to think only of what we can do for our self and not for others. Selfish motives become incarnated through greed which blemishes and corrupts our soul.

The powerful influence of media corrupts the innocence of the youth making them its marketing targets. We see lust justified by the cloak of art. Music is filled with anger and hatred. No longer is the good and innocent “Leave it to Beaver” making us laugh but the sexually induced comedy does. Reality TV is reigning in the world of entertainment however they show us the deteriorating values in the family and even friendship. It is a quality entertainment if there is fighting and gossip. We no longer see on television the good old values filled entertainment but only the addictive influence and reality of sin.

The entrance of telecommunication and internet made the world smaller making distant friends closer and relationships made easier and faster to develop. They are great tools for building up a community and other relationships. However, they also became tools for spreading the impurities of these world such as pornography and violence. Bloggers attack each other by their hateful words and discriminating opinions. Anger became much easier to spread rather than love and friendship. Relationships and families are shattered into pieces because of these supposedly good tools.

Chastity is the abandonment of all spiritual impurities making us whole and entirely for God. It is an abandonment of evil that is lurking in this murky realm of human existence. While it is an abandonment of evil it also is the acceptance of God in our lives and owning Him for the rest of our life. While chastity is the abandonment of evil and as a result, gaining God, we are also restoring our dignity close to its original state.  Our Constitution explains: “With the vow of chastity the religious commits himself to perfect continence in celibacy. The sole motive of such a choice is the love of God. Chastity, in fact, transforms the man in his profound being, frees heart and renders it capable of loving, in an undivided way with all the richness of his love, God and his neighbor.” Constitutions and Rules of the Clerics regular Minor, no. 16

“Let go and let God” as I used to hear from my spiritual director. This is the only way to keep one’s self free from any spiritual impurities. With God in us, we will no longer say the hateful words that hurt other people, we will no longer lift a fist as an expression of consuming anger nor let anger find a room in our hearts, we will only forgive those who hurt us and love them instead of getting even. We will only trust in God above anything else that this world can offer. We will allow God to be the center of our being and the reason of our very existence.

You may say that only a saint can do this. I agree, but even saints are people like us and what they have accomplished, with the help of God, we also can. Little by little everyday, we can try to persevere in our pursuit of holiness. Being human is a bad excuse for our failure because Jesus, in his human state, led the way towards it. There is nothing impossible with God and with his help he can also make things possible for us.

Poverty

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Mt 5: 3)

It is not easy being poor. It is not easy to wake up in the morning and not having anything on the table. It is even harder when you see your children staring at you with sad and gloomy eyes with nothing to eat. It breaks parents’ hearts when they see their child staring at other children playing with nice toys when your child has nothing, not even an old tin car. There are street children who beg for money and food to survive the day.

I have never really understood fully why there is such a thing as poverty in the world. We all know that we are all citizens of this world and we cannot claim the world for ourselves because it is not our in the first place. We are just a bunch of squatters in this vast planet that we call earth. Although we try our best to nurture the earth and make it productive, everything in it is just a passing thing including us. The treasures that we all claim for ourselves will be left behind when we die and others will benefit from the fruit of our labor.

Poverty is a vow that some people take very seriously. But why is it that these people, including myself take this vow when everybody knows that it is one of the hardest things to do in this life called battle of the fittest? The poor never wins and is never on the top. They are always the target of oppressions and injustice, and are looked down by the affluent.

Consecrated people have a different idea of poverty. Although it shares some similarities with poverty as being materially destitute, poverty in the life of a religious goes beyond it. Poverty for us is rooted in the reality that we are dependent on God. We are nothing without God and everything we have is God’s. As I have said earlier, we can only receive while God can only continue on giving and providing for everyone, saints and sinners, heroes and enemies. We are practically beggars who do not have to beg because God gives us in an unconditional manner all that we need.

Poverty is not just simplicity of life, nor material deprivations. It is a spiritual attitude and culture or way of life. One can be materially destitute but his pride could be taller than the mountains. Basically, this person is poor but his poverty is limited only within that realm of material destitution for he remains proud. There are those who hide their economic status and pretend to be rich so they can fit in into the world of the elite. There is no sincerity and honesty in a person like this one, there is only deceit.

There is, on the other hand, a person who has everything, wealth, talents, looks, and a good name but he remains to be poor in spirit. He does not boast of what he has, rather, he remains humble and simple in other people’s eyes. He is generous to the needy. This is a kind of poverty that rich people must have because they are not dependent on the things they have but rather, they are aware of their responsibilities towards the poor that is, the proper and just distribution of goods. But there are those who, in their poverty, are able to give the last penny in their pocket to the church or to the needy.

The Gospel of Matthew speaks about a very precise teaching on poverty. “No one can serve two masters. He will either hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one, and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon.” (Mt. 7: 24) A person who takes the vow of poverty renounces the mammon and offers himself or herself to God with undivided attention. There is no room for wealth for it will only divide the attention that belongs to God. Wealth is not a bad thing for God Has given these to us so that we can be productive. It was given to us so that we can use them to build up a community that is rich in charity and self giving and not for selfish and personal gain. Let us be mindful that wealth is not for one person alone but to be shared by all.

Remember the rich young man, also in Matthew’s Gospel (Mt 19: 16-23)? Well, we know that the rich young man left the presence of Jesus with a sad face because he had many possessions to sell and give to the poor. Jesus continued by telling the disciples that it will be difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God and that it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle. Why is it so?

A man who has everything in this life could be very attached to what he has, while the poor has nothing to loose but has everything to gain. A man who has nothing on his back will reach the top of the mountain with little or less difficulty while the one who brought huge baggage will certainly have difficulty. To detach one self from what the world can offer is hard to do for we live in this world. On the one hand we are all material beings and material thing, we need. On the other hand, we are also spiritual beings, being created in the image and likeness of God and just a little less than a god. The battlefield is in the will of the person whether or not to allow one’s self to be trapped in the love of mammon in place of God.

For me, the best example of self giving in the spirit of poverty is the story of the poor widow who put two coins into the treasury. Jesus praised that woman’s act rather than those of the rich because she gave probably her last money. Jesus was probably trying to provide a striking contrast between the true sacrifice and the pretentiousness and pride of the rich.

Poverty for many eyes is an undignified state of being but for me, a consecrated person it is an act of sacrifice, detachment from the excesses of the world, and dependence on God who, in the first place, created me. Poverty for me is a treasure that glitters more than that of gold and diamonds. It is never fading; a sacrifice that is surprisingly sweet. It is a burden that is light; a death that is life giving.

Obedience

“Doing the will of him who sent me and bringing his work to completion is my food” (Jn 4:34)

Jesus’ becoming a man is the greatest example of obedience. His becoming like us made him suffer the pain of the cross, persecution, and death. “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will but as you will.” (Mt 26: 39) These are Jesus’ own words during the agony in the garden. Three times he said these words. His prayer was so intense that his sweat became like drops of blood. “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” (Lk 24: 46) Jesus, with these final words, surrendered everything as an act of supreme and unfathomable obedience to the Father.

Not my will but the will of the Father be done. I think I am right when I said that obedience means doing the will of others making it your own. But to say that I am deprived of my exercise of my own free will is a misunderstanding of obedience. Jesus made his own the will of the Father from the beginning until the end but it did not mean that Jesus lost his freedom. He was free to choose the Father’s will or not. He simply chose to obey and do what he had to do.

People think that freedom is simply doing what they want to do without anybody stopping them. But to their disappointment, freedom is actually does not work that way. Freedom is respectful, considerate, constructive, and productive. Freedom is doing what we ought to do as rational and spiritual beings and everything we ought to do must be rooted in the spirit of love even if it may seem putting aside our own wants and desires.

Obedience can either be to God or to the devil. One’s exercise of freedom is actually not an exercise of one’s own will on its own. No matter what decision we make, it always is allowing the will of someone other than us to prevail over us. Every time we choose to do evil, we are actually allowing the will of the devil to prevail over us, and every time we choose to do good, we are allowing the will of God to prevail over us. In the end we are still allowing the will of another to prevail over us no matter what we do. But we can always will to do the will of God rather than the will of the devil because obedience to God is the greatest expression of freedom. The vow of obedience does not take away from us our own freedom. As a consecrated person, I am allowing my self to will what the Father wills of me. This is the ultimate act of freedom which is the obedience to God’s will.

What is God’s will of me? God’s will of me is to follow the footsteps of Christ for He merely did the will of his Father. The will of the Father is to bring everyone to his heavenly kingdom and in order to do that, Christ had to show us the way. It is not simply doing what is good but doing what is good in the spirit of love for God. Without love, our efforts will be exhausted and we will fail but with it, our obedience to God will be sustained by the grace that God will give us.

Is obedience an abandonment of self? For me, it is a commitment to one’s self. It is one way of restoring one’s self to its original dignity and goodness. There is nothing to loose if we obey but there is much to gain. We will gain God’s favor and love because of our self-surrendering. If the glimpse of God is sufficient enough for us how much more can we take if heaven becomes the reward for our obedience?

Humility: Not Seeking Any Ecclesiastical Dignity or Honor Within or Outside the Order

“I am in your midst as one who serves you” (Lk 22:27)

Humility, not to seek any Ecclesiastical dignity within or outside the Order of the Clerics Regular Minor is no less than difficult. This vow, although very much like the other three is particularly concerned about the root of all sins, the first of the seven capital sins i.e., pride which is like a plague in the human soul that slowly kills the goodness in us.

I always thought that the vow of not seeking any Ecclesiastical dignity within and outside the Order seems to be unfounded when it comes to its applicability at the present time. Who wants to become a general, a bishop, a cardinal, or a pope nowadays anyway? But it is more than just a title. It is rooted in one’s desire to be great or to be someone rather than no one to say the least.

Humility is key in understanding the fourth vow. “Following Christ who, Master and Lord, bent down to wash the feet of his disciples, the member will make his own sentiments that were in Jesus, and in his life, as well as in his apostolate, he will remember that his profession calls him to serve his brothers in humility according to the words of the Lord: ‘I am in your midst as the one who serves you.’” Constitution, 43.

To seek dignities and honor is a violation not just of this vow but also of the first commandment of God. A consecrated person is placed at the center of the community not to aspire for greatness but to be humble, simple, and to be a servant to all. By having this vow, a consecrated person tries to imitate Christ who washed the feet of his disciples, who carried the cross and who died for our offenses.

Ecclesiastical dignities, although they are not to be desired nor aspired, must be accepted by a member if and when the vow of obedience is invoked by the ecclesiastical authority i.e., the Holy Father.  It must be seen as an act of service and not as an opportunity for one’s own glory. His desire and sole intention must not be for himself but for others in the same way Christ took the form of a slave.