2.2. A life of hope and prophetic boldness

Bishops and consecrated persons also have points of convergence and complementarity in their witness and service of hope.

The Bishop faces the world with a contemplative gaze and a compassionate heart. He imitates Jesus, the herald of the Good News of the Father, who, on seeing the crowds, “took pity on them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd” (Mt 9, 36). The Holy Spirit expands his vision and his heart to receive the world that God so loved and to make of him a prophet of hope⁸³. Nothing that happens in his particular Church particular nor in the world is alien to him and he cannot be indifferent to the cries or the multitudes of the poor or unjustly marginalised, or to those who continue to ask about the meaning of life and if God cares for them. Because of his condition as Pastor, he must always be in the lead, showing them the path to restful waters (Ps 22).

The ministry of the Bishop is one of total service for the rebirth of a living hope (cf. 1 Pt 1: 3) ⁸⁴. This service is not something added on to it, but it requires an intense experience of the Spirit, like the Apostles experienced, which make him a witness and prophet of hope. His preaching, his government, his priesthood, are all marked by theological and eschatological hope, with everything that the pastoral experience brings, the cross and joy; and with the daring of those who feel urged on by pastoral charity⁸⁵. The pastoral directory Ecclesiae imago, summarises how the Bishop’s ministry is ruled by the virtue of hope and emphasises that hope arouses in the Bishop a missionary spirit and, as a consequence, the spirit of creativity, that is, of initiative⁸⁶. Hope is an especially powerful witness in the hour when we must face situations of infirmity, persecution and martyrdom. In these cases patience and perseverance are even more necessary⁸⁷.

 We consecrated persons are also asked for a life of hope and prophetic boldness⁸⁸ because of our overflowing gratitude and our capacity to risk our life so that others may have life and hope⁸⁹. The IL says that consecrated persons “are the living proclamation of the Gospel of hope and eloquent witnesses of the primacy of God in the Christian life and of the power of his love in the fragility of the human condition. This gives rise to the importance of harmonious relations in diocesan pastoral activity and collaboration between Bishops and consecrated persons” ⁹⁰.

Indeed, by our consecration we are urged to be eschatological signs of the Kingdom, a constant reminder of the Lord’s coming and an invitation to contemplate this world as something transitory, mindful that here we have no lasting dwelling (Heb 13:14). It is our task as religious to emphasise in the particular Churches the eschatological tension signified by the profession of the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience⁹¹. And our communities have to aspire to be “places of hope and of the discovery of the Beatitudes, where love, drawing strength from prayer, the wellspring of communion, is called to become a pattern of life and source of joy” ⁹².

The consecrated life in the particular Church is a continuing ongoing response to the “vocatio Dei” and to the “provocationes mundi.” It is a “spiritual ‘therapy’ for humanity” and “a blessing for human life and for the  life of the Church” ⁹³. The exercise of the prophetic character of consecrated persons which – it is clear - is neither exclusive nor excluding, makes implicit the handing over of one’s life which can be sealed, as was the life of the prophets, with martyrdom⁹⁴. The religious’ committed involvement with all the great causes of humanity – life, freedom, justice, peace, education, health care, work, home, land, etc. – bears great witness to hope.

To hope is to journey. Hope, like prophetic boldness, do not automatically come with episcopal ordination or religious profession. Hope and prophecy are both established and strengthened by the journey. St Paul urges the Christians of the primitive Church and, through them he exhorts us, to rejoice in hope, to endure in affliction, and to persevere in prayer (Rom 12,12).

During the Synod our Pastors will certainly look at their life and ministry in hope. The question we can and should ask ourselves is, Are we consecrated persons capable of giving the witness and prophetic service that the Church and the world need today? Our hope-filled willingness is the best contribution we can make to infuse hope in the particular Churches. A local Church, and an Institute or a Province as well, reveal the measure of their spiritual and apostolic well-being by living in hope. The number of hopeful persons determines the atmosphere and action of evangelisation.

            More than once I have heard or read that the consecrated life is undergoing a period of routine, apathy, disenchantment. I do not know how much we can say that this is true or not. However, one thing that seems certain is that some people need powerful experiences and sensational events to confirm that they are alive. When we speak of the consecrated life, do we not need to exorcise the future and free it from so many vague illusions and some neurotic anxiety? And, as a counterpoint, should we not insist on the spirituality and prophecy of ordinary life and restore the cathartic and stimulating function of hope?

Nevertheless, we look around us and see that in our communities there is no lack of consecrated persons filled with hope. We can tell them because of the serene look with which they face the future, their confidence in the course of history and their ability to patiently bear the trials and tribulations of this life. They live filled with hope those who feel embrace by the Pascal mystery (savouring the cross and allowing oneself to be illuminated by the light of Christ); those who have become rooted in contemplation and frequent prayer; those who know how to consider and reflect what happens in light of the definitive and see in all an opportunity for salvation. In every moment they present themselves to us  - with lots of  flexibility and without fanaticism- as witnesses of the invisible, of the definitive, of the incontrovertible and sure. They are daring and their courageous options among those who suffer, among those who cannot even give thanks, and among the excluded, are eloquent gestures of persons who are entirely open to the gift of God and His promise. They live with joy their poverty, chastity and obedience, and are free in their speech and actions in front of the powers of this world. Their happiness is not evasion, but an expression of the joy that comes from knowing one is in God’s hands.  They believe and hope in something deeper and more transcendent than what their eyes see and what their hands feel. Those who live in hope are critical of antiquated systems, structures and practices; and they are constant, persevering and bold in new ideas. Because their lives are spiritually secure, they have no fear of persecution or martyrdom and they initiate risky or avant-garde undertakings. They are also distinguished because they can see life’s ironies and have a good sense of humour. In them is fulfilled the exhortation of St. Paul:“rejoice in hope”

A good sign of the health of the consecrated life and its way of expressing hope is the recognition of divine blessing and thanksgiving. We have received many graces, not only so that the Church may be equipped for every good work (cf. 2 Tim 3:17) and ready for the work of ministry in the building up of the Body of Christ (cf. Eph 4:12), but also so that she may be adorned with the variety of gifts of her children, as a bride adorned for her bridegroom (cf. Rev 21: 2), and so that she may manifest the manifold wisdom of God (cf. Eph 3:10)⁹⁵. Who ever acknowledges and is thankful for all this, is demonstrating the reason for their hope.