2. Be creative and not just imitative

In the theology of the VC, therefore, a trinitarian and pneumatological adjustment is strongly recommended, and not only for the sake of theological correctness: the Christian sequela naturally tends toward, and finds, its principles in Jesus the Poor Man Crucified, in His close relationship with the Father and His gift of Himself for all, especially the poor, in His gift of service and His death, so that all should have life, dignity and a future. But our Christian sequela, whether personal or in communion with our Church and our individual institutions, is not simply an imitation. Our life does not look backwards, but is a "life in the Spirit" and a "spiritual life" that makes the sequela fruitful today and helps to prepare for "tomorrow": it is always creative. It is authentic only when it is lived from "memory" and if this memory is not purely an intellectual process but also a sacramental celebration of the life culture, a daily meeting with the foundation of my life that I experience in God’s love. Only such a ‘memory’, guaranteed by the Spirit of God, makes it possible to interpret the signs of our times in a careful and intelligent manner, makes possible the necessary new and creative beginnings, new directions and reading of the Gospels. From this point of view the sequela is not the ultimate aim of Christian life, but the means of becoming imbued with and shaped by the Spirit that is also and always the Spirit of the Father, that is to say of the lasting creation of the world and the cosmos. I wish to emphasize that here we are not talking about a kind of "spiritual exuberance" (e.g. millenarianism, "fervor"). Rather it is a general perception in western theology that our Roman Church is still suffering from a lack of pneumatology and real "forgetfulness of the Spirit". Stronger emphasis on the "Spirit" in a renewed trinitarian and ecclesiological theology cannot but be useful for the theology of the consecrated life and its mission in today’s world. The a-trinitarian and "one Christ" vision of the Church sees the Church exclusively as the work of Christ, as His unchanging dominion and as a closed system in which the monistic principle of uniformity prevails. Religious themselves have first-hand experience of the extent to which, under such circumstances, legal principles take precedence on life, the letter over the spirit of the law, an abstract model of "perfection" over the active process of daily conversion towards the Beatitudes, "authority" over service, the gray color of uniformity over the rainbow intricacies of inculturation, nervous clinging to old ways over the ever new and courageous mission to the ends of the earth and to the limits of the visible Church. In spite of all the doubts and uncertainties. I am sure that the changes and crises we are currently going through so painfully also offer the potential for renewal; that the crisis put upon the VC by the postmodern world can be a "propitious moment" (kairós) for a new beginning; that it is not necessarily a gloomy fate that is approaching, but an invitation to conversion and, perhaps, a new era of the VC.

In my opinion, it is therefore very important that the document, "Vita Consacrata", mentions the christological and trinitarian sources of the consecrated life as early as the first chapter. In the midst of the turbulent developments and phenomena of the last few decades – which some perceive only as negative –and in the face of so many questions that cloud our present and future, this approach allows us to remember one thing: the Spirit was promised to all times, including our own. It is a spirit of life, not death. New things are already growing, the future has already begun; indeed, it is already within us. Unfortunately, often we do not recognize it (cf. Is. 43, 18-19) and we find it difficult to help it find its way out. The spiritual life is essentially nothing but an outstanding sensitivity to the presence of God within us and all creation, but it is also the commitment to help the Spirit make its lasting breakthrough against so many unspiritual elements and against all false gods and idols. At this time that many institutions find difficult, the words of the psychoanalyst, Erich Fromm, may help: "Being creative means understanding the whole process of life as a continual new birth and never considering any one phase of life as final". The modern and postmodern periods have freed many institutions from a fair number of illusions: from the myth of large and ever-increasing numbers, from the myth of efficiency and from the ostentation of social prestige. The new times oblige us to adopt new criteria.