The apostolic exhortation "Vita Consecrata"

The post-synodal apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata presents the "visibility" element of the consecrated life in various ways. We find it as early as point 1 of the document: consecrated life, by the profession of the evangelical counsels, means that the characteristic features of Jesus are made permanently visible in the midst of the world (VC 1). In contemporary culture, which is often very secularized and yet sensitive to the language of signs, the Church expects the consecrated life to provide a significant contribution to making the ecclesial presence visible in everyday life (VC 25). The significant contribution to the visibility of the Church which is expected from the consecrated life is expressed in various ways in the Exhortation; for instance, its first objective is to "make visible the marvels wrought by God in the frail humanity of those who are called" (VC 20), by becoming in their own persons true signs of Christ and showing by their lifestyle a clear picture of the evangelical ideal (VC 25). But it is perhaps in the fraternal community that this visibility is most accentuated: "If the Church is to reveal her true face," the Pope says, "she urgently needs fraternal communities..." She wishes to hold up before the world the example of communities filled with joy and with the Spirit, which clearly and concretely demonstrate the fruits of the new commandment (VC 45).

In a divided and unjust world, religious communities are entrusted with the task of spreading the spirituality of communion; such communities are places where the transparency of the Beatitudes can be discovered, places where love is called upon to become a pattern of life and a source of joy (VC 51).

Moreover, the Exhortation presents this radical way of following Jesus as "spiritual therapy" for humanity, rejecting the idolatry of anything created and, in full view of the world, making visible a living God (VC 87), a bold prophetic witness for the contemporary world (VC 85).

Finally, in wishing to give a new stimulus to the vocational pastoral, the Pope considers the vocational problem as a real challenge which concerns the whole Church; he reminds us that Jesus’ invitation to "come and see", is still the golden rule of vocational promotion (VC 64). The first disciples "went and saw where he lived and stayed with Him that day" (Jn 1,39) and that experience impressed John so much that, many years later, he remembered that, "it was about 4 o’clock in the afternoon". Jesus had seduced them, "got to" them: it was contagious.

Young people today are more interested in the testimony of people’s lives than in their declarations of intent; they want evidence which lets them see that the life is coherent; in order to take a decision of this kind, the need for their own security means that they really have to experience the attraction of other people’s lives in such a way that they become totally involved, heart and mind.

It is not only amongst the young, but also amongst the people of God and in our own religious institutions that a demand for visibility of the consecrated life is felt. Might this not be the path that leads to and helps in the efforts towards "renewal" which the consecrated life is now beginning to feel?