3. The normative value of the doctrinal clarifications of the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation  "Vita Consecrata" (March 25 1996)

        We must acknowledge the value of a third principle: the excellent Christological and Marian contents of the exhortation Vita consecrata  which make of this document the most enlightening text because it orientates consecrated persons, in a doctrinal way, in the carrying out of the programme "Starting afresh from Christ with Mary" in the new millennium.

         In order to give an adequate response to the  "felt need to clarify the specific identity of the various states of life,  their vocation and their particular mission in the Church" (VC 4), John Paul II has published three post-Synodal Exhortations: the Exhortation on the laity Christifideles laici (December 30, 1988), the Exhortation on Priests Pastores dabo vobis  (March 25, 1992) and the Exhortation on consecrated persons Vita consecrata  (March 25, 1996). This third one has the privilege of being the last of the trilogy and "completes  the treatment of the distinctive features of the states of life willed by the Lord Jesus for His Church" (VC 4).

          Anyone who, with serenity, would value the strength of the 186 quotations from Sacred Scripture and the weight of the 341 quotations from other sources, is aware of the high value, even doctrinal value of the document.  In fact, in this Exhortation, the Pope does not limit himself to offer advice or recommendations of a practical type, because he intended to offer  Christians "certainty"   (VC 3) on biblical and theological elements which  "indisputably" (VC 29), belong to the ecclesial identity of consecrated life.

        The identity of consecrated life traced by the Pope is a profoundly Christological and Marian identity. It is an identity of  a special conformation to Christ, the supreme consecrated, obedient, chaste poor, prayerful and missionary of the Gospel. It is an identity of special conformation to Mary, the supreme consecrated, obedient, chaste, poor, prayerful and missionary of the Gospel.  The "new and special consecration" (VC 30-31) and the "special mission" (VC 17) of consecrated persons has, above all, a Christological character, but also presents some strongly Marian aspects.

        Christ is the center and the conducting thread of the whole document. Mary occupies a fundamental place. It is explicitly recognized that Mary has "a fundamental importance" (VC 28) for the spiritual life of every consecrated person and for the solidity, unity and harmonious progress of the whole community.

        The Pope dedicates two whole numbers to Mary: numbers 28 and 112. There Mary is presented above all, as "sublime example of consecration" (VC 28) and like "a Mother who is altogether unique  (VC 28) of consecrated persons.  In other numbers, the Pope points out the need to assiduously meditate on the evangelical texts and on the other texts of the New Testament which illustrate the words and the examples of the Virgin Mary (cfr. VC 94) and offers other orientations of Marian character. For example, he exhorts consecrated persons "to renew daily their spiritual union with the Blessed Virgin, reliving with her the Mysteries of her Son, especially by saying the Holy Rosary". (VC 95),

         Some have asked themselves: why did John Paul II not already use the formula "starting afresh from Christ" in the Exhortation? The answer is not difficult: because in l996 and the immediately successive years were not the years of a "beginning", that is, they were not the years of the beginning of a new millennium, even though they were the last of the second millennium, years which were placed under the sign of the Apostolic Letter Tertio millennio adveniente (November 10 1994), years of preparation for the celebration of the Great Jubilee.

        In his Exhortation, the Holy Father offers clarifications on the importance of the Virgin Mary for consecrated life not only because of his own intimate conviction, but also because the Synod Fathers had asked for this in an explicit way and unanimously: "Because the Blessed Virgin Mary precedes the faithful Christians  in the pilgrimage of faith and in the following of Christ, may she be seen as Mother and model of consecrated life, and an authentic devotion to her be nourished, which implies a constant contemplation of her life hidden in Jesus Christ and at the same time imitation of her placing herself at the service of all.     We humbly ask that the importance of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary in consecrated life be made extensively evident in the post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation"  (Proposal 55).

        The specific Christological and Marian teachings of the Exhortation are the most solid and necessary orientations to carry out the programme "Starting afresh from Christ with Mary" as a consecrated person at the beginning of the new millenium.

        On October 1, 2001, Cardinal Jan Pieter Schotte, General Secretary of the Synods of Bishops, during the first Congregation of the last Synod presented to the Bishops, like a synthesis of the characteristics which make of the Exhortation the "magna carta" of consecrated life:  "The logic of the discourse, the foundation of which is truly Trinitarian, Christological, pastoral, positive and exhortative deserves a special consideration. Because it is permeated by the spirit of communion and based on the Paschal mystery.  Because of all this, as well as for the sense of contemplation, of prophetical vocation, of the ecclesial mission, of the pre-eminence of spiritual life, this document has become the "magna carta"  for an effective renewal of consecrated life."

        On the same occasion, Cardinal Edward Michael Egan, Archbishop of New York and General Reporter in the last Synod of Bishops, affirmed that Vita consecrata  is a "splendid exhortation, a "sure guide and pondered by the whole Church in its journey in this Christian third millennium", a "treasure" to which the Bishops "should frequently refer".

        The Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life on June 15, 2002 published the Instruction Starting afresh from Christ. A renewed commitment of consecrated life in the new millennium. The document, signed on May 19, offers in the introduction two observations of utmost importance, concerning the values and actuality or novelty of the Exhortation Vita consecrata .

         The Congregation presents, in the first place, a synthesis of the variety and solidity of the content of the Exhortation: "The Apostolic Exhortation Vita consecrata  clearly and profoundly expressed the Christological and ecclesial dimensions of consecrated life in a Trinitarian theological perspective, shedding new light on the theology of the following of Christ and of consecration, of communion in community and of mission. It contributed to the creation of a new mentality regarding the mission of consecrated life within the people of God. It helped consecrated persons themselves to capture a greater awareness of the grace of their own vocation"  (n. 3).

        From this excellent premise is drawn the following strong conclusion: "This programmatic document remains the most significant and necessary point of reference guiding the path of fidelity and renewal of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life"  (n. 3)