2.2.    Consecrated life “living memory” of the obedient Christ

            Christ is the supreme model and the most genuine source of inspiration for the program of

consecrated persons’ life of obedience. According to Biblical information and according to the tradition of the Church, Christ “is the obedient One par excellence”.  (VC 22b)

            In his earthly existence, Jesus of Nazareth adopted the way of life of the Servant-Son in everything.  He let himself be guided at all times by the Father and in every moment he fulfilled his Father’s will perfectly. Every word, every indication, every desire of the Father became a rule of life for him. In that sense, we can state that the entire content of the evangelical council of obedience was lived and, so to speak, incarnated by Christ himself, teacher of obedience especially with the example of his way of life.

            We must bring out the importance of two Biblical texts which, in marvelous summary, present the choice that gave the most defining sense to all the phases and all the individual decisions of Jesus in this world: “I came down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him who sent me” (Jn 6:38);  “…entering into the world Christ says: … Behold I come… to do your will, O God.” (Heb 10:5,7) This choice of total availability, maintained constantly in absolute fidelity, was what gave a significance of the deepest obedience to all the details of Christ’s life and death. His entire existence was a holocaust of love and obedience to the Father.

He described the secret of his dynamism thus:  “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work.” (Jn 4:34)  His continuous communion of love with the Father, always lived with a sense of filial obedience, allowed him to confess with the humility of  truth: “ I always do the things that please him.” (Jn. 8:29)

Paul sincerely praises and thanks Christ, who with his “obedience” (Rm 5:19) as the new Adam, brought to humanity “grace…to bring eternal life thanks to (his) righteousness…” (Rom 5:21)  Christ undoubtedly was the highest obedient One, the Son-Servant who, for the glory of the Father and salvation of human persons, “humbled himself making himself obedient unto death and death on the cross.” (Phil 2:8)

Every believer is bound to live consistent with the “perfection of his own state”. (LG 42d)  Therefore he must practice Christian obedience according to the demands of his own state of life.

Every institute of consecrated life is a community of consecrated persons, organically structured and committed  to live according to a particular program of obedience, approved by the Church. Every institute must seek always to do the will of the Father, in full fidelity to the charism received. The member of these institutes promises to be obedient to the Father and his legitimate representatives in “what regards perfection, beyond the commandment, for the purpose of being conformed more fully to the obedient Christ”. (LG 42d)

With the profession of the evangelical counsel of obedience, the religious embraces a program of evangelical obedience that “baptism in itself does not include”. (VC 30b) Thus he tries to carry out the plan of obedience of consecrated life: to be “living memory” of the obedient Christ.