Starting Afresh from Christ

21. Therefore it is necessary to adhere ever more closely to Christ, the centre of consecrated life and once again take up the path of conversion and renewal which, like the initial experience of the apostles, before and after the resurrection, was a starting afresh from Christ. Yes, one must start afresh from Christ because it was from him that the first disciples started in Galilee; from him, that throughout history men and women of every status and culture, consecrated by the Spirit in the strength of their call, have started out; for him they have left family and homeland, following him unconditionally, making themselves available for the announcement of the Kingdom and doing good for all (cf. Acts 10:38).

The awareness of one's own poverty and fragility and the greatness of the call have often resulted in the repetition of the words of the apostle Peter, “Leave me Lord, I am a sinful man” (Lk 5:8). And yet God's gift was stronger than human weakness. In fact, it is Christ who has made himself present in the communities of those who throughout the centuries have gathered in his name, he taught them about himself and about his Spirit, he oriented them towards the Father, he guided them along the streets of the world to encounter brothers and sisters, he made them instruments of his love and builders of his Kingdom in communion with all the other vocations in the Church.

Consecrated persons can and must start afresh from Christ because he himself first came to them and accompanied them on the path (cf. Lk. 24:13-22). Their life is the proclamation of the primacy of grace.⁶⁴ Without Christ they can do nothing (cf. Jn 15:5); however, in him who gives strength they can do all (cf. Phil 4:13).

22. Staring afresh from Christ means proclaiming that consecrated life is a special following of Christ, “a living memorial of Jesus' way of living and acting as the Incarnate Word in relation to the Father and in relation to the brethren”.⁶⁵ This implies a particular communion of love for Christ who has become the centre of their life and the continual source of every initiative. It is, as the Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata reminds us, an experience of sharing, “a special grace of intimacy”.⁶⁶ It is “becoming one with him, taking on his mind and his way of life”,⁶⁷ and it is a life “taken up by Christ”,⁶⁸ “touched by the hand of Christ, a life where his voice is heard, a life sustained by his grace”.⁶⁹

The whole life of consecration can be summarized by this point of departure alone: the evangelical counsels make sense only in as much as they help to safeguard and foster love for the Lord in full openness to his will; Community life is motivated by the One who gathers others around himself and has as its goal the enjoyment of his constant presence; the mission is his command leading us to seek his face in the faces of those to whom we are sent to share with them the experience of Christ.

These were the intentions of the founders and foundresses of different communities and Institutes of Consecrated Life. These are the ideals which have motivated generations of consecrated women and men.

Starting afresh from Christ means once again finding one's first love, the inspiring spark which first gave rise to the following. The primacy of love is his. The following is only a response in love to the love of God. If “we love” it is “because he first loved us”(1Jn 4:10,19). This means recognizing his personal love with that heartfelt awareness which made the apostle Paul say: “Christ loved me and gave up his life for me” (Gal 2:20).

Only the awareness of being infinitely loved can help us overcome every personal and institutional difficulty. Consecrated persons cannot be creative, capable of renewing the Institute and opening new pastoral paths if they do not feel loved with this love. It is this love which makes them strong and courageous which instills fire and enables them to dareall.

The vows with which one commits oneself to live the evangelical counsels confer their radicalness as a response to love. Virginity opens the heart to the measure of Christ's heart and makes it possible to love as he loved. Poverty frees one from the slavery to things and to artificial needs which drive consumer society and leads to the rediscovery of Christ, the only treasure truly worth living for. Obedience places life entirely in Christ's hands so that he may use it according to God's design and make it a masterpiece. Courage is needed for a generous and joyous following.