WRITE THESE musings from the Philip-pines. I am in Bacolod on Negros I - PDF document

WRITE THESE musings from the Philip-pines. I am in Bacolod on Negros Island,to receive the commitment of our Sister ofthe Good Samaritan, Germia Tocama, to theBenedictine vows of conversion, stability andobedience for the rest of her life. In religiouslife we call this commitment the act of per-petual profession, the lifelong choice to livereligious life within a particular community.I ask myself again: What relevance doessuch a commitment to vowed life have in ourtwenty-first century world of globalisation,consumerism and secularisation? Isn’t theprevailing paradigm one of self-advancement,immediate gratification and attention to the \r\r\r \f\f\r\r\r\n\t\b\t\r COMPASSObedience is a counterbalance to individu-alism. It invites one to decide in collaborationwith others for the good of all—for the com-mon good. Such an approach to life requires adepth of maturity and of humility.This act of perpetual profession is an act offaith, of love and of trust. It is an act whichrecognises God as the author of life. It is an actwhich identifies one’s own human strengths andlimitations as gift from God. It is an act whichaffirms God as God. It states that God doesmatter. It is a ‘yes’ to God with all the inherentrisks that life will bring, with all the uncertain-ties about one’s future. It is an act of courage,Clare Condon SGS isthe CongregationalLeader of the Sisters ofthe Good Samaritan ofthe Order of St Benedict.because it declares that one can live a life fullof meaning and that one can be happy living alife contrary to the prevailing paradigm. A vow is a sacred promise or commitment made publicly with theapproval of the Church. Through her vows, a Sister responds with herwhole life to God’s invitation to love Him completely and withoutreserve. This free response is a fuller expression of her baptismal calland is, for one who is genuinely called to the consecrated life, ameans to greater holiness. All Christians are called to live the virtuesof chastity, poverty and obedience; these vows provide for a purifica-tion of heart and spiritual freedom that uniquely mark the life of theconsecrated woman religious. Living these vows enables her to focusher entire being on God and His people.While all women religious profess the vows of poverty, chastity andobedience, some communities take an additional vow. Some monasticcommunities profess a fourth vow of stability by which the monasterythey enter remains their home for life unless they are called to be partof a new foundation. Other communities take a fourth vow of hospi-tality or service to the poor.The vows of consecrated life are means by which a woman religiousseeks to be more closely configured to the One she loves. Living thesevows draws her into the Paschal Mystery of Jesus. She embraces a—From the website of the United States Conference of Bishops Leader of the Sisters of \r\r\r \f\f\r\r\r\n\t\b\t\r