As part of the celebration of the 203rd anniversary of the independence of the countries of Central America on September 15, the juniors of the Province of Mother of Perpetual Help, Central America and the Caribbean, held a spiritual retreat every month. With the strength and presence of the Holy Spirit we were accompanied by Fr. Juan Pablo Roldán, of the province of Pedro Donders, in Argentina.
In this space of prayer and reflection, the religious vows were pronounced again. Father Juan Pablo began with an introduction inviting us to keep in mind that Jesus is the ultimate reason for the existence of consecrated life, and it is He who makes the invitation to this Congregation. The encounter with Jesus marks, and is the reason for following, which becomes a process of configuration to Christ. Therefore, the evangelical counsels must be lived in a theological perspective, integrating the human and spiritual dimension, to arrive at an authentic Christological identity.
Christ is the one who takes the initiative, generating a certain impact that leads to responding to him with freedom and, therefore, to following him with a spirit of acceptance, knowing that one must assume the conditions that this call entails. This choice that is made is seen as a covenant, as the history of salvation; the covenant of God with his people in the Old Testament and a definitive covenant in the New Testament. The dynamism of this covenant is love.
The three vows are one in the perspective of love: to love God and neighbor with all your heart (chastity); to love God with all your soul (obedience); to love God with all your strength (poverty). The first session concluded by emphasizing that consecrated life does not have a mission, but is a mission, while the second session focused on discipleship and chastity supported by grace. We spoke of a chastity lived in fraternity with relationships of mutual friendship, free and loving, free from dependence, violence and oppression and of an integrated sexuality.
In the personal space of meditation, we were given the opportunity to reflect on the indifference that exists today towards the sacred and we were challenged to be able to live our consecration proactively in the face of religious indifference: to know it better, to be close to it, to promote the awakening of faith and prayer, so that it says something to today’s world.
We thank God for allowing us to meet and share between the two provinces, addressing a topic that we must not forget: religious vows, which are always good to reflect on, strengthening them and taking strength to live them with joy, love and faithfulness.
Fr. Ervin Danny Calero Álvarez, CSsR.
