Why Should Religious Get Up in the Morning?

A Reflection of a Consecrated Brother

It is seems to be a difficult question for me if I try to understand what it really means. It is simply answered as, we need to get up to do our duties for the day by starting it with morning prayer and at the end of the day, we end by evening prayer, and the next day, we get up again. A routine. But I am sure that it means something about the existence of religious life in the modern contemporary time and its future.

When I was still in the novitiate, I learned that a religious congregation needs to evolve with time so that it will not die or being left behind. There is a cycle that sometimes, it is able to cope with the challenges of time and sometimes, questions the effectiveness of the charism which the founder adopted to answer the needs of his time. I have read couple of books about my own congregation from the start of its existence up to the latest circular of our Superior General and I found out that there are so many changes happened in the whole institute as time passes by. Soon as the Brothers started to become a congregation, they taught small schools in rural areas but these days, a lot of lay mission partners are being involved with the brothers’ works in big schools whether in rural or urban places and in mission places, as well. But the existence of religious life is still there as it is founded strongly and willingly evolved with time without losing its own charism. The Brothers still gather together as a sacred community and sustained its existence.

For me, re-envisioning religious life itself is important to every congregation as they locate themselves in the midst of new changes in the society, its structure and its needs. The challenge to evaluate the dreams of the founder and the first community is there, whether there is a dynamism and consciousness for the modern time. Attentiveness is needed and not only by sending missions. Even before I joined the formation, I asked myself of what would be my role in my own institute, and what can I share to my own community as I longed to live the religious life. It looked like, two sides or parts of me. Me, inside the congregation and me, outside the congregation. Inside the congregation, I am part of the intentional community that longed to pray together, work together and be with together. Outside the congregation, I am part of the whole church as I willingly vowed publicly to serve others. But the question I am trying to answer is, “As the Church continue to move on with time, up to what extent can I see myself in the religious life living my vows faithfully?” It is still the happiness to get up in the morning sharing the faith with the whole Church in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.