In Pope John Paul II's apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata ("The Consecrated Life") he compared the gospel story of the Transfiguration to religious life. At the Transfiguration, Peter, James, and John were taken up a mountain where they experienced the glory of Jesus. His face shone like the sun, and his clothing was bathed in white. A bright cloud overshadowed them and a voice declared, "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him." The disciples fell prostrate in fear. But Jesus touched them and said, "Rise, and do not be afraid." Looking up, the disciples saw no one but Jesus. Then they went down the mountain. (See Matthew 17:1-8.)
Religious men and women through history have gone up the mountain with Jesus. In many different ways, each had a glimpse of God's majesty. They are so taken with Jesus Christ that they want to be with him. But, like those first friends of Jesus, they cannot stay on the mountain. They have to come down the mountainside and serve Jesus in other people. They begin to love Jesus in other people, especially in outcasts, the marginalized, and the poor. Also like Jesus, they come down the mountain to face the challenges and sufferings of human life. The lives of religious-past and present-serve as a beacon to all the baptized, reminding us of God and revealing to us the kingdom of God.
Tracing Religious Life
The history of religious life in the Church begins in the second century when widows and virgins were treated as special classes of Christians. The widows engaged in active ministry, while virgins lived a life of contemplation and prayer.
About a century later in the East, St. Anthony of Egypt sold his goods and went apart from the community to pray in the desert as a hermit. His holiness attracted the attention of others who came to learn from him. They also brought Anthony supplies for living, including food and water. They lived separately from Anthony but met for worship and instruction. Other early religious were:
*St. Pachomius (290-346). He introduced life in common and a rule to guide his companions. His sister became the leader of a group of nuns he founded.
*St. Basil (329-379). His monks participated in apostolic works.
*St. Jerome (345-419). He was another Church father who substituted intellectual work for manual labor in monasteries. He translated the Greek Bible to Latin.
*St. Eusebius (363). He organized the first clerical monastery.
St. Benedict (480-543) is known as the father of Western monasticism, giving it the basic organization it has today. He too was originally a hermit who attracted followers. Benedict gathered them into a monastery (in Greek, "to live alone") under the direction of an abbot, a spiritual father and administrator. His monks took an additional vow of stability-besides poverty, chastity, and obedience-meaning they promised to remain in the same house for their entire lives. Benedict saw a monastery as a society that was independent of the world. His motto was ora et labora, pray and work. His rule was also used by women religious.
Benedictine monasteries were centers for civilization in the Middle Ages. Monks made laws, taught the people, and promoted agriculture and trade. They also hand-lettered manuscripts, helping to preserve culture. New orders of Benedictines-for example, Cistercians and Trappists-helped foster continual renewal of religious life.
In the Medieval period another new form of religious life developed: mendicant or begging orders. The Franciscans of St. Francis (1181-1226) and the Dominicans of St. Dominic (1179-1221) supported themselves by begging. Unlike the Benedictines, religious in these orders did not take a vow of stability, preferring instead the freedom to live in any house belonging to the order. This freed them to go from place to place evangelizing.
In the years that followed, orders for priests were formed called clerics regular. These new communities did little in common and often did not wear religious garb or habits. One example was the Society of Jesus founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola (1491-1556). The Jesuits, as they came to be known, promised to serve the pope anywhere and in any task he asked of them. The Jesuits were also the first to take simple vows instead of solemn vows. Simple vows meant giving up the use of one's property; solemn vows meant owning no property whatsoever. Most religious today take simple vows. Some communities such as the Redemptorists, Passionists, and Salesians, take no public vows.
With St. Vincent de Paul (1580-1660) another new concept of religious life began. The order of nuns he founded, the Daughters of Charity, had no convent or cloister. They were free to go into the streets to teach, nurse, and do other apostolic works. Near the same time, St.
John Baptist de la Salle (1651-1719) formed the first community of brothers, the Brothers of Christian Schools or Christian Brothers. St. John Bosco founded another educational order, the Salesians, in the nineteenth century.
After the French Revolution (1789-1799) many new religious communities began. Most of these focused on education because the revolution had prevented the faith from being taught and practiced. One of the orders, the Daughters of Charity, was founded by St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Her order established the first Catholic school in America.
The Second Vatican Council of the 1960s mandated that religious communities return to their gospel roots and the original spirit of their founders. It also called on them to adapt to the contemporary world. This charge led to a renewal of religious life. Many members left their orders. However, at the beginning of the twenty-first century new forms of religious life have emerged. As God said to the prophet Isaiah, "Remember not the events of the past, the things of long ago consider not; See I am doing something new!" (Isaiah 43:18-19).
Religious Life in Transition
The numbers of religious have shrunk dramatically since Vatican II. In the mid 1960s there were more than 200,000 sisters in the United States. Now there are about 85,000. Many men and women have left religious life, and fewer young people are embracing it. The majority of religious today are gray-haired. The median age for women religious is 69; for men religious it is 61. Formerly, Catholic parents regarded it as a privilege when their child had a religious vocation. Now they are reluctant to support a child's vocation and may even strongly oppose it, especially if they have only one or two children.
Nevertheless, hundreds of religious congregations for both men and women remain in the Church today. Religious communities are classified as either diocesan or pontifical right. Diocesan communities are subject to the authority of the local bishop. Communities that are pontifical right are directly connected to the Holy See in Rome and may have their generalate or headquarters there.
Those religious who have remained or entered their communities in the years since Vatican II have faith in their vocation. They trust the Lord. As older communities die out, new ones arise. In 1991 Cardinal John J. O'Connor of New York founded the Sisters of Life. These sisters take a fourth vow "to protect and enhance the sacredness of all human life." The Sisters of Life administer the Dr. Joseph R. Stanton Human Life Issues Library and Resource Center in the Bronx. The sisters also host retreats for pro-life activists and help women with crisis pregnancies.
In Combermere, Ontario, a secular community of men, women, religious, and priests was founded by Catherine de Hueck Doherty. Called Madonna House, the institution is a training center for the lay apostolate.
Finally, the Missionaries of Charity, founded by Mother Teresa, is flourishing. The Missionaries of Charity reach out to the poorest of the poor, taking in the destitute and the dying, bathing their wounds and helping those near death to die with dignity. The order is composed of eight branches: active sisters, contemplative sisters, active brothers, contemplative brothers, missionary fathers, lay missionaries, volunteers, and sick and suffering co-workers.