THE BEST OF THE REVIEW 5: THE CHURCH & CONSECRATED LIFE
Introduction: "Praying: Recognizing God Within"
by David L. Fleming SJ
Scripture
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae Caritatis
Contemplative Living
Lumen Gentium's Chapter 6: Religious
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae CaritatisDarkness
Lumen Gentium's Chapter 6: Religious
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae CaritatisPrayer Forms
Lumen Gentium's Chapter 6: Religious
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae CaritatisPersonal Paths
Lumen Gentium's Chapter 6: Religious
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae CaritatisPrayer Apostolate
Lumen Gentium's Chapter 6: Religious
The Conciliar Decree Perfectae Caritatis
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A major event in religious life history is the recent world Synod of Bishops on the theme "The Consecrated Life and Its Mission in the Church and the World." It was held in Rome from 2 through 29 October 1994. Of the 224 bishops participating, 94 were members of religious orders. More than a hundred women and men religious took part as auditors and experts. Of the 348 participants, five were lay people, that is, not identified with the consecrated life, in addition to representatives of other Christian churches. Pope John Paul himself attended all the sessions.
The first renewal efforts prompted by the documents of Vatican Council II included women and men religious eagerly active in the forefront. A number of official documents, usually from the pope or from the congregation dealing with consecrated life, continued to guide these renewal efforts through the following twenty-five years. When preparations for the synod began with the announcement of its theme in lave December 1991, a wide array of church membership was asked to contribute to an understanding and assessment of religious life and its mission. This invitation resulted in a wealth of conference and meeting reports worldwide, many books and articles from a great number of authors, and finally the production of the Lineamenta (a preparatory document published in November 1992) and the Instrumentum laboris (the working document for the synod issued in June 1994). The synod's work reached closure --- and an opening out into the future --- with the pope's apostolic exhortation of 25 March 1996.
This book, the fifth in the series The Best of the Review, has a content which parallels the renewal developments of religious life since Vatican II. At the same time it reflects the distinct purpose of Review for Religious --- to be a forum for shared reflection on the lived experience of all who find that the church's rich heritage of spirituality supports their personal and apostolic lives. In keeping with this purpose, the materials presented here are meant to be informative, practical, inspirational and, we hope, challenging. They offer theological, spiritual, canonical, and practical perspectives, and they present key themes of church teaching on the reality of consecrated life. The introductory essay proposes an integration of some of the emphases found in current theological understandings of consecrated life. Then in our first section, called "ecclesial context," we survey and establish some orientation from official church documents pertaining to religious life's renewal efforts from Vatican II to the 1994 synod. These articles appeared originally in the journal's department called Canonical Counsel during the more than two years of synod preparation.
In a second section we have collected some thoughtful reflections, by a variety of authors, about central aspects of religious life. These, too, were previously published in Review for Religious to assist in preparation for the synod. Revealing the rich diversity of consecrated life and exhibiting a key purpose of our journal, they place side by side a spectrum of assessments by people from widely divergent fields of expertise. Finally, in the third section we provide the apostolic exhortation of Pope John Paul that concludes the work of the synod itself.
For those in religious life, and also for others who want to study the significant developments of consecrated life over the past thirty years, we believe that his book will be a valued resource. In some fashion it offers a panorama of the measured progress for consecrated life in the years of continuity and change since Vatican II. If, indeed the experience of these decades has been at times exhilarating and exalted as well as challenging and checkered, the reality of adaptation and renewal of the spiritual heritages of religious life in the past thirty years continues to point to the true fullness of life to which we all are beckoned by Jesus Christ.
We thank all of the writers and editorial staff members who have worked with us in the production of this book.
David L. Fleming SJ
Elizabeth McDonough OP
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