Redemptionis Donum

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION TO RELIGIOUS: REDEMPTIONIS DONUM
RD is brief, with (1) a greeting, (2) comments on the biblical context of vocation, (3) discussion of religious consecration related to baptism, (4) explication of evangelical counsels in general and the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience in particular, with specific reference to the mystery of redemption, (5) witness of religious life in the Church, (6) conclusion. It discusses religious life as a majestic and profound reality as connected with values and demands of participation in the paschal mystery. It seems deliberately not to address pragmatic problems and ongoing issues related to post-conciliar renewal. Nor does it present concretely verifiable course of practical action for assuring functional fidelity to one's vocation. It does call religious to a conversion and reconciliation necessary for deep meditation on their vocation in light of the mystery of redemption. It places religious life at the heart of the Church through consecration manifesting a striving towards fullness of Christian life (#1).

The exhortation is grounded in LG and PC and relies on Paul VI's apostolic exhortation, ET. It considers the Code of Canon Law a valuable guide indicating means of faithfully and generously living one's vocation (#2). Using the parable of the rich young man, it addresses the "interior structure of a vocation" as direct encounter with and consequent reflection of "the eternal love of the Father" and the "redeeming love" of Jesus. This encounter--specifically personal, spousal and free--results in total self-donation to the work of redemption in the likeness of Christ (#3). Relying on biblical sources, RD notes that the call to perfection, understood in the image and likeness of God, has always belonged to "the very essence of the Christian vocation" (#4). Applying the parable of the rich young man in Matthew 19:21 to religious life, poverty replaces a lifestyle based on possessions with of a lifestyle centered on the value of the human person. The primacy of being over having is highlighted as center of the anthropological bases for a Gospel vocation as witness to the mystery of redemption in an age of materialism and consumerism (#4). Imperatives to the rich young man to "go," "sell," "give" and "follow" are pathways to discover one's true self and the treasure of one's eschatological fulfillment (#5). The transcendent nature of a religious vocation is realized through the evangelical counsels (#5), whereas the structure of a religious vocation has its referent in the person of Jesus (#6). For religious, their new and fuller consecration of profession, rooted in Baptism, entails giving of the entire human person to God in a "particular style of life, witness and apostolate, in fidelity to the mission of [one's] Institute and to its identity and spiritual heritage" (#7). This consecration is a "special covenant of spousal love" through which one is chosen and freely chooses God as sole treasure of one's heart (#8).

Setting profession of the vows in the economy of redemption, RD notes the Gospel invites response beyond minimal commands and is characteristic of a Christocentric commitment which is redemptive (#9). Religious profession inclines a person to embrace the will of God and to overcome the world in the likeness of Christ (#9). Chastity, poverty and obedience transform one's interior life and exterior demeanor in a manner that relates each person to “renewal of creation" in a redemptive sense, while the internal purpose of the counsels draws one towards increased sensitivity to a paschal dimension within (#10). Interpersonal and social dimensions of redemption in the likeness of Christ subject all religious to the "law of renunciation" that "belongs in a peculiar way to the essence of the[ir] vocation" (#10).

Chastity gives eschatological witness and makes transcendent realities present in the midst of temporal concerns (#11). Poverty in the likeness of Christ places religious at the center of the Gospel message expressed in the beatitudes, and enriches not with material goods by "bestowing gifts on others in the manner of God" (#12). Obedience is likened to that of Christ in the humble following of God's will unto death. and has redemptive potential for furthering holiness (#13). In particular, it exemplifies an attitude of service and interior freedom is indicative of mature self-surrender (#13).

RD makes clear that the witness of religious life in the Church consists primarily in leading the world towards a fulfillment found only in God (#14). The value of religious consists always in who they are, not what they do (#15). The communal nature of religious life manifests caring for and bearing the burdens of one another indicative of true disciples. Sensitivity and responsiveness to needs and sufferings of others are concrete witness to a deep bond linking religious to Christ (#15). RD is a dense and intense document. Anthropologically sound and biblically well-grounded, it echoes the theology of religious life presented in PC and recalls the essentials of consecration to God and service to God's people. Like CDRL, it was overshadowed in 1984 by the Code and by "Essential Elements."

Prepared by Sister Elizabeth McDonough, OP, JCD, STL