Order of the Present Moment: Introduction

Why the Need or Desire for Religious Orders?

Wondering, even now, why am even writing this? Why try to describe, develop, explain my own observations and beginning awareness of the stairway to heaven, of its existence, and the steps? What difference does it make to write it out? Few people have expressed interest, and others seem to have no interest, seem content with their spiritual lives and progress.

The diocese newspaper arrives in the mail. An upstart religious order is featured in three articles, with photos, as well as  mention in the Bishop's column of three new postulants. Actually and otherwise, the entire paper is geared toward the visible, active, temporal Catholic world, the exception being the recently deceased listed in Obituaries.

Reflect upon this a bit. What feelings and thoughts surface? Well, what about people who aren't able to be in visible, active, temporal groups, or religious orders—maybe, simply, not called? Or perhaps they are too old, have health problems, desire something less visible, active and temporal? What do these people do? Where do they turn? What if they are married, divorced, young, aged, students, workers, professionals, already in third orders, or not even Catholic?

So it seems there ought to be something for the nothings, the nobodies, the folks without a category but still very much are souls who desire God, and desire a way of life that will help their souls more efficiently, effectively, effervescently, find God.

The desire of spiritual life is innate in our beings: to seek and find God. Many people, perhaps most if the entire world population is considered, may not be aware of this desire. Yet many of the souls who are aware of the desire, do not act upon it by joining any number of the religious orders, movements, congregations, confraternities, oblates, tertiaries or sodalities.  Among non-Catholics Christians, most do not join mission teams of organized volunteer efforts, or even get involved in small group ministries. Why?

Utilizing the traditional Catholic religious orders as the focus of this reflection, one reason why most Catholics are not members is because they did not make various sacrifices in other aspects of their visible, active, temporal lives. Or perhaps they did not discover the desire for the religious life until they already made choices that would preclude them from being able to join a religious order. This may also be why they cannot join other religious groups possessing a set purpose or charism. They may not fit into the group for one reason or another. Or they simply may not have a vocation or call to a traditional religious order or group. 

For Catholics, those who do answer the “call” and choose a religious vocation (joining one of the various traditional, visible, temporal Catholic orders, congregations, movements, tertiary groups, confraternities or sodalities) have agreed to certain stipulations. These include living in accordance with certain social and religious regulations and disciplines, and in which most including making varying degrees of vows.

Well, we might ask, should not Christian marriage be this, too? Live in accordance with social and religious regulations and discipline, and the couple makes a solemn vow? Yes, it should, and marriage is considered a vocation as well as a Sacrament--something religious vocations are not, other than the priesthood with the Sacrament of Holy Orders. 

But religious orders have some unique features that can be traced to the first centuries in the Church, in which people who desired a closeness with God beyond the distractions of the work-a-day world, beyond the temporal activities and relationships with family and friends, could strive to reach their goal presumably faster, more effectively and efficiently by going off to the desert or by entering one of the many, developing monasteries.

Soldiers approach their goal in similar fashion, by gathering together to study, to train in disciplined focus, set apart from other temporal distractions. Their vows differ only in that they give allegiance to country and ruler; and their fervor is more that of  temporal success than spiritual, although some may possess zeal fueled by lofty ideals.

Those called to the religious life, as in traditional religious orders, movements, congregations, institutes, tertiary orders or sodalities within the Catholic Church, with numerous, new start-ups or reformed existing orders in each century, possess spiritual zeal and focus.  Their vows are to God but with allegiance, also to their particular order or group as a means to come to God, rooted in Baptismal and Confirmation promises and adherence to the Catholic Faith.

(continued in next post)