Consecrated Life: A Life of Obedience
[A consecrated person] must obey in the spirit of faith, hope and love, firmly believing that he obeys, loves and respects God in the person of the superior. (OOCC, II, p. 91)
The consecrated life is a life of obedience. For St. Vincent Pallotti, perfect practice of obedience helps a consecrated person to walk in the path of Jesus who spared nothing to subject himself to the plan of God for him. It is a virtue of community life. In living it, a person subjects his intellect, will, and actions to his superiors whom his faith assures as God’s representatives. Thus, surrender in faith is that which helps a person to live a life of obedience. For St. Vincent, the religious obedience must be universal, exact, entire, prompt, simple, humble and respectful. A person must obey any superior and every order that is given. He must accomplish the order given in the most faithful manner. A person must complete the command given in its entirety and avoid half-hearted and partial accomplishments. The command must be obeyed immediately without procrastination. One must obey an order without asking any questions. Since a person obeys God himself in obeying his superior, he must be humble and respectful in his obeying without showing any signs of coldness, indifference or sadness. St. Vincent did propagate a dialogical obedience in which the subject can discuss with the superior his point of view of the situation in question and the superior respects the talents and dignity of the subject.
Do I acknowledge that living in obedience is a significant aspect of my consecrated life? Am I able to make the surrender in faith in order to obey my superiors? Is my obedience universal, exact, entire, prompt, simple, humble, and respectful? Am I open to a dialogical obedience?
So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. (II Cor. 2: 8 – 9)