Consecrated Life: A Perfect Crucifixion
Let us remember that in order to profit from the religious state, one must embrace the cross, both in life and in death. Oh how sweet, lovable and desirable is the crucifixion! (OCL, I, 146, p. 231)
Since the consecrated life is an imitation of Jesus, it is also a perfect crucifixion. In imitating Jesus, the consecrated person commits himself to live every aspect of Jesus’ life including his suffering and death. Hence, a life of perfect imitation of Jesus causes the consecrated person to live a life of perfect crucifixion, like Jesus. For St. Vincent, in order to profit from the state of consecrated life, a consecrated person must be ready to accept the cross both in his life as well as in his death. The very fact that a person runs away from situations of crucifixion in his life, he stops being an imitator of Jesus. The readiness to accept the crosses that come in one’s life and find glory in and through them, are great means to make progress in a person’s consecrated living. According to St. Vincent, the vows/promises a consecrated person professes are, in fact, the means through which he crucifies himself. By obedience, a consecrated person crucifies his will, surrendering it to God and to his superiors. By poverty, he crucifies his desire for material wealth and attachments to the things of the world in order to choose God as his wealth. By chastity, a consecrated person crucifies himself to all forms of selfish love of others in order to offer himself in purity and holiness to God and others. In living the vows/promises perfectly, a consecrated person makes his religious life a perfect crucifixion.
Do I consider the consecrated life a perfect crucifixion? Do I realize that shunning of the cross in my life amounts to giving up the imitation of Jesus? Do I find glory in and through my crosses? Do I practice a perfect crucifixion of myself by living my religious vows/promises?
But far be it from me to glory except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. (Gal. 6: 14)