Consecrated women as prophets in today’s world

Abstract

Consecrated women are prophets today by embodying the Marian qualities of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Bride, Virgin and Mother. These qualities were identified by Pope John Paul II as constituting the ‘feminine genius’. Consecrated women are called to exemplify the feminine as Bride, Virgin and Mother through their life founded on the evangelical counsels of obedience, chastity, and poverty. These feminine qualities become an imitation of Christ’s earthly life. The Church, as the mystical Body of Christ, finds its role model in the life of the Mother of God - Bride, Virgin and Mother. Within the Church consecrated women stand as a living icon of its prophetic nature. The Church – ekklesia was founded by Jesus at the foot of the Cross to continue generating more disciples. The sisterly life lived in a community by consecrated women is prophetic because it fosters that call to community by taking Mary to their home. Thus, by virtue of being Marian, consecrated women are also communitarian. Consecrated women are prophets in a context i.e., modern society, that needs the genius of woman but where this realisation is hindered by lack of complementarity between genders. The context is further constrained by secularism and its effects of relativism that reject objective Truth and a culture of ‘total work,’ that deprives people of the good of human life founded on authentic ‘leisure’. Therefore, the context today rejects the transcendentals of Truth, Goodness and Beauty. The prophetic role of consecrated women in today’s context is to witness the Truth of Christ, their Bridegroom as women of joy in hope. By their life of total dedication to Christ in chastity, to witness the good of human life as women of contemplation and action, that grounds them to recognize the signs of the times and reach out to offer God’s mercy and justice. They are to reveal the beauty of feminine genius by complementing masculinity as spiritual mothers and women of culture who are generous to share the values of their communion in community and earnest in witnessing their founding Charism in today’s world.