Mary as an Antitype to Religious in Living the Evangelical Counsels, as well as Community Life as Examined under CIC 599-602

Esiobu, Anayo Augustus (2023) Mary as an Antitype to Religious in Living the Evangelical Counsels, as well as Community Life as Examined under CIC 599-602. DELIBERATIONES, 16 (1). pp. 72-86. ISSN 1789-8919

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Abstract

The evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience, as well as community life, taken up by religious and institutions of consecrated life as vows are deeply rooted in the life style of (apart from Jesus who is the Master of all virtues) Blessed Virgin Mary. This article quotes Mary, the mother of Jesus an “antitype” of religious life by virtue of the pattern of life she lived. The religious assume the evangelical counsel of chastity pro regno Dei, that is, for the kingdom of God, as a sign of the life to be lived in the world to come. This was practiced by Mary ante partum (before giving birth to her son), in partu (during birth), and post partum (after birth) as well. In other words, Mary is semper virgo (every virgin). She lived the other two evangelical counsels in the same way namely: evangelical counsel of poverty and evangelical counsel of obedience. The former (counsel of poverty) is meant to imitate Christ who disregarded his richness as God and assumed a poor state for our redemption. He told his apostles to renounce from everything and also from themselves in order to follow him (Mt 16:24-25; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:23; 14:27). The same life of self-offer and total renouncement was lived on a high level by his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, who seeing all these treasure surrounding her son, did not hold on them for private interest. The later, the evangelical counsel of obedience unto death was a special attribute of Mary, who said “yes” to the “no” of the first Eve, corrected the sins of disobedient committed by Eve, welcomed the Word of God and submitted herself to the blessed will of God. In addition, after the ascension of Jesus, Mary lived the rest of her life in the community of the apostles and first disciples as commanded by her son. She was among the first community, the “primitive church” who joined constantly in prayer with some women and brothers. The communion (koinonia) and fellowship lived by this early church, which even extended to sharing everything (common activities, common wealth, common work, common teaching, etc.) is today the antitype of the community life of the religious and institutes of consecrated life, and Mary participated in all these. We are then rest assured, that besides Jesus Christ, Mary is an antitype of the religious in living the evangelical counsels as well as community life, which also forms the basis of the strong bond between her and almost all the religious communities and institutes of religious life in the world.

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