In less than two weeks’ time, God-willing, I shall be making my final vows in the Order of the Canons of St. Benedict – the ‘lifetime subscription’, if you will, of the simple vows I made three years ago.
The rite of simple vows is joyful – it makes one conscious that there is a new beginning happening. Joyful in a different way, the rite for solemn (life) vows employs symbolism from the funeral liturgy – the candidate, after being examined, lies prostrate and is covered with a pall (yes, the very same one that goes on top of a casket). There is no misinterpreting the message this sends: the finality of these vows is the finality of death. As I contemplate this, I am very conscious of the weight of these promises; perhaps rightfully so. I find I am staring into the unknown, and being asked to make a great leap of faith.
The vow of stability, you see, is made to the community. For a three-year period, there is a good chance the community will be as one currently knows it; there will be changes but likely nothing too surprising. Promising stability to a community for LIFE, however, requires a great deal more faith. I cannot know what the community will be like in 40 years, presuming I’m still alive to see it. And yet, I must trust that – along with my parish community – it will still be where I am called to live out my vows of obedience and conversion of life.
Through our baptism, we are all called to give and receive the love of Christ as members of his mystical body, allowing our common life to shape us in Christ’s image, and trusting that God is present even in the members we have not met yet. Even as we watch our own parish change, not knowing what it will look like in 40 years, we must trust that it will still be a place where God is actively shaping the lives of the faithful – hopefully for generations to come. And, by our prayer and presence, faithful stewardship and proclamation of the Gospel, we are doing our part to ensure that hope becomes a reality.
Mother Amanda