The Vatican II Fathers addressed men and women in religious communities and secular institutes who have chosen to imitate Christ by adhering to the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience in Perfectae Caritatis, or Decree on the Up-to-Date Renewal of Religious Life. Although the Fathers emphasised the importance of updating some of their disciplines and expressions to better interact with the modern world, they also advised religious men and women to hold fast to their spiritual heritage and grow closer to Christ by faithfully carrying out their vocations.

Here is a sample of the ideas and themes covered in Perfectae Caritatis.

• Religious men and women seek to imitate Jesus more closely and to attain perfect charity by following the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

• Jesus is the founder of the evangelical counsels, which have developed in the Church over the centuries and are practiced by a “wonderful variety of religious communities” that build up the Body of Christ, perform a variety of good works, and adorn the Church with the “manifold gifts” of God.

• Those who profess the evangelical counsels bind themselves to Jesus and give their whole lives to God and to the Church.

• Religious communities ought to initiate an “up-to-date renewal of the religious life” that returns to the community’s sources but also adapts to the modern world. The renewal must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit and follow five general principles:

1. religious communities must follow Christ above all.
2. the spirit and traditions of the communities’ founders must be “faithfully accepted and retained”;
3. all communities should share fully in the life of the Church.
4. members of communities must understand the conditions of the modern world in order to help people more effectively, and
5. Spiritual renewal must take first place.

• The life, prayer, and work of religious communities should be “in harmony” with the requirements of their members and with cultural, social, and economic circumstances as well as with the precepts of Vatican II.

• While authorities within the communities are in charge of the renewal, they must work closely with every member so that each has a share in the process.

• All religious dedicate their lives to God in a “special consecration” that deepens their baptismal consecration and expresses it more fully. Religious live for Christ first and seek God in contemplation and apostolic love.

• Through prayer, Scripture, spirituality, and liturgy, religious people “foster a life hidden with Christ in God,” which flows out into love for their neighbours. The Holy Eucharist especially nourishes the spiritual lives of religious.

• Contemplatives “give themselves over to God alone in solitude and silence,” “offer to God an exceptional sacrifice of praise,” and adorn the Church with heavenly graces.

• Religious people who pursue apostolic work must look to Christ as the source of their activity.

• Monastic life is especially important to the Church, and religious who live in monasteries must hold onto their traditions and rules and at the same time adapt to modern-day needs.

• Secular institutes help laypeople live out the evangelical counsels in the world as they seek to “give themselves to God totally in perfect charity.” They must be “truly leaven in the world” through their apostolic activities and ought to be carefully formed in “matters divine and human.”

• The evangelical counsel of chastity frees one to become more fervent in loving God and man. It is also a symbol of heaven and “an exceptional gift of grace.” Those taking a vow of chastity must rely on God’s help to fulfil their vow even as they “practice mortification and custody of the senses.”

• Poverty helps religious imitate Christ, who was poor. Religious people should strive to be poor in spirit, “having their treasures in heaven,” and to “trust in the providence of the heavenly Father.” Religious must always share whatever resources they have with the Church and the poor.

• Through obedience, “religious offer the full dedication of their own wills as a sacrifice of themselves to God.” They must obey their superiors and use their gifts and talents to build up the Body of Christ. Superiors, in turn, should exercise their authority “in the spirit of service,” love, respect, and cooperation.

• Religious lead a common life of prayer and work. Communities are true families that must strive to live in love and unity.

• Religious habits should be “simple and modest, at once poor and becoming.” They may be updated to fit the requirements of the community.

• All religious should receive instruction about modern society that they may better serve the people around them and help meet the needs of the Church in the modern world.

• Religious communities may form federations, associations, unions, conferences, and councils in order to cooperate and support each other in their renewal and apostolate.

• Religious communities can and must foster vocations, but they must also carefully screen candidates. The best commendation religious can give for their communities is “the example of their own lives” of love and imitation of Christ.

The full text of Perfectae Caritatis is accessible online at the Vatican website.

The objective of this paper is not to provide a profound analysis of collaborative spirituality and its theological basis. We must complete this vital job, but it will require a more thorough treatment than we can provide here. Rather, it is believed that the foundations, nature, and relevance of a collaborative spirituality might be established in the context of the collaborative process itself, drawing on the collective experience of all participating.

Background

This question came up recently during a virtual conference, as it has many times before. People frequently use the word “collaboration” but have different meanings when they use it. For some, it is “collaboration for” – in which all is done by one person who then requests assistance from others. Others see “collaboration with” as analogous to committee work, where one or two people lead but others are solicited for their views and ideas.

Pallotine spirituality defines collaboration as “holy cooperation.” We collaborate with God and with one another. This type of collaboration is known as “collaboration from the beginning”. Who is present is carefully considered, and discernment is part of the process. The group discerns the situation at hand, a way ahead, and then moves together in “trialogue” with the Holy Spirit. This practice is the way of the Cenacle, Jerusalem’s Upper Room, where the early Church community discerned together. This is the way of the Sent! As we progress from the Cenacle for Christ, each individual fulfils a specific role and collectively bears responsibility for both Christ’s and the Church’s mission!

Some may view this approach as idealistic and unrealistic. It is exclusively for humans. But with God’s mercy, “all things are possible” (Mt 19:26).

Origin and meaning of collaboration

The basic meaning of the word cooperation is ‘co-labour’. In I Corinthians 3:9, the language for collaboration is synergoi, which is the source of the modern word ‘synergy’. In summary, cooperation involves coordinating, organising, and cooperating in a way that our collective efforts surpass our individual contributions.

Throughout Scripture, we view God as a triune Father, Son, and Spirit who are in a loving relationship with one another. We see them united in purpose, working together in total, loving cooperation, yet with various and distinct tasks, roles, and identities.

John 5:19 – Jesus responded, “Very truly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can only do what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does, the Son does as well.” For the Father adores the Son and shows him all he accomplishes. Indeed, he will reveal far greater accomplishments than these, which will astonish you.

John 14:26 — But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you everything and remind you of everything I have spoken to you.

2 Corinthians 13:14– May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

They worked together to build the world and mankind. And, after humans disobeyed God in the Garden of Eden, they collaborated to reconcile and restore humanity’s relationship, first via Israel and later through Jesus Christ and His church.

In John 17:20-23, Jesus characterises his relationship with the Father as ‘we are one’ and prays that the same oneness, love, and unity will be available to future Christians so that the world can believe in him. Witnessing loving togetherness inspires others to believe in God because it reflects and expresses God’s character.

Unity, Diversity, and Love

God’s collaborative character is expressed throughout scripture through three main themes: love, unity, and diversity.

According to I John 4:8, ‘God is love’. According to Matthew 22:37-39, Jesus said, ‘Love for God and loving others as yourself are the two greatest commandments.’ God’s unwavering desire to restore all people to himself stems from love. His tremendous love for us serves as both motivation and a source of our abilities to love and work with others. It fuels our connections and work with God, his church, and one another, for ‘if we do not have love, we win nothing’ (I Corinthians 13:1-3).

God prioritises unity in the church, as seen by Jesus’ plea for oneness and the Apostles’ numerous requests for relational connection among members. Psalm 133 says, ‘How delightful and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in oneness!’ In Ephesians and Romans, the Apostle Paul portrays Christ’s Body as ‘one body with many parts’ (1 Cor 12:12-31; Rom 12:4-8). Our ministry callings and gifts are unique to each of us, but they are always designed to help us operate effectively as members of the body of Christ. Unity is what brings us together, strengthens us, and joins us in collective action for God’s purposes.

We can also observe God’s love for diversity in scripture. From the beauty of creation to the practical abilities and functions that God bestows on his people, diversity is a vital part of God’s nature. Each distinct element of Christ’s body has a critical function, and when combined, they can do more than any single portion alone. This demonstrates God’s desire for unity in diversity rather than unity in sameness. Each component is respected and valued, but it is also intended to operate more effectively when combined. Functional variety is how God grants us, his body, the creative ability to adapt, coordinate, and invent. It is how God unleashes resources to overcome obstacles and advance the gospel.

Unfortunately, instead of working together, we frequently allow sin and Satan to separate us and undermine our group witness via worry, competitiveness, mistrust, and a fear of shortage. In our ardent emphasis on our personal calling and ministry, we often lose sight of the fact that we are also called to be a part of something bigger than ourselves; that it is through our collaboration that the world witnesses God’s power and presence (John 17:18-21).

Conclusion

Many hands are undoubtedly required to meet today’s pressing requirements in our complicated and fragile environment. Collaboration in mission is how we respond to this situation: it expresses our true identity as Church members, the complementarity of our various calls to holiness, our mutual responsibility for Christ’s mission, our desire to join people of good will in the service of the human family, and the arrival of God’s Kingdom.

Introduction

I offer this reflection as an attempt, in the context of a Ghana endowed with abundant natural resources but where many people are uncomfortable with the levels of homelessness and poverty that persist in our society, to spark a discussion about the meaning of our faith and the obligations that belonging to the Christian community imposes on us. The reflection suggests that Jesus was executed by decent people acting for good motives, since the God revealed by Jesus had profound ramifications for the ordering, behaviour, and structures of society, consequences that endangered the existing order. It suggests that Jesus was executed because his time’s leaders recognized the revolutionary economic, social, and political implications of the personal transformation that comes with being a follower of Jesus. The religious authorities believed that the society in which they lived was ordered according to God’s plan, and that by giving Jesus over to be executed, they were acting in conformity with that will. The Gospel depicts a battle between two very different conceptions of God, with dramatically different implications for our personal lives and the structure of our world. Jesus lost and died; nonetheless, the resurrection vindicated him, his understanding of God, and his vision for our world.

Jesus and the Marginalised

The poor are those groups in our cultures who are pushed aside, unloved, rejected, or marginalized. We can identify them by asking the question, “Who do you not want living next to you?”

Living the Gospel means affirming the dignity of every human being as a child of God. Affirming the dignity of travellers, homeless people, LGBT individuals and allies, sex workers, drug users, and offenders frequently challenges the traditional thinking of a society that feels insecure and often fearful, and hence prefers to keep them apart at arm’s length. The more we have to defend, the more our need to isolate ourselves from people on the fringes who we regard as a threat to our security. Thus, despite being prosperous in ways we could not have imagined a decade ago, there are more homeless people on our streets than ever before (100,000 people, according to the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, 2023), our prisons are overcrowded, and hospital waiting lists are longer. There are less personality issues and adult repercussions from child sexual abuse.

Affirming the dignity of individuals on the edges today may be a deeply political act, just as it was in Jesus’ time. It may result in a challenge to political authorities if they fail to provide their basic necessities. Caring now is frequently a political act.

We are sometimes advised that religion and politics should be kept separate, but this was not Jesus’ method. His concern for and insistence on the dignity of every individual as a child of God had political ramifications for the organization of his own society, as it does for ours today. It also had personal consequences for him and his life, turning many of his contemporaries against him and rallying the authorities to remove him. Similarly, our care may necessitate political changes in our own society, as well as personal ramifications for our lives.

Christians’ desire for a new world, one in which each human being’s dignity and humanity are valued, necessitates a revolution in the economic, social, and political interactions that currently define our communities and globalized capitalism institutions. To challenge those systems by our words and deeds invites criticism, hatred, and antagonism from many in those communities. Shopping malls in Africa offer every possible luxury commodity to those who can buy them, while people starve and die a mile away. Drugs are unavailable to the poor in many parts of the world because patent rights, which protect drug companies’ profits, take precedence over the health and lives of the poor. Obscene poverty coexists with obscene wealth; exploitation and marginalization are seen as unavoidable, if unfortunate, byproducts of a world where “profit is the key motive for economic progress, competition the supreme law of economics, and private ownership of the means of production an absolute right that has no limits and carries no corresponding social obligation” (On the Development of Peoples, Pope Paul VI, 1967, para 2)

In Ghana, everything, including our basic needs, has increasingly become a commodity to be purchased by those who can afford to buy it: housing, education, health, childcare, elderly care, and the development and education of children with special needs are all readily available if you have the resources. If not, you rely on society’s willingness to provide resources that may be insufficient for the essential development and care that human dignity requires. Individuals’ basic necessities are human rights to which everyone is entitled by default and should not be dependent on the kindness – or lack thereof – of others.

All injustice denies a person’s dignity. Homeless individuals in Ghana live with the knowledge that they are not valuable enough to this society to ensure that they have a place to call home, despite the fact that many houses are vacant. Those who lack necessary medicines understand that their needs are less important than pharmaceutical corporations’ profits.

To fight injustice in the name of human dignity risks mockery, opposition, and rejection from many members of society who do not want the structures, policies, or financial resource allocations to change. To question the institutions, rules, or resource allocations that benefit the privileged is to risk the fury of those with too much to lose.
To live the Gospel of solidarity, to be motivated by Jesus’ zeal for an end to poverty and exploitation, and to build a world of justice and peace that represents God’s vision, is not for people who seek a quiet existence.

Conclusion

Jesus came to make God’s vision for our world a reality. A revolution is required to move the world from where it is now to where God wants it to be tomorrow. That revolution is the Christian community, referred to by Jesus as God’s kingdom or family. We, as a community, have a lot of soul searching and hard thinking to do. We are called to listen long and hard to the Gospel, to the King’s call, which invites us to transform this world through radical solidarity with all others, to follow him who gave his life for us by giving our own lives, as well as everything we have and are, to our brothers and sisters – a radical personal conversion that will revolutionize our world.