Parable and Conscience Meditation September 11

Obedience  September 11

The vow of obedience requires . . . acceptance of the decisions of the Chapter and/or of the superior (European Provincial Statutes, 1.26).

I profess obedience because:

            --I see in Christ Risen that God has a plan for humanity, the objective of which is the re-creation of the world in glory;

            --I believe that this plan is communicated always and everywhere by God's Word in the Church and in the events and persons in the contemporary world;

            --I have confidence in the gift of leadership given to the Church by Christ, which my superiors participate in to verify the way;

            --I accept the tradition of the Church that invites me to submit to the judgment of legitimate authority on the way to the Kingdom rather than favor my own judgment;

            --I expect to hear the call of God in the sharing of believers and, more particularly, in the dialogue that happens in my religious community;

            --I retain the right to speak prophetically when I judge that the integrity of the Gospel is being threatened;

            --I count on my personal conscience to guide me in situations where I doubt the morality of what obedience demands of me.

Even if the elephant is skinny, it remains king of the forest.  (Duala)