Reflections on Simplicity in Religious Life

In considering the role of simplicity in living religious life, there are two quotations from St. Paul’s letters to the early Church that seem to capture its essence. The first is found in his letter to the Philippians (1:21). Paul is describing his imprisonment, well aware of the fact that it could end in his death. He is weighing the merits of continued ministry versus martyrdom. In his attempt to solve this dilemma, he cries out, “Life to me, of course, is Christ but then death would bring me something more.” Life is Christ! What could be more simple? What could be more challenging! The second is perhaps even more impassioned. In the third chapter of his letter to the Colossians, St. Paul is exhorting the Christian community to live as Christians! He tells them that their behavior must change—they cannot act as they did before they met Christ.

Knowing him must influence every aspect of their lives. And there can be no distinctions among them of race, nationality or social standing. In verse 11, Paul sums it up: “There is only Christ: he is everything and he is in everything.” This stark sentence is overwhelming in its implications! In the document Starting Afresh From Christ, we read: “It is precisely in the simple day-to-day living that consecrated life progressively matures to become the proclamation of an alternative way of living to that of the world and the dominant culture. Given this style of life and the search for the Absolute, it suggests as it were, a spiritual therapy for the evils of our time.

Thus, it is a blessing and a reason for hope, in the heart of the Church, for human life and the very life of the Church” (no. 6). “In simple day-to-day living . . .consecrated life progressively matures . . .” The purpose of consecrated life is conformity to Christ and, as we know, it is the work of a lifetime. It is in our daily efforts to follow Christ lovingly, faithfully, humbly, that those whom we encounter will see this “alternative way of living.” It may be very different from what they experience in their own “day-to-day.”

The simplicity of our life with its minimized and detached use of “things” can hold out to them the hope that happiness is not dependent on what they own or c ollect or what position they hold. Simplicity in our relationships will show them that persons are valued for being children of God, the dignity that belongs to everyone. Simplicity in our prayer will encourage others to approach God, confident of his unconditional love for them. Singleness of heart and purpose—simplicity—is a gift that consecrated persons receive through their profession of the evangelical counsels and it is a gift that continues to develop as it is used. The greater our own striving for simplicity, the greater will be our witness to others. Article 87 of Vita Consecrata, the passage to which Start Afresh From Christ refers, reminds us of the “prophetic task” that religious life has in today’s society. The clarity of this witness is enhanced by the simplicity of our lives.