Spouses or disciples of Jesus?

I want to tell you an anecdote that happened to me recently, it can give us some light on our journey as Missionary Dominican Sisters of the Rosary, whether we have traveled this road as spouses or disciples of Jesus. Perhaps, we may have started it as disciples and later on we became spouses, or we started it as spouses and later on we discovered that it was as disciples, each one knows, and we cannot deceive ourselves.

Well, as promised, what happened to me in Church History class, I must put it in context. Three years ago we started with Rosa Maria Marmolejos and Geraldina Cespedes the School of Theology and Pastoral Tatic Samuel for the formation of lay women and men. Although they are no longer here, the school continues with the sisters Eneida, Yaneth (now absent) and myself. When talking about the religious orders that arrived in the first evangelization at the time of the conquest, which are: Dominicans, Franciscans and Mercians: Dominicans, Franciscans and Mercedarians…. They asked me why there were three different ones? I tried to explain their origin, charism and contribution of each one, but it was not so clear and I gave a current example. Well, here in San Cristobal de las Casas we are different religious families, for example, there are the Poor Clares and we are the Poor Clares. I asked them, are we the same, do you want us all to get together? They remained silent and then said that we were not the same. To simplify the dialogue, we said that we are different, not only in the way we dress (they wear the same habit as their foundress 75 years ago), but in our thinking, “they are spouses of Christ and I (we) am a disciple of Jesus Christ”.

What is the background? A different way of understanding our life, a different theology of consecrated life, a different way of situating ourselves in life and with the people. I am not talking about the quality of our commitment, nor about the ethics of our life, but about what sustains our commitment in the midst of the people. We cannot continue thinking or teaching that we are the spouses of Christ, that is a pre-conciliar theology. Our challenge is how to situate ourselves as consecrated women in a religious family being with and among people, without seeking status, privileges.

We are in a time of synodality, from what we are, with a charism that continues to be current, how do we contribute to this “walking together” without privileges? Pushing a Church-community, a Church going out, a Church as a Field Hospital… and everything else that Pope Francis says. We cannot continue to reinforce a hierarchical Church and try to find our place in this pyramid. Perhaps it seems little to us to receive the gift of Baptism that makes us priestesses, prophets and servants… Let us remember what St. Augustine of Hippo said to Christians, “With you I am a Christian, for you I am a bishop”. Therein lies our greatness, we are baptized and we must reactivate all the energies that arise from this gift.

We are disciples, like those first followers of Jesus who, on the road they traveled with him, discovered him, loved him… Let us walk with Mary of Magdala, with Peter, with any of the disciples in an attitude of learning and allowing ourselves to be surprised by Jesus.  Let us return to Jesus and to the poor, as Pope Francis insists so much, in our case to the poor. Let us listen to the cry of women and Mother Earth, this will place us in the attitude of disciples. Let us open our home to friendship with the people like Martha and Mary and there we will discover Jesus. Let us put our life, our talents, our time at the service of the poor as did the women of the Gospel (Lk 8:1-3).

The Gospels continue to be our book of inspiration as they were for Ramón Zubieta and Ascensión Nicol, as they were for Dominic of Guzmán. Let us not lose ourselves in easy explanations of our options too, nor let us present it as our way. The way is that of Jesus: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. What a platform we have! Courage, and forgive my boldness, but these are times to go to the essential.

Humbelina del Caño

Missionary Dominican Sister of the Rosary

San Cristobal de Las Casas, Mexico.