by Brother Gregory Cellini, O.S.F.

Having been born in the late 1950s, I know virtually nothing about Vatican II. As little as my knowledge is about the Second Vatican Council, that is how great my belief is in the future of religious life.

Vatican II has empowered a generation that very much desires to change the world. Many of today’s young adults no longer dream about being a tycoon on Wall Street or reaching the ivory towers of a major corporation. On the contrary, they see a world in desperate need of Gospel values and are committed to dedicating their lives to integrate these values into this broken world.

Typical are five young adults who founded Maggie’s Place headquartered in Phoenix. In 1999, these women had a crazy idea: to start a home that would welcome expectant mothers with no place else to turn. When doubters told them this was an impossible task, they simply pointed to the Gospels and the precedent for the impossible they contain. During the next 12 years, Maggie’s Place would save hundreds of babies in homes in Arizona, Idaho and Ohio. Maggie’s is now looking to partner with a congregation to start a home in Brooklyn/Queens. What could be more Gospel-like than saving an unborn child, truly the most voiceless of all the voiceless?!

I have no doubt that the congregations having the courage to radically embrace ministries different then they historically supported – ones like Maggie’s Place – will reap vocations from these partnerships. Integrate caring young adults with religious and what do you get? More religious!

Why do I say this? Because of our way of living. We have this incredible life containing a foundation of prayer that is the bedrock for ministry and community. I witness to you firsthand how much more fulfilling and nourishing my life is in the last six years since entering the Franciscan Brothers.

One great aspect of our lives is connection. Sadly, most people today are mainly connected to cell phones, iPads and other gadgets. We, being counter-cultural, are connected to God and His beloved children.

Another wonderful feature of our vocation is living in the present and the serenity this brings. We are not stuck in the past, concerned with when Friday is going to get here or worried about our to-do list. All we need to focus on is being at this moment the joy-filled person God wants us to be and to love whomever God has now placed in front of us. It is so easy to take for granted the beauty of our life, especially after having been in it for 40, 50, 60 or more years. In this Year of Faith, all we need to do is to believe in our way of life and share with the world its greatness.

Jesus is the author and sustainer of religious life. It is Jesus who encourages us in this age, as in every age, to “go out into the deep.” It is Jesus who inspires the irresistible call to conformity to a life in love with the Father, in total dependence on the Father for everything and in a continual stance of loving attentiveness to hear and fulfill the Father’s will. Only Jesus living in everyone makes this possible! It is Jesus who will invite this generation and future ones to religious life.[hr]

Brother Gregory works at St. Francis College, Brooklyn Heights.