Ad Honorem Immaculatae Conceptionis Mariae Oblatio

147 The Primacy of Self-Gift: The Proper Order of the Oblatio When the three aspects (divine consecration, self-offering and dedica- tion, and the profession of the evangelical counsels) are held together in tension and in proper order, it becomes apparent that the profession of the evangelical counsels is not an end in itself but rather a means to more fully receiving the gift of God and for more fully giving of oneself to Him. The profession of the counsels manifests itself as an end in itself when the exter- nal observance of rules is unduly emphasized, without the corresponding interior dynamism of self-gift. The proper goal of the evangelical counsels is to make Christ visible to the world. 28 The counsels are thus expressions of the work of the Spirit, who moves the heart of each Marian to respond fully to the Father by configuring him to Christ. 29 The Holy Spirit thus imprints upon the entire person, like a potter upon his clay (cf. Is 64:8; Jer 18:1-10), the sentiments of Christ (cf. Phil 2:5-8; 1 Cor 2:16). 30 In this regard, the path of the evangelical counsels serves as the complement to total self-offering as the particular means chosen by Christ and Mary Immaculate to grow in that self-offering unto death (cf. Jn 13:1-2; Phil 2:6-11) . Such consecration signifies a death to the mode of existence of this world, so as to assimilate oneself already now to the mode of existence of Christ in the Kingdom to come (cf. 1 Cor 7:29-31) In recognizing the divine action of consecration as a call to total self- gift, man discovers that he never belonged to himself, but only to the Lord, who created us in His image and likeness (cf. Romans 14:7-9; Genesis 1:27). In truth, no person – particularly no religious – is ever in total posses- sion of himself; rather, man always belongs to God as His beloved creature and son. Sin is the attempt to sever that filial dependence on the Father. Through such a radical self-surrender to the Father in imitation of Jesus, 28 Vita Consecrata , n. 1: “By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic fea- tures of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly ‘visible’ in the midst of the world..” n. 18: “The evangelical counsels, by which Christ invites some people to share his experience as the chaste, poor and obedient One, call for and make manifest in those who accept them an explicit desire to be totally conformed to him.” 29 Ratio Formationis, n. 18. “It is the Holy Spirit who has moved our hearts to respond fully to God’s call to take up the Marian way of life. It is he who guides the growth of this desire, help- ing it to mature into a positive response and sustaining it as it is faithfully translated into daily life; it is he who shapes and molds our hearts, configuring us to Christ and prompting us to make his mission our own.” 30 cf. A. Cencini, I Sentimenti di Figlio: Il cammino formativo nella vita consecrata (EDB 1998).