It is normal that all of us get used to things that we do routinely. We begin to do things automatically without even taking note of things, because we take things for granted that they would not change. That is how we could very easily become machines, and may lose the human element that is part and parcel of our very nature.

Consecrated persons are no exception to this law of life; the initial enthusiasm to serve God and his people may not stay too long. When the high aspirations come in contact with reality, much of the enthusiasm may vane, and we may be forced to accept reality as they stare at us directly. Even such noble ministry as serving the most deserving people in society might become a mere ritual, if we are not conscious of our commitment and be awake to the challenges facing us each day.

Certain amount of monotony is unavoidable and when we begin to take things for granted and do not take steps to reinvigorate ourselves, then there is a danger of ourselves becoming misfit in a society or community. We might face the danger of turning out to be mere social workers rather than being the messengers of God’s peace, justice and love.

Jesus did not call his disciples to give their lives to social work; the ministry of uplifting the downtrodden is only one aspect of the ministry of Jesus. It would have been easier for Jesus to engage his disciples in social development works and not the ministry of empowering the poor and the downtrodden, through focusing on psycho-spiritual aspects of their lives. The disciples therefore are invited to keep awake, so that in turn they might wake up others.

Even the best of things when done for a long period of time could become the most frustrating and painful reality. Take for instance, the most interesting works that we love to do could turn out to be most boring over time. If the consecrated persons do not wish to open their eyes and look around as to what could help them to truly give themselves for God, then nothing else can really give them the joy of contentment and ‘job satisfaction’.

There is an innovative way how elephants are domesticated. When a new calf is born, then the caretaker would take a rope and tie it around its leg, and tie the other end of the rope onto a tether, so that it knows it cannot run away from there. Now over time, the elephant would take it for granted that the caretaker has tied its leg with a tether and so would not even try to check if it so or not. Thus the caretaker would approach the calf and pretend to be tying the leg with a rope and then approach the tether and pretend to be tying the rope onto the tether and go in peace, knowing fully well that the elephant would not move even an inch from there.

Most often many of the consecrated persons might become disillusioned, burnt-out or embittered because they could not achieve the goal they had set for themselves. Many of the dreams of their younger might seem to be unattainable, and they could even think it is not worth continuing this life anymore. Their very future might become a big question mark before their eyes.

If we analyze what was causing them to reach such a rash conclusion, then we would understand that they were living their past in the present, and they hoped to take the past to the future too. They might have failed to recognize the golden moments of the present and respond to each such passing moment as a special gift of God for them to win riches for heaven. If they begin to make use of every day and every moment, then life cannot remain monotonous, but could become one of the most joyful experiences.

It is within our power to recognize the rope tied to our feet, so that when it is not around our legs, we know we have the freedom to move around and explore the beautiful world around us.

It is also possible that sometimes we like to remain in bondage and so might inflict bondage on ourselves and would cry for pity and sympathy from others. It is not impossible for us to untie the rope around our feel and experience the freedom of God’s children. Life then can become a joyful moment to go through.

One of the main reasons why we might land up in such situations is because we do not care to become conscious of the life we have voluntarily chosen, and might only wish to spend each day with so much of pain and anxiety.

Julian Das

Those who truly live out their lives of commitment cannot afford to cry over the past or the future, but might be immersed in cherishing the present moment. The past might have been painful and full of challenges, but they are only happy that they have crossed the thresholds of those painful moments and have come to the tranquil state, where they could recharge themselves and live life anew.

It is not impossible for us to get back to boost our energy levels, so that we do not experience the life sap being drained out at the end of each day; we need to rework on our expectations, the reality and how we could achieve what we had joined the life of consecration. We are also certain that we cannot make ourselves happy, but God is always by our side to make things happen in such a way that we would experience great peace and joy in him.

It is not enough to realize that we are asleep, but we should also take serious steps to wake up, so that we may experience the joy of being awake and waking up those who are still deprived of the joy of witnessing wonderful miracles taking place in front of our very eyes and ears.

Personal initiative is of prime importance in this endeavor in order to find meaning and significance in our life of commitment and service in the Lord.