In an important passage on Call in Isaiah there is a line that speaks of the challenge with which the future faces us. The prophet had just spoken of the great things Yahweh had done for the Israelites in the Exodus. Then he says: "Look, I am doing something new. Now it emerges; can you not see it?" (Is.43:18) The past is not where our lives will be lived, but rather the future that the Lord is laying our before us.

In Michael Crosby’s recent book, Can Religious Life Be Prophetic?, he reminds us about hopeful future projections made by religious leaders in the past. In 1989, the Leadership Conference of Woman Religious and the Conference of Major Superiors of Men met together to come up with what came to be called "Transformative Elements for Religious Life in the Future." The first two elements were by and large almost universally supported by the congregational leaders in attendance. The vision expressed at the meeting was to hopefully help transform religious life in North America by the year 2010. At the time of the meeting that was twenty years in the future. Vatican Council II was almost twenty-five years in the past.

It is interesting to reflect now on the two transformative elements as 2010 approaches in less than five years. Briefly stated the first transformative element of religious life in the year 2010 would be to serve a prophetic role in church and society. This would be done by:

1. critiquing societal and ecclesial values and structures;

2. as a result calling for systemic changes in society and the church;

3. and being converted by the marginalized with whom we will be serving.

The second transforming element for 2010 would be that religious will have a contemplative attitude toward all creation. This would be seen as:

1. religious become attentive to and motivated by the presence of the sacred in their own inner journeys, in the lives of others and throughout creation;

2. and as religious become conscious of seeing themselves and their communities as centers of spirituality and the experience of God for which people are hungering.

It is humbling to consider how religious leaders actually believed that such transformation would happen so quickly.

As you turn your eyes to the future, what do you see for religious life? What is this "something new" that is being born out of this age of restructuring, transition, chaos and hope in which we live? Listed below are only what one person sees as a few possible developments:

1....religious will develop ‘leaky’ boundaries while attempting to maintain uniqueness as they witness active collaboration in ministry, decision-making, and sharing our lives and resources.

2....religious will be tied less to institutions. Presence in corporate ministries will decline and as a result religious will have to foster a more spiritual commitment to each other in community.

3....religious will become missionaries again, as our founder once was, prophetic missionaries who witness the gospel, establish and get an evangelizing project going so that it can be handed over to others while we move on to other urgent needs in North America and even the world. We will truly respond to needs as they arise without creating permanent ministries or places for ourselves.

4....the model of community will be relational, not therapeutic. As adults we will honor each one’s gifts, but not be in constant need of affirmation from authorities. We will allow ourselves to be dislocated by the needs of the world and ready to serve.

5 ....religious will be on the periphery of society. The gospel values we stand for and live by will generally not be accepted in our society.

6....religious life will become more multi-cultural even to the extent of the changes that such a situation will necessitate in our lives together.

7....religious life will become poor again, having recaptured its charism by ministering and living among the poor and marginalized.

While facing the reality of our situation, we need to continue to dream dreams, particularly the dream of Edmund reclaimed and set free in this new province and generation of this twenty-first century. May God's plan for the future of religious life become more clearly revealed to us each day as we remain faithful to our calling, a faithfulness that is active, as 2 Timothy reminds us:

"That is why I am reminding you now to fan into flame the gift of God that you possess... God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but the Spirit of power and love and self-control. So you are never to be ashamed of witnessing to the Lord." (2 Tim.6,8)

Can Religious Life Be Prophetic? Michael H. Crosby, OFM Cap., Crossroad Publishing Company, New York, 2005.