A call often more fundamental to our lives than the pursuit of our professional ambitions is the call to marriage or to consecrated life.
"The path of faith can lead to a particular life choice: marriage or consecrated life. Yet we never speak of the sacrament of marriage or holy orders for people with disabilities, nor of consecrated life. In this way, serious vocational discernment is bypassed." ("When Vocation Belongs to the Disabled" by Stefano Toschi, 1995)
Can a person with a disability today answer his or her vocation?
In this issue, we sought out people with disabilities who have answered the call to consecrated life. We wanted to discover how they managed to fulfill the concrete desire to say yes to the Lord's calling.
We asked whether the situation has evolved in this area too — whether a person with a disability has the real possibility of being supported in discerning his or her vocation, and which religious congregations welcome people with disabilities.
Our search led us to some beautiful and meaningful encounters, though sadly quite rare: the Roveto community of Sant'Ilario near Milan, Cristina Acquistapace (a woman with Down syndrome, consecrated in the Ordo Virginum), and the Little Sisters of the Lamb in France — whose testimonies we publish in the pages that follow.
As for men, the experiences seem quite sparse, though we did find some testimonies from priests with physical disabilities. Through our French counterpart, Ombres et Lumière, we discovered "La Congregazione Notre-Dame d'Espérance," founded in 1966 by Benedictine monk Henri-Marie Guilluy. It welcomes both people in good health and those with psychological disabilities or physical frailty, giving them the possibility to live out monastic vocation according to the Rule of Saint Benedict.
Certainly much work remains to be done. Yet some have already begun the journey, responding to a voice that said "follow me," thanks also to those who showed them the way.
Rita Massi, 2016