Why the vow of Obedience?

Why the vow of Obedience?

"I came down from Heaven, not to do My own Will, but the Will of Him that sent Me." Obedience is probably the earthly purgatory of most religious, yet their comfort as well. Most humans do not know when they perform any act whether they are doing the Will of God or their own will, but not the religious. Her superior is God's representative and that superior's legitimate commands are indeed the Will of God for her. She has the satisfaction of knowing she does God's Will at all times. Ah, but the purgatory or martyrdom lies in the constant self-annihilation it requires: to do something repugnant to nature, to have your opinions disregarded, to be no longer the master of your own life. The servant is not above the Master, and just as Christ's obedience to His Father's Will led Him to the Cross, so too the religious takes up these crosses to follow Him. By the practice of this virtue she gains the most merit since it extends over all her actions and ennobles and sanctifies them. "Let a man be divested of self-will and there shall be, for him. neither sin nor Hell." (St. Bernard).