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Consecrated Life
The Holy Spirit calls some persons to live a life totally focused on
Christ, through prayer and in mission to the world, by living a form of
consecrated life. By choosing religious life a person is accepting to live
the Gospel with others who have received the same call from the Holy Spirit.
Consecrated life is usually lived in community and has a pattern of private
and community prayer. Members of these communities commit themselves to the
traditional vows of
evangelical poverty,
evangelical chastity and
evangelical obedience and undertake some form
of mission to the world according to the
Charism
of the specific Institute.
Consecrated Life includes Institutes for:
- Religious Priests,
- Religious Brothers, and
- Religious Sisters.
There are various forms of Consecrated Life in the Church, the main branches
being:
- Apostolic Religious Life;
- Contemplative Religious Life;
- Monastic Life;
- Secular Institutes.
Religious Life as a Sister, Brother or Priest
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Diocesan and Religious Priests
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A Diocesan priest lives a life of service, bringing Christ to others in
word
and sacrament, in a particular geographical area and while belonging to a
particular diocese.
Religious priests practise the priesthood in any
place
to which they are sent by their Institute. They live in community the
particular form of life of their Order or Congregation, faithful to the
charism
of the founder.
Religious brothers live in community the particular form of life of
their
Order or Congregation, faithful to the
charism
of the founder. They are
dedicated to service in accordance with the mission of their Institute.
Religious sisters live in community the particular form of life of their
Order or Congregation, faithful to the
charism
of the founder. They are
dedicated to service in accordance with the mission of their Institute.
Contemplative religious live in community the particular form of life of
their Order or Congregation, faithful to the
charism
of the founder. They
are dedicated to a life of constant prayer for the Church as they seek
intimacy with God.
Monastic religious live a life of stability in community, according to
the
particular form of life of their Order or Congregation and faithful to the
charism
of the founder. They are dedicated to a life in which prayer and
work are harmoniously combined, while they strive for conversion and the
deepening of the spirit.
Members of a Secular institute live the particular lifestyle adopted by
their
group and faithful to the
charism
of the founder. They strive for a life of
holiness while living in the world. They are dedicated to bringing the
Gospel message to others by living and working alongside them.
Prayer
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Ask and it will be given to you; search and you will find;
knock and the door will be opened to you.
Luke 11:9
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A religious Brother working with youth
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Prayer is at the centre of the life of a religious, deepening their
awareness of the presence of God and leading them to bring to others an
awareness of this presence.
Prayer nourishes their individual lives and sustains them in the spreading
of the Gospel.
The celebration of the Eucharist is at the centre of the prayer life of a
religious. When they take part in the Liturgy, they stand with Christ,
offering praise and thanksgiving to the Creator and interceding for the
needs of the world.
The universal Prayer of the Church - the Liturgy of the Hours - is one of
the principal elements of Religious Life. This Prayer extends the
Eucharistic worship of God into the different hours of daily life.
In order to foster a deeper relationship with God, religious spend time each
day apart in personal prayer. This prayer is nourished by silent awareness
of the presence of God and by spiritual reading, especially the prayerful
reading of Scripture.
Religious also make an annual Retreat and are encouraged to take part in
periodic days of recollection, both individually and in community.
Community Life
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Behold how good and
how pleasant it is
when we live together in unity.
Psalm 133:1
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Companions of St Angela -
Diocesan Congregation
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The purpose of community life is for religious to support each other in
ministry and to bear communal witness to Gospel values. By their
consecration they are called to be of one mind and one heart in the Lord.
Religious communities are places in which Christ's command to "love one
another" is lived, and in striving to do this religious experience both the
support and the suffering which are part of their commitment to one another
in faith.
Religious are sent out in mission to the world by the community and return
to our communities to be refreshed by the prayers and good will of the
community. They share faith and doubts, joys and sorrows, prayer and work
with each other. Community life is lived in an atmosphere of prayer and
silence, where religious listen to God and to each other. Difficulties and
differences can be an enrichment and a cross, but contribute to growth in
love and faith. Community life, when lived well, will make religious who
they are called to be.
Mission
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This is what Yahweh asks of you, that you act justly,
that you love tenderly, that you walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8
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Religious Sisters from various
international Congregations
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Following Jesus Christ, religious work to spread the Kingdom of God on
earth. This is carried out in the diverse ministries of the various
congregations. Religious today are engaged in a wide variety of apostolates,
e.g. parish pastoral work, education, health, working with the homeless and
poor, teaching, lecturing and writing, working with young people and
families, counselling, conference and retreat work, chaplaincies,
publishing, tending the dying, Hospice and HIV/AIDS work, etc.
Each person comes to Religious life with their own gifts, talents, history
and experience, hopes and visions, and they are encouraged to integrate
these and to put them at the service of God and of God's people.
Vows
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Go, and sell everything you own
and give the money to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven;
then come, follow me.
Mark 10:21
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The vows of a Religious are a call to freedom for God and others. Religious
makes vows to God of Evangelical Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. These vows
are in direct contradiction to the values of society.
- Evangelical Poverty:
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Religious give up the right to independently own and administer material
goods. They choose to live simply and to hold all things in common. They
undertake to share their possessions, time, talents, energy and resources to
fulfil their mission of service to the Church and the world. This creates a
spirit of detachment from material goods and an attitude of total dependence
on God. Poverty helps religious focus on Jesus Christ and his love and frees
them from worldly concerns for availability to God's people.
Poverty is a moving away from selfishness so as to be free to share and use
for others all that the religious have and receive, including their talents,
possessions and time.
- Evangelical Chastity:
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Through Evangelical Chastity religious give themselves completely to Jesus
Christ, loving him alone and in him all those with whom they come into
contact. This loving relationship with Jesus is possible by God's grace and
is sustained and deepened through prayer, service and loving, non-exclusive
human relationships. The deeper the religious's relationship with Christ
becomes, the more all embracing and true is their love for others.
Chastity focuses the love and actions of religious on Christ and his people.
In their dedication to God, they are witnesses in the world to his care and
providence for all who live.
- Evangelical Obedience:
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Obedience is understood as listening for the will of God, which will be
found in prayer, by reflection on Scripture, through knowledge of the
Church's teaching and the Constitutions of the person's Order or
Congregation and in the signs of the times. The will of God is found in
dialogue with those in leadership. It is rooted in faith and in a belief
that God's plan will be accomplished through those He has called for a
specific purpose. This vow requires a surrender in faith to a loving God, an
acceptance of God's will in imitation of the obedient Christ. "I have come
so that they may have life and have it to the full" (Jn.10:10)
Obedience is a listening and personal response to the Lord's constant call
and challenge in the lives of religious. It moves and directs them to the
needs of God's people and of God's world today.
Specific Ways in which Consecrated Life may be Lived
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A Sister renews her vows on her Golden Jubilee
of religious profession
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The following information is taken from the
Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata of the Holy Father John Paul II
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Apostolic Religious Life:
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In this form of religious life, persons renounce the world and consecrate
themselves to God through the public profession of the evangelical counsels,
according to the specific
charism
of the founder of a particular religious
order or congregation. Inspired by the love of God, they are devoted to
apostolic and missionary activity and to the many different needs of the
Church and the world
[ Back to Table of Contents ]
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A Benedictine Brother receives
his habit from the Prior of
the Monastery, as he commences
the Novitiate period.
(St Benedict's Abbey, Limpopo)
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Contemplative Religious Life:
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These men and women devote themselves completely to contemplation. In
solitude and silence, by listening to the word of God, participating in
divine worship, personal asceticism, prayer and communal love, their whole
lives and all their activities are directed to the contemplation of God. In
this way they witness to the Church's love for the Lord and contribute to
the Church's mission to the world by praying for apostolic fruitfulness in
the development of the Kingdom of God
[ Back to Table of Contents ]
- Monastic Life:
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Western Monasticism is inspired by St. Benedict. Leaving behind the world,
monks and nuns seek God through the harmonious balance between prayer and
work, committing themselves to conversion of life, obedience and stability.
They are faithfully dedicated to meditation on God's word, the celebration
of the Liturgy and prayer. Monasteries are a sign of spiritual realities,
community, hospitality; they are centres of faith, study, dialogue and a
means of building up the life of the Church, while remaining in expectation
of the heavenly city
[ Back to Table of Contents ]
- Secular Institutes:
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Members of Secular Institutes seek to live out their consecration to God in
the world. They live out the evangelical counsels in the midst of temporal
realities and so hope to be a leaven of wisdom and a witness of grace within
cultural, economic and political life. They strive to transfigure the world
from within by shedding the light of the Gospel on ordinary life and thus
ensuring that the Church has an effective presence in Society
[ Back to Table of Contents ]
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The Order of Virgins, Hermits and Widows/Widowers:
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"Consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, these women (belonging to the Order of
Virgins), acquire a particular link with the church, which they are
committed to serve, while remaining in the world."
"Men and women hermits...being directly dependent on the Bishop, bear
witness to the passing nature of the present age by their inward and outward
separation from the world. By fasting and penance, they show that man does
not live by bread alone, but by the word of God (Matthew 4:4)".
Widows and widowers: "These women and men, through a vow of perpetual
chastity as a sign of the Kingdom of God, consecrate their state of life in
order to devote themselves to prayer and the service of the Church."
[ Back to Table of Contents ]
Contact Details
For more information, contact the
Department of Vocations
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You did not choose me,
no, I chose you;
and I commissioned you
to go out and bear fruit,
fruit that will last;
John 15:16
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