Jesus Christ proposes the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience as a way of life for every disciple. The profession of these counsels, within a permanent state of life recognized by the Church, is what characterizes a life consecrated to God. Some individuals answer the call to consecrated life by serving in a religious order, others answer the call as consecrated virgins and widows, and still others respond to live more radically as hermits. According to The Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The state of consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a ‘more intimate’ consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God. In the consecrated life, Christ’s faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come (paragraph 916).”
Pope Saint John Paul II wrote in his apostolic exortation Vita Consecrata: “The consecrated life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly “visible” in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven.”
On this webpage, Fr. John Burns eloquently explains the role of consecrated religious women in the Church in the video A Problem and a Paradigm. When the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience are lived out and made visible, this serves as an eschatological sign – a sign that points all of us to heaven. When women answer the call to be a Bride of Christ, this prefigures the reality we all hope to someday obtain when we enter the Kingdom of Heaven where we will encounter the Eternal Bridegroom, Jesus Christ.
Thank you for your interest and support of consecrated life. Under “Helpful Resources,” you will find the Friends of the Bridegroom prayer card for religious life. Please consider praying and fasting at least once a week for the renewal of religious life, particularly in the Salina Diocese. Imagine the change we would see in the life of the Church if we prayed for the renewal of religious life every day! May God bless you!