The Consecrated Life

Mr. Pablo Cuadra

Religion Class
 What is Consecrated Life?
• A. Consecrated life or religious life is the total and
radical dedication of one’s life to God and his
kingdom.

• B. Consecrated persons are lay persons or clerics

who assume the evangelical counsels by means
of a sacred bond, and become members of an
institute of consecrated life according to the law of
the church (canon 573.2)

• C. This total dedication to God has as its goal the

pursuit for perfection in charity by faithfully
embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty,
chastity and obedience.

• D. In this sense, religious life is a free response to

the invitation of the Holy Spirit to follow Christ the
poor, the celibate, the obedient son, more closely
, thus becoming in this life a sign of the life to
come.

• E. Consecrated life emanates from our baptismal

call to be “witness” and servants of Christ and his
kingdom.

• F. Religious or consecrated life can be lived out in

community or individually but always as an
expression of the Church’s life, mission, service, Father Benedict Groeschel
and charisma. Founder of the Franciscan Friars of the renewal
 What are the evangelical
Counsels?
• A. The evangelical counsels are
three: chastity, poverty, and
obedience.

• B. These evangelical counsels

are acts of supererogation .What
does this mean? It means they
are performed beyond what is
required by God for our salvation.
Hence, not necessary conditions
without which eternal life cannot
be attained.

• C. Unlike the precepts of the

Gospel the evangelical counsels
are not binding upon all the
faithful.
 Did you Know?
• The Church distinguishes in the Gospel what
Our Lord ordered everyone to do – an
evangelical precept or command – and what
He advised only some to do if they feel a
special call to be perfect – an evangelical
counsel.
The most important precept is to love God
above everything and one’s neighbor as
oneself. It is called the Precept of Charity, or
New Commandment, that confirms the Ten
Commandments of the Old Testament.
 The Evangelical Counsels
“Poverty”
• Poverty: dependence on God alone.
Matthew 8:18-25

“When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross
to the other side of the lake. Then a teacher of the law came to
him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus
replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the
Son of Man has no place to lay his head."
Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my
father."
But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own
dead.“

Matthew 19:16-22

Now a man came up to Jesus and asked, "Teacher, what good

thing must I do to get eternal life?" "Why do you ask me about
what is good?" Jesus replied. "There is only One who is good. If
you want to enter life, obey the commandments."
"Which ones?" the man inquired.
Jesus replied, " 'Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not
steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,'
and 'love your neighbor as yourself.'
"All these I have kept," the young man said. "What do I still lack?"
Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your
possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in
heaven. Then come, follow me."
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he
had great wealth.
 The Evangelical Counsels
“Chastity”
• Chastity: To live for God alone

Matthew 19: 12
• “because some men are celibate from birth, while
some are celibate because they have been made
that way by others. Still others are celibate because
they have made themselves that way for the sake
of the kingdom of heaven. Let anyone accept this
who can."

Matthew 19: 27-29

Peter answered him, "We have left everything to

follow you! What then will there be for us?"
Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, at the
renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on
his glorious throne, you who have followed me will
also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes
of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or
fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as
much and will inherit eternal life.
Consecrated Virgin on the day
of her consecration in the Archdiocese
of Miami
 The Evangelical Counsels
“Obedience”
• Obedience: submission to God alone.

Philippians 2:6-9

Who, being in very nature God,

did not consider equality with
God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,

Matthew 16: 24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If

anyone wishes to come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take up his cross and
follow Me.”
 The Evangelical Counsels
• "No one can serve two masters; for either
he will hate the one and love the other, or
he will be devoted to one and despise the
other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”
Matthew 6:24

• Poverty: through poverty the religious

person empties himself or herself from the
need to possess in order to be possessed
by God alone, who alone is the true treasure
found in the field. Matthew 13:44

• Poverty is lived out through a simple life

devoid of excesses and luxuries. The
religious person only needs what is required
to subsist and to carry his or her mission of
service to the Church.

• In this way the religious person becomes

dependent on God alone and his divine
providence.
 The Evangelical Counsels
• Chastity: is the special call to live for God
alone. The ordering of one’s entire being
and sexuality to the devotion, service and
worship of God with an undivided concern
and love for him.

• St. Paul says:

“I would like you to be free from concern. An
unmarried man is concerned about the
Lord's affairs—how he can please the Lord.
But a married man is concerned about the
affairs of this world—how he can please his
wife— and his interests are divided. An
unmarried woman or virgin is concerned
about the Lord's affairs: Her aim is to be
devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit.
But a married woman is concerned about
the affairs of this world—how she can
please her husband. I am saying this for
your own good, not to restrict you, but that
you may live in a right way in undivided
devotion to the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 7:32-35
 The Evangelical Counsels
• Obedience: Submission to God
alone.

• Through obedience the religious

person subordinates his or her own
personal plans or wants in order to
be free to carry on the mission of the
Church, wherever and whenever the
Church’s mission of service needs
him or her.

• Religious men or women are under

the obedience of their religious
superiors who are elected by the
members of the religious community
to guide and direct the mission of that
particular religious community in the
name of God and of the Church.
 What are the forms of Consecrated
Life?
• A. The Eremitic or anchoritic life:
-Hermits or anchorites

• B. Consecrated Virgins

• C. Monastic life: Monks, Nuns, Brothers

• D. Consecrated Lay persons and clerics:

-religious sisters
-religious brothers
-religious priests

E. Consecrated widows and widowers

(Eastern Catholics).
 Did you know?
• Although in daily parlance we call all
religious women nuns. There is a
technical difference between a nun and
a religious sister.

• A nun is a woman who has adopted the

monastic life and lives cloistered in a
convent living a contemplative life of
prayer. She is the female equivalent of a
monk.

• A religious sister on the other hand, is a

woman who has an active apostolate in
the world and is not confined to the
monastic life of a convent. In this sense,
all nuns are sisters but nor all sisters are
nuns.

• The male equivalent for a nun and

religious sister is a religious brother.
Brothers can be monastic or have an
active apostolate in the world.
 What are the two main expressions
of consecrated life?
• There are two main expressions of
consecrated life:

• A. Active or apostolic: This means the

religious person serves the church in a
particular ministry, for example: education,
healthcare, or prison ministry among
others.

• B. Contemplative or monastic: the

religious person lives a monastic life
dedicated to prayer for the church and the
monastic community. This also includes
manual labor for self-sustenance.

• C. Whether active or contemplative all

religious share three basic characteristics:

1.The profession of the evangelical

counsels. Marist brother
2. Separation from the mundane.
3. Community life.
How is the consecrated life
structured?
• Consecrated life is organized and
structured through different institutes
or societies. These are:

• A. Religious Institutes
• B. Secular Institutes

• A third, called Societies of Apostolic

life although it shares many common
elements with religious institutes of
consecrated life is not technically a
form of consecrated life.

Trappist Monks
 What are religious institutes?
• Religious institutes are communities of men
and women religious who profess the
evangelical counsels. They are divided into
religious order and religious congregations.

• A. Religious orders: These institutes are

the major expression of consecrated life,
these institutes are historically older than
religious congregations they appear at the
beginning of the fourth century.

• Their members take solemn vows. Their

members are called regulars, and if they are
women they are called nuns.

• B. Religious congregations: These

institutes appeared at the end of the 16th
century and in the 17th century. The
members of these congregations take
simple vows.

• C. Religious orders and congregations can

be clerical or lay.
 Did you know?
• In the Canon law of the Roman
Catholic Church, public vows are
either simple vows or solemn vows.

• Professed members of religious

orders take solemn vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience while
members of religious congregations
take simple vows.

• The practical difference lies in the vow

of poverty. While in simple vows, a
person maintains the right to own
goods, he or she cedes their
administration, in solemn vows a
person renounces the right of
ownership of goods.
Characteristics of religious
institutes
• Religious institutes can be clerical or lay
institutes.

• A. Clerical institutes are those governed by

clerics, assume the exercise of sacred
orders, and are recognized by the Church
as clerical institutes.

• An example of this type of institute is the

Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the
Congregation of the most Holy Redeemer
(Redemptorists).

• B. Lay institutes: an institute of religious life

whose spiritual heritage does not include
the exercise of sacred orders. An example
of this type of institute are all the institutes
of women and brothers religious. Marist
brothers and the sisters of Mercy are an
example of this type of institute.
 Did you know?
• An institute of consecrated life
is said to be of pontifical right if
the Holy See has erected it or
approved it through a formal
decree.

• An institute of consecrated life

is said to be of diocesan right if
it is approved by the diocesan
bishop.

• An institute approved by the

bishop can petition for
recognition by the Holy See,
specially if the institute has
grown significantly and
expanded into other dioceses.
 What are Secular Institutes?
• Secular Institutes are the newest form of
consecrated life within the Catholic Church.
“They are in the world, but not of the world,
but for the world.”

• Unlike religious institutes (orders and

congregations), Secular institutes are not
religious communities with a common
house and public vows and financial
responsibility for members.

• Instead, Secular institutes are organizations

of like-minded Catholic laity or clerics who
share a certain vision lived out personally,
not communally.

• Unlike Societies of Apostolic Life, secular

institutes are not an association with a
singular missionary purpose in which all
participate; instead they are committed to
encouraging individuals striving for holiness
in a vast variety of apostolates with
common gospel values.
 Secular Institutes
• A. Members of the secular institutes live out the
evangelical counsels in the midst of the secular
world, hence, the name secular institutes.

• B. Their mission is to evangelize the secular, to

bring the kingdom of God into the spheres of their
respective professions, relationships, and lives.

• C. Members of secular Institutes are lay people with

regular professions and jobs. For example:

• He or she could be the paramedic saving your life

or your children’s teacher or the lawyer handling
your case or the firefighter responding to an
emergency. He or she could be the bank teller
handling your deposit or the mechanic fixing your
car. He or she could be the receptionist at the office
where you work or the doctor performing your
surgery. He or she could be your next door
neighbor or colleague.

• Members of secular institutes live alone in their

homes or apartments or they may choose to share
a residence with other members. They share
fellowship through days or recollections, retreats,
conferences and social meetings with each others.
 Did you know?
• Secular Institutes were established in 1947
by Pius XII in his encyclical Provida Mater
Ecclesia, making it one of the newest forms
of consecrated life. There are approximately
60,000 members belonging to 20 secular
institutes.
 Societies of Apostolic Life
• Societies of Apostolic life are not technically
a form of consecrated life although it shares
many of the elements found in religious
institutes such as the commitment to the
evangelical counsels and living in
community . However, their members are
not called religious.

• Members of Societies of Apostolic life do

not take religious vows. They can own
property. Emphasis is given to the mission
of the society. This mission could be :
education, healthcare, missionary work etc.
The society needs the permission of the
local bishop in order to operate in a
particular diocese.

• Like religious institutes their members can

be clerical or lay. The life of the society is
regulated by constitutions approved by the
Church. An example of this type of society
are the Maryknoll missionaries. Maryknoll Sister
 Other forms of Consecrated life
• A. Order of Virgins (Consecrated virgins):

A woman living in the world who has never married or

lived in open violation of chastity, and who by age,
prudence, and good character is deemed suitable for
dedicating herself to a life of chastity in the service of
the Church and of her neighbor may petition her bishop
to receive the Consecration.

She must be admitted to this Consecration by her local

Bishop; it is he who determines the conditions under
which the candidate is to undertake a life of perpetual
virginity lived in the world.

Usually, a woman who aspires to the Consecration

works with a spiritual director and has lived a private
promise of perpetual virginity for some years before
seeking the Consecration of a Virgin.

It is understood that a laywoman aspiring to the

Consecration of a Virgin is able to support herself by
work or pension or independent means and has
provided financially for her medical care.

A woman aspiring to the Consecration should be

practicing her faith. She accepts the teaching of the
Church and Sacred Scripture, with a readiness and
capacity for personal growth. She should be able to
give herself totally to God and the Church. Consecrated Virgin on the day
Source: (USACV)
Of her consecration before the
bishop
 The Eremitic or anchorite Life
• This form of consecrated life pertains to
hermit or anchorites.

• The eremitic or anchorite life is the oldest

form of consecrated life in the church dating
back to the third century. It is the first form
of monastic life.

• Through this form of consecration the

Christian faithful devote their life to the
praise of God and salvation of the world
through a stricter separation from the world,
the silence of solitude and assiduous prayer
and penance" (cf. The Code of Canon Law,
1983, canon 603 §1).

• A hermit is recognized in the law of the

Catholic Church "as one dedicated to God
in a consecrated life if he or she publicly
professes the three evangelical counsels,
confirmed by a vow or other sacred bond, in
the hands of the diocesan bishop and
observes his or her own plan of life under
his direction" (cf. canon 603 §2).

Thomas Merton was a monk and a

Hermit at one point.
 Did you know?
• No one living as a hermit is forced to seek
the Church's recognition.

• But if a hermit feels called to be recognized

by the Catholic Church "as one dedicated to
God in a consecrated life", with all the
consequences this has, then it is an
indispensable requirement of The Code of
Canon Law 1983 that he or she professes
the three evangelical counsels.

• A hermit without the Church’s recognition

remains free to marry. One that is
recognized by the Church requires an indult
to be free from his or her promise to
chastity.
 Eastern Catholics
• Did you know? Although the Latin Code of
Canon law does not make provisions for
widows and widowers.

• The Eastern Code of Canon Law (No.570)

does make provisions for widows and
widowers to be part of the consecrated life
by a vow of perpetual chastity that allows
them to dedicate their lives to prayer and
the service of the Church.

• In the west, a widow or widower may seek

admission into consecrated life either
through a religious institute (orders or
congregations) or a secular institute.
 Did you know?
• Catholic religious orders and
congregations have counterparts
in the Anglican communion. For
example, there are Anglican
Benedictines and Franciscans
among others.

• Some Lutheran denominations

have monastic communities or
religious men and women.

Anglican monks
 John Paul II
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.
In every age there have been men and women who, obedient to the Father's call and
to the prompting of the Spirit, have chosen this special way of following Christ, in
order to devote themselves to him with an "undivided" heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:34). Like the
Apostles, they too have left everything behind in order to be with Christ and to put
themselves, as he did, at the service of God and their brothers and sisters. In this
way, through the many charisms of spiritual and apostolic life bestowed on them by
the Holy Spirit, they have helped to make the mystery and mission of the Church
shine forth, and in doing so have contributed to the renewal of society.
Are You interested in the religious
life?
Important Websites
• http://www.secularinstitutes.org/
• http://www.usccb.org/vocations/

• To learn about the monastic life

http://www.slideshare.net/pcuadra/monasticism-144810
 The End

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