At the beginning of this Year for Consecrated Life (the First Sunday of Advent 2014 until the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in 2016 Feb. 2), we discussed in general what the consecrated life is and its essential characteristics. This article focuses more closely on the commonly known, though not commonly understood, vows of poverty, chastity and obedience.
To help the Church understand Consecrated Life more fully, Pope St. John Paul II issued the Apostolic Exhortation
Vita Consecrata in 1996. It reads in part:
“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 simpler terms, consecrated men and women commit themselves to following a lifestyle in the radical example of Christ: poor, chaste, and obedient. Through this lifestyle, they are set apart to give witness of these characteristics of Christ to the world as an example so that everyone can more readily accept the Gospel. They are permanently set apart by a formal public profession of the Evangelical Counsels of
Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience.
- In Poverty, consecrated persons live a radical dependence on Christ for their material needs. While this partially refers to material poverty, there are many ways to understand and live material poverty. But the goal is a simplification of life such that the consecrated person can develop a more intimate trust in God's providence and be an example to the world of radical trust in God.
- In Chastity, consecrated persons give witness to their special and unique bond with Jesus Christ. Consecrated chastity is fulfilled primarily in the observance of sexual continence, but its goal is a complete gift of oneself to Christ, which also enables a more generous gift of self to his brothers and sisters who are in need. In this way, they are an example to the world of the selfless love Christ has for us, and to which we are all called.
- In Obedience, consecrated persons sacrifice their own will to become God’s instruments in the world. While consecrated obedience is generally observed by receiving and following commands from human superiors, the consecrated person knows that the will of God is made manifest in the directives of those superiors. In this way, they give to the world an example of docility to the will of God.
Consecrated men and women are often thought of as especially holy people, but the reality is that they are normal people who have heard and accepted a Divine call to live an exemplary life of holiness through the Evangelical Counsels. As we read in
Vita Consecrata, “The first duty of the consecrated life is
to make visible the marvels wrought by God in the frail humanity of those who are called. They bear witness to these marvels not so much in words as by the eloquent language of a transfigured life, capable of amazing the world.”
Consider what God may be calling you to do with your life. Know that He doesn't just call holy people to live the Consecrated Life; He calls normal people to live it in order that they can become holy and also set the world on fire.
