All Christians are called to live good, faithful and chaste lives with a degree of poverty. A Vocation to a Consecrated Life, often reffered to as the ‘Religious Life’ is a call to live in closer conformity to him, becoming a sign for others of the life to come when we shall all be in conformity to the Lord. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states it “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.” (CCC 916)
However, a Vocation to a Consecrated Life isn’t just limited to joining this or that community of monks or nuns. It is possible to live a consecrated life in the secular world.
Consecrated Life as Religious Life… Religious Life consists of Priests, Brothers (Monks) or Sisters (Nuns) living in Communities that embrace the spirituality, charism, and teachings of their founder. Members of these Communities take vows of poverty, celibate chastity, and obedience. Within the Archdiocese of Cardiff Religious Life is represented by the Benedictines at Belmont Abbey, Poor Clares (Franciscan Sisters) at Much Birch, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Annecy, the Rosminian Fathers, the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate, the Daughters of the Holy Spirit, the Benedictine Nuns of Holy Trinity, the Missionaries of Charity and the Passionist Sisters. You can find out more about each of these under the Religious Communities in Cardiff page.
Consecrated Life as a member of a Secular Institute… Single or married lay men and women, and also some priests, belong to secular institutes. They make a commitment to live the “evangelical counsels” of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Members do not necessarily live together as a Community. Their goal is to be a transforming Christ-like presence in society. (Also see Third Orders and Oblates)
Consecrated Virginity… Some females who are still virgins, feel that the Lord is calling them to consecrate their lives entirely to him. They make a formal profession of virginity and vow to remain a virgin “for the sake of the kingdom”. More information about this state of life can be found here.
As with every Vocation, a period of time discerning which way of Consecrated Life you are being called to needs to be undertaken. If you feel you would like to explore a Vocation to the Consecrated Life, either speak to the appropriate religious order, secular institute or someone who is a consecrated virgin to seek counsel.
