Religious LifeReligious LifeDedicated to GodDedicated to God

In the Catholic TraditionIn the Catholic Tradition• Religious: usually refers to people who

choose to live in communities where members bow solely to serve God

• All Christians are called to be religious– To live out their faith in the way that God calls

them to

• Term used for sister, brothers, and priests

• Religious orders: groups officially recognized by the Catholic church

• Founded shortly after the time of Jesus

What do religious people do?What do religious people do?

• Wide variety of jobs

• Most priests-diocesan– Assigned to a specific job

• Spreading the Good News, promoting life and human dignity are central

What makes religious life What makes religious life different from single life?different from single life?

• Religious take vows to serve God alone

• Follow a “rule of life”

– Unique to each congregation

– Gives substance to the vows by specifying how an individual will fulfill the mission of the congregation

– Gives instructions about essential elements: Community, Prayer, and Service

CommunityCommunity

• Support and challenge

• Can provide concerned listening, practical advice, and words of encouragement and humor

• Challenge one to remember that God is present in each person they are ministering to as well as within a community

• Most communities were founded to serve the human community in a specific way

PrayerPrayer• Essential element of religious life• Religious persons often work with life’s

most difficult decision• Focus on God, the center of existence• Takes different forms: Eucharist,

meditation, shared reflection• Renews sense of the Holy Spirit dwelling

within• Gives strength• Work is prayer

ServiceService• Religious serve in a variety of ways

• Founded to meet specific needs

• Schools, hospitals, orphanages

• If a need exists a religious community will likely try to meet it

• Ministries need to reflect the mission of Jesus and the spirit of the congregations founder

Religious VowsReligious Vows• Through the vows men and women are

consecrated to God• Dedicated in a solemn, sacred way• Committing themselves to community, prayer and

service• Gift from God• Public statements• Take three vows: poverty, chastity, obedience• Take on a commitment to listen to God’s call to

love follow and serve no matter where that may lead

PovertyPoverty• Means having little• Have few material possessions

– Avoid distractions that come with materials

• Follow Jesus’ command to share with those in need

• Committed to live simply and share• Reminder that their lives should be like

Jesus• Goods of the earth are meant for

everyone

ChastityChastity• A promise to to love in a way that frees the religious

person to respond to humankind• Includes a pledge to celibacy: to abstain from

sexual behavior• Focus all energies on building the kingdom of God• Freedom that comes with chastity is essential• Pledge to build community

– At home– At work

• Urges religious to stay in communication with God• Rely on affection and affirmation of God

ObedienceObedience• Comes from Latin root word meaning “to

listen”• Pledge to listen to God’s call and what God

wills in a particular situation• Requires open attitude• Respect for God• Seen and heard in a variety of ways• Members must take initiative to seek the will

of God with regard to their service and lifestyle

• An active searching process

3 Types of Religious Congregations3 Types of Religious Congregations

• Contemplatives– “Going into the hills to pray”– Ex: Carmelites, Poor Clares, Trappists,

Benedictines

• Mendicants– Beggars– Ex: Franciscans, Dominicans (Order of

Preachers, OP)

• Service Congregations– Ex: Jesuits (SJ), Daughters of Charity, Marist

Brothers

Discovering a Call to Religious Discovering a Call to Religious LifeLife

• Positive Signs– An attraction to religious life based on proper

motives– An ability to meet the requirements of

religious life• Flexibility, physical and intellectual abilities, ability

to live as a celibate

– An inner sense of being called by God to religious life

Good Motives vs. Bad MotivesGood Motives vs. Bad Motives

•Desire to help those in need•Growth in love of God and neighbor•Belief that vowed life has meaning in the world

•Psychological or financial security•Desire to escape loneliness

Religious FormationReligious Formation

• The novitiate

• Professional training

• Vows