Day 127: Consecrated Life

From the very beginning of the Church there were men and women who set out to follow Christ with greater liberty, and to imitate him more closely, by practicing the evangelical counsels. They led lives dedicated to God, each in his own way. Many of them, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, became hermits or founded religious families. These the Church, by virtue of her authority, gladly accepted and approved. CCC 918

St. Anthony of the Desert, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Dominic, St. Benedict, St. Teresa of Calcutta, St. Edith Stein, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Teresa of Avila, etc. These and many more were holy Religious men and women consecrated to service for Jesus Christ. The consecrated life is today's subject for the Catechism. The Catechism Compendium summarizes today's reading as follows in defining what this is:

The consecrated life is a state of life recognized by the Church. It is a free response to a special call from Christ by which those consecrated give themselves completely to God and strive for the perfection of charity moved by the Holy Spirit. This consecration is characterized by the practice of the evangelical counsels. (#192)

Those in consecrated life share with the laity a calling to the "evangelical counsels," though in a different way. As the Catechism Companion, Vol II notes:

Consecrated life involves living the evangelical counsels: poverty, chastity, and obedience. Every Christian is called to live poverty, chastity, and obedience in some way. Those in consecrated life not only live these virtues, but also profess them. (p. 18)

It is to St. Anthony, known as the "Father of All Monks", that we owe the importance that grew in the Church for the consecrated life. From hermits, consecrated virgins & widows, to monks & nuns, St. Anthony and the Desert Fathers responded to the Holy Spirit in such a way that the Church has been blessed by their holy work for centuries which still continues to this day. I'm fortunate that Gospel Simplicity's ecumenical patristics group, which has many Catholics & Orthodox, begins reading and discussing The Sayings of the Desert Fathers this week. This is a work I was aware of, but just haven't had the chance to read yet. I'm looking forward to learning more of this pivotal group of men in the Church's history.

Saint Anthony the Great by Michael Damaskinos 16th century