Vocations: The Religious
Life
And the Priesthood
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"Under the
impulse of love, which the Holy Spirit pours into their hearts, they live more
and more for Christ and for his Body, the Church. The more fervently,
therefore, they join themselves to Christ by this gift of their whole life, the
fuller does the Church's life become and the more vigorous and fruitful its
apostolate" (Perfectae caritatis, 1).
We
all share as Christians the need to follow Christ and ultimately to be with God
in Heaven. Yet, each must pursue this goal differently, according to his
own temperament and particular call from God. The vocation of most
Christians is the life of a layman or laywoman in the world. For others,
though, it will be the priestly or religious life.
From
the beginning of Christianity, some in the Church have directly consecrated
their lives to God by a vow. Although not everyone is called to this life,
Our Lord invites many to follow him in this way. In the Gospels he tells
us of the reward that will be given to those who answer this call:
And
everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or
children or lands for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and inherit
eternal life (Mt 19:29).
The
call to the priesthood or the religious life is a vocation to follow Christ most
perfectly on earth. Once Our Lord was approached by a rich, young man who
asked what he must do to have eternal life. Our Lord told him:
"If
you would enter life, keep the Commandments. . ." The young man said to
him, "All these I have observed; what do I still lack?" Jesus said to him,
"If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow me" (Mt 19:17, 20-21).
Here
Jesus was speaking of the call to the religious life - following the counsels of
perfection.
Although
this vocation is the highest call, God does not intend everyone to live the
religious life. Each of us must seek holiness in the state that God wants
us to live. The consecrated life calls for great generosity.
Objectively, religious life is the most perfect. This does not mean that a
lay person cannot attain perfection. Every vocation leads to holiness.
Everyone must try to find out what God calls him to.
Religious Life
The
religious life consists in following the three evangelical counsels, also
known as the counsels of perfection. These are recommendations for perfect
love taught and practiced by Christ - poverty, chastity, and obedience.
Those who follow these counsels take vows (free, deliberate promises made
to God) to keep each one. They willingly give up certain good things of
this life - money and possessions, marriage, and liberty - in order to devote
themselves more completely to loving and serving God and neighbor. These
vows set a person free from temporal goods, so that he may freely give himself
to love of God and neighbor.
The
first counsel is poverty. The person who takes this vow gives up his
earthly possessions in order to follow Christ. In our modern world, where
so much emphasis is placed upon jobs, money, and possessions, this is indeed a
sacrifice, even for one who is not rich.
Through
religious life Christ calls for a life of total consecration in individual
service to God and to one's neighbor. This means that you give to God the
highest natural goods. One of these is the loving union with another
person in marriage and family life. Human love in marriage is a holy
thing, which Our Lord has blessed. Thus the sacrifice involved in giving
this up is truly great. By the vow of chastity a person consecrates
himself more completely to God, surrendering the good of marriage.
Since
one might fulfill the counsels of poverty and chastity but still be filled with
love of self, God asks one final sacrifice of the person who dedicates his life
to him. He asks that one surrender his own personal preferences and
wishes. This is the vow of obedience. The person who follows this
path then gives up his liberty, submitting himself completely through his
legitimate religious superiors, to the will of God as it is manifest in the
Church.
One
who enters the religious life, practicing the vows of poverty, chastity, and
obedience, does so in imitation of Christ himself. At his death Our Lord
had nothing; the soldiers even cast lots for the clothes he had been wearing (Mt
27:35). At one time he said of himself, ". . . the Son of man has nowhere
to lay his head" (Mt 8:20). We know Our Lord never married; he spent his
public life preaching and teaching the Good News. Most important, he
submitted his will to his Father in Heaven. This was particularly
demonstrated on the eve of his death, when he prayed in the Garden of
Gethsemane. Knowing what lay ahead of him, he said: Father, if thou art
willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done (Lk
22:42).
Those
in the religious life are an example to all people. They remind us of the
importance of placing God first in our lives. Although we are not all
called to sacrifice these goods, even those living in the world are called to
place their love of God above the love of possessions, family, and self.
As
we have seen, various religious communities have been officially instituted
throughout history for those who are called to the religious life. There
are communities for men and others for women. In both, members live a
community life according to a particular rule. Prayer and contemplation
ordered to a more perfect love of God and neighbor are the basic work of all
religious communities. For some communities this is their principal work.
These members of contemplative orders spend their days in prayer, by
which they serve God and the entire Church. this is a great work that
helps the world tremendously, since there are so many who forget God. The
contemplatives usually live a cloistered life, separated completely from
the world and working within their monasteries or convents to support
themselves. The Benedictine and Cistercian communities, as well as some
Carmelite communities, are examples of the contemplative religious life.
Other
religious communities dedicate themselves to a more active service of God and
neighbor by engaging in various works of mercy - both corporal and spiritual.
These active orders may operate schools, hospitals, or orphanages. There
is one community of sisters who both visit and pray for those in prison, helping
them to reform their lives. This order has, in fact, many sisters who were
once prisoners themselves. Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity are an
active community who care for those who are dying and perform other active
works. This active work, however, must always flow from and be an
expression of the prayer life of these religious communities. Prayer,
then, even in the active religious life is the basis for all their work.
Priesthood
There
is a very special calling of Christ which is of great importance in the Church.
It is not something one can simply choose, but something one is called to.
It is the priesthood, the sacrament of Holy Orders. This call to exercise
the priestly power of Christ and to be "another Christ" is a great honor but
also a great and beautiful sacrifice. Those who have received Holy Orders
share most perfectly in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. They are the
ministers of grace to the Church, as they administer the sacraments.
Some
priests or clergy are members of a religious community. The clergy is made
up of deacons, priests, and bishops. Most ordained ministers in the Church
have been called to serve Christ as diocesan clergy. They are
members of a particular diocese, often serving in parish work.
At
their ordination the diocesan clergy promise obedience to their bishop, and
bishops owe their obedience to the Pope. In the Latin rite the priests do
not marry, taking a vow of celibacy. However, in the Latin rite
permanent deacons may be married, and in some Eastern rites priests may be
married. Those who are married do promise, however, not to marry again if
their spouse dies. Diocesan clergy are not bound to take a vow of poverty.
They may own things and usually receive a small salary for their personal
expenses. They try to live a simple life in order to imitate Our Lord more
closely and to be a witness for Christ to the world.
The
Church needs many men and women to follow Christ, answering God's call to the
religious life and the priesthood. We should pray to know if this is God's
will for us. Even if this is not our vocation, we should pray that those
who are called will joyfully respond, for: The harvest is plentiful, but the
laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers
into his harvest (Mt 9:37-38).
Used with the permission of The Ignatius Press
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