Consecrated Life: The Gospel in Practice
According to the dispositions of the heavenly Father and the loving purposes of the Incarnate Word, religious life has been instituted in the Church to form communities of disciples and perfect followers of the Redeemer. (OOCC, XIII, p. 243)
According to St. Vincent Pallotti, the consecrated life is the gospel in practice. For him, consecrated life is not a simple human organizational set-up. It is not instituted merely by human whims and fancies, but rather it is established according to the will of God the Father, and the loving purposes of Jesus the Incarnate Word of the Father. It is aimed at forming communities of disciples and perfect followers of Jesus the Redeemer within the Church. The consecrated life consists of like-minded people coming together to live their lives as disciples of Jesus. They come together to form a community, taking one or the other aspect of Jesus’ life and mission as their inspiration. In their life together, they attempt to live this particular dimension of Jesus’ life that inspired them in an extraordinary manner. They use the particular aspect of Jesus’ life that inspired them which forms the spirit of their common living to guide them as they organize a genuine gospel living in actual practice. In this manner, the consecrated life provides a well-formed organizational set-up in which a person can live his life as the disciple of Jesus in the best possible manner. As the result of this living, they can form themselves into perfect followers of Christ, the Redeemer. In short, the consecrated life consists of living the spirit of the early Christians, who in the context of the community of believers, lived their discipleship in the most perfect manner.
What is my understanding of the consecrated life? Do I accept it as the gospel in practice? Do I acknowledge the divine purposes behind this organizational set-up? Does my consecrated living make me a perfect disciple of Jesus? Do I truly live the spirit of the early Christian community in my religious community?
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. (Acts. 2: 42)