By Sister Magdalene Grace, O.C.D.
“In consecrated life, Christ’s faithful, moved by the Hold Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is love above all…” (CCC 916)
All faithful are consecrated to God by their baptism and have received a share in the priesthood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. So, what is it that “sets apart” one who has been called to the consecrated life? Saint Gregory the Great compares religious consecration to a holocaustal offering:
“When one vows something of himself to God, and yet retains something for himself, it is a sacrifice on his part. But when one vows to God all that he has, all that he lives, all that he relishes, then we have a holocaust, which in Latin means all incense.”
In religious consecration one’s very person is totally surrendered to God and is at His complete disposal. The person is set apart as an offering to God and this is done through the living out of the evangelical councils by vow which removes obstacles that keep one’s heart from being fixed on God alone. One’s very life becomes an act of worship.
As I prepare for my final profession, the day in which I will offer my life to God through the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, I am filled with wonder and awe at being called to a life in which my every movement becomes an act of worship. At times I can be filled with fear, wondering how, in my weakness, my life can be a continual act of worship? It is in these moments that I remember that it is not my own doing, but through the mercy and grace of Him who called me first.
