Religious Are Dedicated, Not to the Apostolate—But to God

A Prophetic Witness

When you look out into the world at all its problems, don’t you wish you could change things for the better? But how?

Certainly religious and other consecrated persons are doing their part with their good works for those who need it. Their loving and caring work is obvious.

As a religious friar, I sense that our secular world just misses the boat when it comes to understanding who we are as religious.

Many people in the world today – even non-Christians - easily recognize that the Church stands in the forefront in providing education, health care, and other kinds of aid. And of course, this has been going on for hundreds of years.

But there is something more about a religious than improving the temporal order of things. We religious are a prophetic witness of the kingdom of God – simply by living our lives as consecrated men and women as religious members.

Dedicated to God

Let’s take another angle: religious are dedicated — not to the apostolate (helping others in some way) — but to God.

The below quote, from the Vatican's document for consecrated persons, “Starting Afresh from Christ,” explains a lot…

"In this situation, consecrated persons are called by the Spirit to a continual conversion to give new vigour to the prophetic dimension of their vocation. They who, in fact, are 'called to place their very existence at the service of the cause of the Kingdom of God, leaving everything behind and closely imitating the form of life of Jesus Christ, assume a most important teaching role for the whole People of God'."

- Starting Afresh from Christ, No. 1

As a Discalced Carmelite friar, I find real insight in this matter in the life of St. Teresa of Avila. Our Constitutions recognize a special quality in her when it said,

“The origin of our family in Carmel and the very nature of its vocation are closely bound up with the life and charism of St Teresa, especially with the mystical graces which led her to undertake the renewal of Carmel and make prayer and contemplation its total commitment.”

-        Discalced Carmelite Constitutions, No. C-005 

A Carmelite Calling

Would you like to know more about our Carmelite charism – what's unique about our calling?

If you’re a single Catholic man age 18 to 35, have you thought about becoming a religious friar? Maybe God is calling you to a Carmelite vocation in our Anglo-Irish Province in the UK!

Contact me, Fr. Alex, Carmelite Encounter Director, at +44 (0)7477 673932, fralex@carmelite.org.uk

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Why not test your call to the Carmelite Friars of the Anglo-Irish Province?

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