Consecration

Our life as women religious is marked by a particular consecration. Consecration literally declares something or someone sacred, put aside for sacred purposes. Our religious consecration is first and primarily of all the work of God, and only secondarily the result of our response. Only He who is all-Holy can set something or someone apart for Himself. It is He who in His profound love calls each Sister, and it is He who in His boundless mercy provides the love and grace for each Sister to respond to the Divine Call. In this consecration, He establishes a covenant of love with us - firstly, for His glory; secondly, for the world's salvation; and thirdly, because we are relational beings created in and for love, this covenant of love is established for our joy and flourishing. When we authentically live our lives of consecration, we are absolutely filled with Him, filled with His joy, His peace, and His love. We may not always recognize these gifts, but that does not negate their presence or the impact that this life of union with Him has on the souls He entrusts to our care.

Our spousal consecration is rooted in, but separate and distinct from, our baptismal consecration. At baptism, we were brought into the life of The Consecrated One. All baptized persons share Christ's poor, chaste, and obedient life to a degree, but through our religious consecration, we enter into His life more fully, vowing to live and act in imitation of our Divine Bridegroom. Our life becomes a daily striving for intimate identification with Jesus Christ. Our possessions, affections, and autonomy are totally given over to Him. In confidence, we trust that He will provide for our daily needs. We rest in His intense love for us and live to reflect this love to others. We recognize that our Good God never permits anything that is not for our good, so we trustingly surrender the most treasured part of our lives, our will and autonomy, to His Will through our joyful submission to our Superiors.