Pope Francis has declared that from November 30th, 2014 until February 2nd, 2016 the universal Church will celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life. \u00a0Our diocese has already joined in this celebration through a Mass celebrated by Bishop Hartmayer at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah last February 2nd where several dozen consecrated men and women (mostly religious sisters) who currently work in our diocese were recognized for their service. \u00a0He is also meeting with most of the eighty religious sisters who live and work in our diocese by sharing a meal with them by deanery and having a conversation.<\/p>\n
Consecrated life is a unique vocation where a person consecrates himself or herself entirely to Christ in order to enter into an intimate relationship with Him. \u00a0Those in consecrated life profess and live out the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience. \u00a0These three are proposed by Christ in the Gospels through his preaching and living, so every baptized Christian is called to live these to an extent, but those in consecrated life make a public statement or vow stating they desire to live these out in greater perfection. \u00a0For those in consecrated life, living out the evangelical counsels allows them to more closely imitate Christ who was poor in spirit, chaste in heart and obedient to the will of his Father.<\/p>\n
The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes various forms of consecrated life in the life of the Church. \u00a0The first is eremitic life where an individual devotes his or her life through a strict separation from the world, living in silence and solitude in order to enter into deep prayer and penance. \u00a0Hermits offer the Church great wisdom and their prayers strengthen her mission. \u00a0A second type of consecrated life includes consecrated virgins and widows. \u00a0From the first days of Christianity virgins and widows have been consecrated to God by their bishops in order to become a sign of the Church\u2019s love for Jesus Christ and to serve the Church through prayer and apostolic activity.<\/p>\n
A third type of consecrated life, which is also the most common, is religious life comprised of those who take the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience and live in a religious community. \u00a0These men and women strive to unite themselves to Christ through the profession of the evangelical counsels and community life. \u00a0Present already in the early Church, religious communities have served the Church courageously throughout the centuries by spreading the faith and building new communities of faith. \u00a0Our diocese of Savannah is an excellent example of this reality where hundreds of men and women religious throughout our history have built up our diocesan parishes and institutions. \u00a0Finally members of Secular Institutes and Societies of Apostolic Life live deep within the world sharing the Gospel through evangelization and specific apostolates.<\/p>\n
May this Year of Consecrated Life raise awareness of the many men and women who faithfully serve Christ by living out the evangelical counsels and through their service of others. \u00a0May it also increase gratitude for the many consecrated men and women who have played a role in our lives, leading us closer to Christ by their teaching and example .<\/p>\n
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Pope Francis has declared that from November 30th, 2014 until February 2nd, 2016 the universal Church will celebrate the Year of Consecrated Life. \u00a0Our diocese has already joined in this celebration through a Mass celebrated by Bishop Hartmayer at the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Savannah last February 2nd where several dozen consecrated […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2533,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-69","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n