Religious Life
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Religious LIfeA religious sister is consecrated, which means set apart, by making a total gift of herself to Jesus himself. gives herself as a bride to Christ who becomes her bridegroom - living the Heavenly reality while still on Earth! She is a sign and witness His love. “What counts most is not what religious do, but who they are as persons consecrated to the Lord” Pope Saint John Paul II.
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Forms of Religious LIfe
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Active - ContemplativeAn active contemplative order lives a life of prayer but also serves outside of the convent walls. These orders often have times of communal prayer each day to be rooted in their identities as brides of Christ. The sisters are often engaged in work (also known as apostolate) in parishes, schools, hospitals, or the Diocese. Their life also has special spaces of silence amidst leaving the content to engage in their apostolate. Most of the time when you see a religious sister, it is an active contemplative sister! Even as an active contemplative, Canon Law still points out that ‘the first and foremost duty of all religious is to be the contemplation of divine things and assiduous union to God in prayer’.
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ContemplativeA contemplative order lives a life of prayer, silence, and work completely hidden inside the cloister walls. In the hidden life, they do manual work with their hands, observe silence for deeper contemplation, and live simply. The life of seclusion is chosen in order to find God more completely and be given to him totally.
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There are many sacrifices and penances within this life, but all are done with great love. Contemplatives often spend much time praying for priests, the intentions of the Church, and prayers requested of them. While it has great stability, life with Christ is a wonderful adventure - even within cloister walls. A cloistered sister is what the term ‘nun’ actually refers to!
Photo: Poor Clare Monastery in Roswell, New Mexico
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