Consecrated Life

Religious life as a Sister of Mary, Mother of the Church is a life long adventure – a special form of consecration to God - by a complete gift of oneself to the Church.  God is the One Who initiates the invitation to this life from deep in the heart of the chosen one.  Although this invitation from God is a gift, it is necessary that it be responded to by a profoundly loving and free surrender of the soul.  The result of this loving response to God’s call is a special relationship of mutual love and fidelity, for both time and eternity, between God and the chosen one. 

Having been consecrated to God through Baptism, the young woman responds more fully to this consecration by embarking upon a life of union with Christ, vividly expressed through the taking of public vows, to live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience.  These vows constitute the essence of religious life imparting stability and a complete giving of ourselves to God.  They lovingly compel us to live as Christ lived in areas which cover our whole life: possessions, affections and autonomy. 

“He was rich but became poor for our sakes, emptying Himself, and having nowhere to lay His head.  He loved with an undivided heart, universally and to the end.  He came to do the will of the Father Who sent Him, and He did it steadily, learning obedience through suffering and becoming a cause of salvation for all who obey.” Essential Elements of Religious Life

Through the faithful living of these vows, our lives are truly transformed into the likeness of Our Lord, Jesus Christ.