Carmelite Friars and the Vows
The vows of poverty, chastity and obedience which members of religious orders take form one single commitment to follow Christ in a particular way. All Christians are called to follow Christ who was poor, chaste and obedient to the will of his Father. It is the way that religious live these virtues which mark them out. We live poverty by sharing all we possess and more importantly e share our verty selves with our communities and others. We live chastity by becoming celibates for the sake of the Kingdom of God. We live obedience by putting our lives and the future entirely at the disposal of God knowing we can trust Him to bring us to our eternal destiny. By the profession of these vows the religious become prophets in the heart of the Church, reminding all people that God alone can save and that He alone can set us free to be fully human and fuly alive. The vows set the eligious free to live lives of total dedication to the Lord.
POVERTY
Through the vow of poverty, God will gradually release our hearts, if we remain open to Him, from the attachments to things. We are the stewards of creation and by our vow of poverty we bear witness to the esteem of all Christians should have for the material world: an esteem which gives things there proper place. Things have been created to be used but we can easily let things enslave our hearts. We must love people and use things, and not the other way round. The voluntary poverty of the religious implicitly condemns oppression of the poor and the idolatry of wealth. In our poverty we seek to share all that we have and are with others and so encourage all to do the same.
CHASTITY
Through the vow of chastity, God releases our hearts from a possessive attitude to people. There is a tendency in human beings to make people into things and to use them for our own benefit. God wants us to love others as he loves them and this kind of love sets them free to be truly themselves. The proper living of our vow of chastity demands a continual attention to all human relationships. The way religious live chastity is by giving their hearts wholly to God and remaining unmarried as a witness that God alone can fully and finally satisfy the human heart. It is not that religious can have more time for work but it is a different way of loving.
OBEDIENCE
Through the vow of obedience, God releases our hearts from an attachment to our own will so that we can live in a right relationship with Him. God knows what we can be and His desire is for us to achieve what we are capable of. Often we desire something for our immediate gratification, forgetting our ultimate good. Always following our own will is to become a slave; following the will of God is to become free because we freely choose to put His will into practice. Religious seek to be totally available for God after the example of Christ who came to do the will of the Father. Through this vow of obedience, religious bear witness to the place which God should have, that is the primary place.
Questions for Reflection
· What is the value of religious life in today’s world?
· What style of religious life holds meaning for you?
POVERTY
Through the vow of poverty, God will gradually release our hearts, if we remain open to Him, from the attachments to things. We are the stewards of creation and by our vow of poverty we bear witness to the esteem of all Christians should have for the material world: an esteem which gives things there proper place. Things have been created to be used but we can easily let things enslave our hearts. We must love people and use things, and not the other way round. The voluntary poverty of the religious implicitly condemns oppression of the poor and the idolatry of wealth. In our poverty we seek to share all that we have and are with others and so encourage all to do the same.
CHASTITY
Through the vow of chastity, God releases our hearts from a possessive attitude to people. There is a tendency in human beings to make people into things and to use them for our own benefit. God wants us to love others as he loves them and this kind of love sets them free to be truly themselves. The proper living of our vow of chastity demands a continual attention to all human relationships. The way religious live chastity is by giving their hearts wholly to God and remaining unmarried as a witness that God alone can fully and finally satisfy the human heart. It is not that religious can have more time for work but it is a different way of loving.
OBEDIENCE
Through the vow of obedience, God releases our hearts from an attachment to our own will so that we can live in a right relationship with Him. God knows what we can be and His desire is for us to achieve what we are capable of. Often we desire something for our immediate gratification, forgetting our ultimate good. Always following our own will is to become a slave; following the will of God is to become free because we freely choose to put His will into practice. Religious seek to be totally available for God after the example of Christ who came to do the will of the Father. Through this vow of obedience, religious bear witness to the place which God should have, that is the primary place.
Questions for Reflection
· What is the value of religious life in today’s world?
· What style of religious life holds meaning for you?
Carmelite wisdom
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“The less we possess, the less we have to worry about.”
St. Teresa of Jesus (of Avila), Carmelite nun |