On Friday, February 2 the Church observes the World Day for Consecrated Life (Vita Consecrata). All Religious of the archdiocese have been invited to meet at the Rosary Monastery at 4.00 p.m. to pray Vespers and to gather socially. FR HENRI BRENON , FMI (Fils de Marie Immaculée) explains what is a religious or consecrated life.

Fr Henri Brenon, FMI

All people are called to a religious life, that is, to respond in faith to God, who created and sustains them. Some receive a calling from God to join a group of people who commit themselves to a special way of life, a life that witnesses strongly to God’s love. The people who respond to this call have the same needs, hopes, desires, and struggles of all human.

This special way of life is called Religious or Consecrated Life, and the groups who live it are called Religious Communities (or Congregations or Orders). It is a very meaningful, peaceful, and joyful way of life for those who accept it wholeheartedly. Indeed, it is living at the heart of life.

There have been religious communities in the Catholic Church almost since its beginning. There are many today in Trinidad and Tobago: Benedictine Monks, Dominican Fathers, Holy Ghost Fathers, Carmelite Friars, FMI Fathers, Corpus Christi Carmelites, Dominican Sisters, Sisters of St Joseph of Cluny, Holy Faith Sisters, Missionaries of Charity, Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, Presentation Brothers, Jesuits and more to come – Redemptorists.

These congregations have different spiritualities and different works or ministries on which they focus their efforts. Members of religious communities are Sisters, Brothers, and priests who are also nurses, doctors, pastoral ministers, advocates for social justice, spiritual directors, educators at all levels and in all disciplines, contemplatives, lawyers, social workers, counselors… They are as varied as all human beings.

Religious of the archdiocese at Vespers at the 2006 celebration of the World Day for Consecrated Life

Yet they are the same in their way of life. Religious life focusses on what matters most, God’s all-embracing love. In order to free themselves for this lifestyle, they take vows of chastity, poverty and obedience.

Through these vows they are able dedicate their lives and work more fully to God and His people.

For a Sister, Brother or priest the vow of poverty means that all material goods are held in common and used by members of the group to further the common mission.

The vow of celibacy is a public acknowledgment that God is their greatest love. The vow of obedience does not mean giving up all individual choices and decision-making, but rather living in communion with others for the good of all.

Those who choose religious life join a community whose members form an extended family who share life and possessions. They work together for the sake of God and – through the strength and support of the group – are able to take on various challenging tasks.

They are able to be on the front line, witnessing to God’s love for all and responding to both new and persistent challenges, especially mindful of those on the margins of society

Being a vowed religious today means engaging in lifelong spiritual adventure, which is necessarily a deeply human undertaking. A religious Sister, Brother, or priest has all the usual human concerns, cares and activities – including relaxation and fun – that every individual does.

But as a member of a religious community, an individual is dedicated to living and witnessing to the fact that God’s love calls some beyond blood relationships, ethnicity and nationality, to be brothers and sisters to all.