Vita Consecrata: A Burden or Ease?

Vita Consecrata: A Burden or Ease?

 Carlos Pezaña Avenido

In our world where a lot of schools of thought are started to dominate, where secularism and materialism are the superiors of every person, and where great existentialists are on track of changing the old ways of life. We can say that the sign value which emphasizes and highlights the importance of consecrated life has been acknowledged very little and is not the number one majority of the person anymore. This is the effect of the supremacy of the post modern period where everything is carried away by the advancement of modern technology and modern devices which will help the life of the human person very easy to live, but very easy to die also.

       For the majority of the Catholics around the world, to consecrate your life to God is not a great challenge anymore unlike before where you would experience so many challenges in line of preaching the Word of God. However in this period where everything is stable in terms of believing on Jesus Christ as God and Savior (except for those countries who are not catholic by faith), “… the passionate search for God’s will, for self giving, for unfailing communion in the church, for the practice of spiritual discernment and love of the truth…” (Vita Consecrate No. 84) are not anymore the main purpose of human’s existence but the search for new computers, new online games, new gadgets and the accumulation of all the material things are the main goals why they live their life with confidence and courage.

       Usually when we speak of consecrated life, we are speaking also of the three vows that a person is going to live if he wants to consecrate his entire life to God. These three vows (chastity, poverty, and obedience) are the passport of the person to live a life where everything is about evangelizations and spiritual experiences, and eventually, where he will be asked to “bear witness everywhere with the boldness of a prophet who is unafraid of risking even his life” (Vita Consecrate No. 85).

       The very reason that I notice why a person is not capable of living a consecrated life anymore is that he looks at the vows of chastity, poverty and obedience as major challenges which denied himself from enjoying the things of this world, to satisfy his hunger for power, and to humble himself from his fellows. As stated in the document of the church “the evangelical counsels should not be considered as a denial of the values inherent in sexuality, in the legitimate desire to possess material goods, or to make decisions for oneself” (Vita Consecrate No. 87). However, the problem is the person who does otherwise than following the rules living the consecrated life. Hence, to encourage a person to consecrate himself to God, he must be taught and injected well of the benefits that he might get in serving the Lord through the vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience. And finally, he must learn that the true satisfaction and happiness is not found here on earth but in the world after this world where those who are worthy can only enter and live for eternity.

       Honestly, at first I looked at this kind of life (consecrated life) as an obstacle to do my duties and inclinations in this world because everything must be done according to the norms of the Gospel. But when I started to learn the true meaning of this life, I was able to turn my focus on God and not on my personal interests anymore. It is different when you decided to live this life basing from your own personal interests than living a life forgetting your natural desires and do only the things that would please God. These two views are very opposite; we cannot say that they are the same because the end is still consecrating your life to God. No, in this kind of life, the intention is very important, we must learn and live the way the first Christians did. We must be ready to sacrifice everything not for our own sake but for the sake of our love to God.

       Aspiring to live a consecrated life of course need a lot of sacrifices and suffering, but what you can find in the end if you decided to consecrate yourself to God is the happiness and satisfaction that you always longed to acquire. It is true that it is very difficult but if you discover how God sacrificed himself because of his love for us then we will realized that living a consecrated life is nothing compare to the sufferings that God endured when he chose to save us from eternal damnation.