Eklezjalne znamiona życia konsekrowanego

Abstract

Consecrated Life means surrendering one’s life to God’s ministry for the good of the Church. It is important to notice the ecclesiastical dimension of this way of life. Consecration defines the proper place of the consecrated person in the community of the Church. Through the very act of consecration, one dedicates one’s life to the Church and expresses willingness to perform the ministry according Christ’s example, who was consecrated by the Father and sent to carry out His will. This call is also the mission of the Church in the world, in the spirit of the radical life of evangelical counsels. This consecration aims at the greater glory of God, at the building of the Church and at the salvation of the world, with the desire to attain perfect life in God’s kingdom. The Church has always very highly respected consecrated life – it refers both to the past and to the future and is always directed to the future. Consecrated people carry out multiple and various ministries endowed with graces from above to build the Church. Consecrated life is part of the very structure of the Church. This kind of life has in the Church its source and its existence, and it exists for the good of the Church. Being from the Church and in the Church, consecrated people are called to live in the spirit of community, expressed in Latin ad “sentire cum Ecclesia” (to think and feel with the Church).