Religious Life in the Catholic Church

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Religious Life in the Catholic Church
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• There are 2 ways to live the religious lifestyle
• 1-ordained life for men, as priests and/or
  deacons
• and
• 2-vowed religious life for men and women, as
  nuns (sisters) or brothers.

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The Religious Lifestyle involves . . .

• 1. Committing yourself to a specific religious
  community
• 2. Making and respecting vows
• 3. Living in community living with others
  who have chosen to live a religious lifestyle
• 4. Committing your life to God and the service
  of Gods people

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Religious Communities

• Each religious community has its own unique
  spirituality and guidelines for service and
  prayer.
• These differences reflect the spirituality of the
  communitys founder.

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For example . . .

• For example, St. Francis of Assisi is the
• founder of the Franciscan
• orders of priests and sisters.
• Based on what you know
• about St. Francis, what do
• you think about the nature
• of the spirituality and
• service of the Franciscans?

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Religious Communities Serving Little Flower

• Sisters of St. Joseph (SSJ)
• Sisters, Servants of the
• Immaculate Heart of Mary
• (IHM)
• Sisters of Mercy (RSM)
• (Religious Sisters of Mercy)

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Name the Nuns The LF Sisters

• SSJ IHM
• Sr. Julia Sr. Donna
• Sr. Rosemarie Sr. Ellen Anne
• Sr. Marie OHagan Sr. Noelle
• Sr. Fran Sr. Michael
• Sr. Joan Ames
• RSM Sr. Regina Flanigan
• Sr. Kathleen Sr. Marie OMalley
• Sr. Mary Dooley
• Sr. Kim

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HW Assignment 2 4th QuarterDue Monday, May 2

• Visit the following websites representing the 3
  religious orders that serve the Little Flower
  community
• IHM www.ihmimmaculata.org
• SSJ www.ssjphila.org
• RSM www.sistersofmercy.org

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• Read about each community as you explore each
  website.
• List 3 interesting facts/ideas about each
  community. This must be typed, but does not need
  to be in paragraph form.
• Create a citation for each website (in MLA
  format) using your NoodleTools account.
• Conclude with a reflective paragraph answering
  Which community is most attractive to you? Why?

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Vows Evangelical Counsels

• Those who choose the Religious Lifestyle make 3
  vows sacred, public promises to follow the
  example of Jesus.
• Vow 1 Poverty
• The vow of poverty is the promise to live simply,
  without attachment to material things, and to
  value and seek goodness and happiness that can
  not be bought.

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Vow 2 - Chastity

• The vow of chastity is a commitment to a unique
  way of loving one that does not focus on a
  particular other person, but is, rather, open to
  loving all of Gods children as an extension of a
  focused, prayerful, love of God.
• This vow includes a commitment to celibacy, which
  is the promise to never marry or engage in a
  sexual relationship with anyone.

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Vow 3 - Obedience

• The vow of obedience is a promise to give oneself
  completely and unselfishly to the service of God
  and others.

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Living in Community

• Living in Community is living with other people
  who try, as a group, to be of service to God,
  others, and each other.
• It involves (among many other things) the sharing
  of faith, time, prayer, meals, resources,
  responsibilities, and work.

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Commitment to ServiceIn Religious life, there
are 2 kinds of service

• Active Service involves direct contact with those
  being served.
• Examples

• Contemplative Service involves full-time prayer
  for the needs and intentions of the world.

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What about Ordained Life?

• The sacrament of Holy Orders (ordination) is
  received when men become deacons, priests, and
  bishops.
• As a priest, ordained life is lived in 1 of 2
  ways as a diocesan priest or as a religious
  order priest.

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Diocesan Priests

• A diocesan priest works directly for a local
  bishop and diocese (such as the Archdiocese of
  Philadelphia).
• What kind of work does a priest do in the Church?

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Religious Order Priests

• Similar to the vowed religious life of sisters
  and brothers, religious order priests choose to
  belong to a particular community. Examples
• Religious order priests take the same 3 vows that
  vowed religious take.
• Diocesan priests take 2 vows
• chastity obedience

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Test 1 4th QuarterThe Religious
LifestyleWednesday, April 21