Which statement best defines institutes of consecrated life?

Which statement best defines institutes of consecrated life?

• A. Institutes of consecrated life are communities in which members publicly profess the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience and dedicate their lives to God.
• B. They are secular organizations with no vows.
• C. They must be formed only within diocesan structures.
• D. They require living in monasteries exclusively.

Answer: (A)

Institutes of consecrated life are religious communities where men and women publicly profess the evangelical counsels—poverty, chastity, and obedience—and dedicate their lives wholly to God and the service of the Church. That public profession of vows, lived within a defined form of life under a rule and a superior, is the defining mark. This distinguishes them from other ways of living a consecrated life. Secular expressions of consecration exist for those who live in the world (lay or clerical) without a communal vow, and societies of apostolic life live in community without taking formal vows. And living in a monastery or cloister is not required—many institutes are active in the world and perform works of ministry and service rather than being strictly contemplative. Institutes can be established within local diocesan structures or under papal authority, depending on their particular jurisdiction. The essential idea is the visible, public commitment to the evangelical counsels and a life devoted to God in a recognized form of religious life.

Institutes of consecrated life are religious communities where men and women publicly profess the evangelical counsels—poverty, chastity, and obedience—and dedicate their lives wholly to God and the service of the Church. That public profession of vows, lived within a defined form of life under a rule and a superior, is the defining mark.

This distinguishes them from other ways of living a consecrated life. Secular expressions of consecration exist for those who live in the world (lay or clerical) without a communal vow, and societies of apostolic life live in community without taking formal vows. And living in a monastery or cloister is not required—many institutes are active in the world and perform works of ministry and service rather than being strictly contemplative. Institutes can be established within local diocesan structures or under papal authority, depending on their particular jurisdiction. The essential idea is the visible, public commitment to the evangelical counsels and a life devoted to God in a recognized form of religious life.