Introduction

1. "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" (Matthew 19:21). "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations" (Jeremiah 1:4). "And they left everything and followed him" (Luke 5:11). "Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me" (Luke 18:22)
   
   
2. The way of the commandments is basically the way that all Christians must follow and that he who fulfills these ten commandments really comes to perfection. Jesus tells us in Matthew, chapter 22, verses 37-40 that:
   
   
   "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets" (Cf. Deuteronomy 6:5; Leviticus 19:18).
   
   
3. And then Jesus goes on to say in Luke, chapter 10, verse 28: ... do this, and you will live."
   
   
4. The ten commandments are summed up in these first two commandments. We keep the ten commandments out of love of God and out of love of neighbor. Live these commandments and you will have life to the full. These two commandments are so demanding that we shall never fulfill them completely nor be able to accomplish more than they ask.
   
   
5. The Second Vatican Council made it very clear to the Church that there is only one Christian vocation, the call of Jesus Christ to come, follow him. As consecrated women, with private vows of simplicity of lifestyle, celibate chastity, obedience, and compassion, we are moved by the same inspiration that moves all believing Christians. What we wish to stress is baptismal grace as the root of our consecrated life. "For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 3:11). As consecrated lay women, we are not the only ones who try to live faith in Jesus Christ nor are we the ones who try to give it shape in the most perfect way in our contemporary world. Our emphasis is the unity of all Christians who journey on the one path which is the narrow path of Jesus Christ himself.
   
   
6. The private vows of simplicity of lifestyle, celibate chastity, obedience and compassion that we make are a specific expression of our Christian way of life. The life of the vows can only be fully understood through faith. In each of the vows, we sacrifice an important human value. But it is in this sacrifice that we demonstrate our love of God and our dedication to Jesus and to spreading his kingdom.
   
   
7. In accepting the call of Jesus to come, follow him in this state of life, we accept the probability of being socially compromised because of our alliance with Christ. As Jesus tells us, "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will persecute you" (John 15:20).
   
   
8. We strive to distinguish ourselves as consecrated lay women by living out the essentials of our life together, celibate chastity, simplicity of lifestyle, obedience and compassion to the full in such a way that we do indeed witness to our vows.
   
   
9. We realize our lifestyle is a limited one and so we are careful not to take into our life those values which are good in themselves but not in conformity with our state in life. It would be a sign of immaturity on the part of a Sister to take as her own everything that may seem to be worthwhile. It takes wisdom to see and appreciate the good of various things without desiring them for ourselves. We do not have contempt for those values that are not in conformity with our state in life because, "Everything created by God is good" (1 Timothy 4:4).
   
   
10. To live this life, we need each other, the mutual support of one another. We need community life. Our life together calls us to respect the uniqueness of each person and to give one another the freedom and space to be themselves. Our life together is a mutual challenge to walk the narrow path that is Jesus Christ himself. For as he says, "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13-14). We offer one another the service of this challenge. Our ultimate concern is Jesus Christ himself. It is because of him that we are called to this way of life.
    
    
11. By living out the basic values of our life, we can help people see that God does exist. Through the living out of simplicity of lifestyle, which is a real value and which we must live, being happy with not having everything, we can help people see that God does exist. The same can be said about celibate chastity. Through the living out of celibate chastity, we show that human fulfillment can take place by truly dedicating oneself to Jesus Christ. The living out of our obedience is a genuine attempt to do the will of God in total openness, generosity and surrender. Through the living out of compassion, we bring the healing forgiving love and mercy of Jesus to the world. All of this can only be done when rooted in prayer which is itself a witness.