Members of a religious order or congregation either consecrate or devote their lives to God, by joining a religious ceremony and taking vows. Members of a religious congregation may be apostolic or contemplative. Being apostolic involves dedication to prayer and public work. They care for the sick and teach, for example. Being contemplative involves dedication to prayer and private work; they live detached from the outside world.
Ordained members of the Catholic Church have received the sacrament of Holy Orders and are deacons, priests or bishops. They are called to serve the Church, through preaching and celebrating the sacraments.
Renouncing self means to give up your own needs, wants and desires to fully dedicate your life to God. This requires obedience, trust and faith. In Matthew 19: 16-22, a rich man told Jesus that he had followed all the commandments and asked what else he needed to do to achieve eternal life in heaven. Jesus told him, “Go, sell your possessions and give the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me”. Jesus asked the man to renounce the wealth which was so important to him so that he could follow Jesus fully, without distractions, but he was unable to do this. An everyday example of this is when you get married. The partners devote themselves to each other and forget their own needs and desires to become closer to one another. Another example is when a person decides to become a priest. They are prepared to give up their old way of life entirely to devote themselves fully to God without distractions. This makes them able to dedicate themselves to listening and answering God’s call, without having to worry about anybody or anything else.
Carry your cross means to be willing to face suffering. Disciples are willing to defend Jesus’ word and teaching, even though it may be at great cost to them. In Luke 10: 25-37, a lawyer asks Jesus who his neighbour is. Jesus explains the parable of the Good Samaritan and that the Samaritan that helped the Jew was his true neighbour. Jesus told the lawyer to go out and do the same. An everyday example of this is organ donor. They give up an organ to save others, despite the consequences they might face later on in life. Another everyday example of this is when priests go and visit a war zone. They risk losing their lives, attempting to comfort the soldiers with God’s presence.
Follow me means that Jesus expects his disciples to carry out his teachings and examples in their everyday lives. To follow him is to show the presence of him to other people. In Luke 5: 27-29, Levi, a tax collector, is sat at his tax booth. Jesus approaches him and asks Levi to follow him. He immediately gets up and leaves everything to follow him. This shows that Jesus’ disciples must be ready to give up everything for his call, in complete faith and trust. An everyday example of this is when we fast during Lent, to remember when Jesus spent 40 days and nights in the desert, being tempted by the devil. We give something up to become closer to God. Another example is caring for the sick. We listen to God’s call and we respond by going to visit those who are ill and need comforting during a difficult period.
