Their first and primary passion in life is for God and his Kingdom. Our living is embedded in a deep personal relationship with Christ nurtured in prayer.
It is Secular life, not Religious life, because the manner of living their consecration differs. Members:
- may live alone or with family rather than in a common residence with other members
- undertake ordinary work ~ there are not necessarily specified works of the institute; members can work in their chosen professional field
- members do not necessarily have the title of "Brother" or "Sister", they do not necessarily have a designated form of dress; in fact a certain discretion in their identification maybe appropriate
Secular Institutes embrace the world as the place where God dwells and seeks to be known:
- initiated as a way of consecrating oneself to God by St Angela Merici in 1535;
- this way of living formally acknowledged as that of Secular Institutes by Pope Pius XII in 1947
- and claimed to be "the vocation of the new millenium".
For further reflection on Secular Institutes click here.
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us" - John 1:14