“A vocation to the Consecrated Life is a gift from God the Father to the Church, rooted in the example and teaching of Christ, and given through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
- Vita Consecrata, §1
“The life consecrated through the profession of the evangelical counsels is a stable form of living by which the faithful, following Christ more closely under the action of the Holy Spirit, are totally dedicated to God who is loved most of all, so that, having been dedicated by a new and special title to His honor, to the building up of the Church, and to the salvation of the world, they strive for the perfection of charity in the service of the kingdom of God and, having been made an outstanding sign in the Church, foretell the heavenly glory.”
- Canon 573 §1