Five voices from Regnum Christi share their experiences of being called and giving themselves to God in consecration. They invite us to contemplate the depth and beauty of consecrated life, a life of complete dedication and love for Jesus. We asked them a few questions.
Mónica López, a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi, reminds us how the divine call embraces her entire being: past, present, and future; Olivia Steeves, a Consecrated Woman in formation with temporary vows, describes her relationship with Jesus as a commitment of love and mission; Noé Roberts, a Lay Consecrated Man of Regnum Christi, highlights the importance of formation and the sense of family in Regnum Christi; and Legionaries of Christ Fr. André Blanchette and Fr. Nathan Wayne agree that Christ is the center of their hearts and the treasure of their vocation.
Question:What does God call you to when he calls you to be a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi?
Mónica López: “My past, my present, and my future”
I am a Consecrated Woman in formation, in temporary vows, from the United States. As an ECYD member, I discovered that Jesus is my best friend. Then, as a Regnum Christi Mission Corps missionary, I fell in love with living the mission 24/7, the mission we have in our charism, to bring Christ to all people with everything that I am. At one point I discovered that Jesus had captivated my heart, and my deepest desire was and is to belong exclusively to him. What then is God calling me to do as a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi? To marry my best friend and to build a life together with him—a life of self-giving as an apostle in love with Jesus in this spiritual journey of Regnum Christi, for the Church and for the world.
Question:What does God call you to when he calls you to be a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi?
Olivia Steeves: “Marrying My Best Friend”
What a good question! I feel it encompasses my past, my present, and my future. He called me 18 years ago already. It’s incredible! But the most incredible thing is that he continues to call me, and I am sure that he will call me every day to be more his through different circumstances, stages of life, and places; that with him, I will be able to give myself to my family, to my brothers and sisters with whom I have the joy of sharing my life and mission, and to those people he also puts in my path.
For me, the main ingredients of the vocation to the Lay Consecrated Men of Regnum Christi are: First, belonging totally to God—we consecrate ourselves to God by embracing the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience, in order to make his Kingdom present wherever he invites us to collaborate with him. Secondly, professional and spiritual formation in order to be able to fulfill that mission in which he invites us to make his Kingdom present. And third, the sense of family with the other Regnum Christi members of all vocations, to share the mission with others, valuing this family that we are, and striving for teamwork so that together we fulfill the mission.
Question: What would you say are the key ingredients of a vocation as a Lay Consecrated Man?
Noé Roberts: “The sense of family with other Regnum Christi members”
For me, being a member of a religious order adds the exclusivity of being totally his to my relationship with Christ and protects that relationship, since by my vows I am centering my whole heart on him. To me, this is the key to my relationship with Christ.
Question: How does your religious dimension as a Legionary contribute to that relationship with Christ he has called you to?
Fr. André Blanchette, LC: “Centering my whole heart on Christ”
It is difficult to put into words what my Legionary vocation has brought to my relationship with Jesus, but it could be expressed by saying that he is my only treasure. I remember when I was a novice and still discerning my vocation, what God was calling me to, and I just thought that the field for me was the Legionaries of Christ, that field within the Church, that Kingdom of his, and that my only treasure had to be him. In that sense, intimacy with him has increased much over the years, I have been drawing closer to him, little by little and more and more, in an ever-deeper way. This gives me great energy, peace, affection, strength… to keep going forward and wanting to love him more, and to give that love to the people who I also want to experience it.
Question: How does your religious dimension as a Legionary contribute to that relationship with Christ he has called you to?
Fr. Nathan Wayne, LC: “He had to be my only treasure”
Translated for the original Spanish publication.
- More information on the Legionaries of Christ
- More information on the Consecrated Women
- More information on the Lay Consecrated Men
