“Your vocation, dear sisters, has led you to religious profession, whereby you have been consecrated to God through the ministry of the Church, and have been at the same time incorporated into your religious family.  Hence, the Church thinks of you, above all, as persons who are “consecrated”:  consecrated to God in Jesus Christ as his exclusive possession.  This consecration determines your place in the vast community of the Church, the People of God.  And at the same time this consecration introduces into the universal mission of this people a special source of spiritual and supernatural energy:  a particular style of life, witness and apostolate, in fidelity to the mission of your institute and to its identity and spiritual heritage.  The universal mission of the People of God is rooted in the messianic mission of Christ Himself – Prophet, Priest and King – a mission in which all share in different ways.”

John Paul II
Excerpt from Redemptionis Donum – 25 March 1984

The Consecrated Life, deeply rooted in the example and teaching of Christ the Lord, is a gift of God the Father to his Church through the Holy Spirit. By the profession of the evangelical counsels the characteristic features of Jesus — the chaste, poor and obedient one — are made constantly "visible" in the midst of the world and the eyes of the faithful are directed towards the mystery of the Kingdom of God already at work in history, even as it awaits its full realization in heaven.

In every age there have been men and women who, obedient to the Father's call and to the prompting of the Spirit, have chosen this special way of following Christ, in order to devote themselves to him with an "undivided" heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:34). Like the Apostles, they too have left everything behind in order to be with Christ and to put themselves, as he did, at the service of God and their brothers and sisters. In this way, through the many charisms of spiritual and apostolic life bestowed on them by the Holy Spirit, they have helped to make the mystery and mission of the Church shine forth, and in doing so have contributed to the renewal of society.

In the countenance of Jesus, the "image of the invisible God" (Col 1:15) and the reflection of the Father's glory (cf. Heb 1:3), we glimpse the depths of an eternal and infinite love which is at the very root of our being.  Those who let themselves be seized by this love cannot help abandoning everything to follow him (cf. Mk 1:16-20; 2:14; 10:21, 28).  The experience of this gracious love of God is so deep and so powerful that the person called senses the need to respond by unconditionally dedicating his or her life to God, consecrating to him all things present and future, and placing them in his hands.

Living "in obedience, with nothing of one's own and in chastity, "consecrated persons profess that Jesus is the model in whom every virtue comes to perfection.  In every age, the Spirit enables new men and women to recognize the appeal of such a demanding choice.

John Paul II
Excerpts from Vita Consecrata - 25 March 1996