he
call to membership in a Secular Institute is a comparatively
recent development in the life of the Church, which responds
in two ways to the special need of modem society.
Firstly we
are becoming increasingly aware of the dignity and role
of the laity in the life of the Church. Secondly, both
society and the Church have tended to see the single life
of a lay person in rather negative terms. But now we are
coming to recognise that some lay people make a positive
choice to remain single. Not everyone is called to marriage,
the priesthood, or the religious life. The single life
of a lay person can be a distinctive vocation in which
he or she can find human and Christian fulfilment.
Secular Institutes
give their members the opportunity to consecrate their
way of life, under the three vows of poverty, chastity
and obedience. They follow a rule, usually inspired by
the spirit of a religious Order, such as the Dominicans.
The Church has recognised the vocation to a Secular Institute
as a way of perfection - a special way of following Christ.
'Consecrated persons in Secular Institutes contribute
in a special way to the coming of the Kingdom of God They
unite in a distinctive synthesis the value of consecration
and the value of being in the world.' (Vita Consecrata).
In this its
members live according the spirit of the Gospel in the
secular world. They share the experience common to most
people, and, in particular, the opportunities and difficulties
of being single. In employment they witness to the dignity
of having to support themselves, and later, in old age,
of being retired, frail, and dependent. Their lives witness
to the Word becoming flesh and dwelling among us in the
secular world in which they live. Because of the diversity
among the members of a Secular Institute they are able
to proclaim the hope which Christ gives to people of every
walk of life.
In their poverty
they express their reverence for the created physical
world in which we live, without their becoming obsessed
by materialism, in which so many seek happiness, power
and status. They realise that it is better to need little
than to have much. The simplicity of their poverty gives
an important witness to the world that only Christ can
satisfy our deepest needs. In their chastity they consecrate
their sexuality to God in a special and very positive
way of loving and serving him and his people. They anticipate
the wonderful way in which we will love God and each other
in heaven. Their vow of obedience sums up their commitment
to follow Christ according to the rule of the Secular
Institute. In practice they have considerable autonomy
and responsibility in organising their daily lives. Only
major decisions are made in consultation with the Moderator.
Though members
of the Dominican Secular Institute (D.S.I.) belong to
a group they are scattered around their country, without
the support of community life. That is their special vocation.
To cope with the problem of isolation they keep in touch
through the post and phone, through meeting several times
a year for a retreat and for study. They are united through
a shared vocation and their life of prayer. They have
the support of the whole Dominican Family, which they
can meet at annual seminars.
Though
the vocation to the D.S.I. is difficult and challenging,
it does provide a wonderful way of following Christ and
of witnessing to the value of the single lay life, consecrated
to God, under the three vows. 
(Source
: Miss Ann Hamilton (Moderator) of the Dominican Secular
Institute, Sussex, England)
