Konstytucje instytutów życia konsekrowanego jako kodeks życia duchowego

Abstract

The article sets out the value which the constitutions of institutes of consecrated life have for the spiritual life of the consecrated persons. Constitutions can have this value because they are the legal expression of a fundamentally evangelical form of life. The article describes constitutions as they were before the Council and their expression after the Council, paying attention too to the ongoing infl uence of the preconciliar model on consecrated persons now. This infl uence can mean that constitutions are read as juridical and moral texts rather than as writings with charismatic and spiritual importance. In order to study more deeply their potential as a blueprint for spiritual life, the author off ers a theological reading, in the light of suggestions by the Claretian Macario Díez Presa. The conclusion reached in this article is that, just as an indispensable tool for the spiritual growth of consecrated persons is the reading of texts by their founders and by others who have been signifi cant for the particular institute, so in a similar way many parts of the constitutions off er practical and theoretical help towards realizing the ideal of life based on the charism and on essential elements of consecrated life.