Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago and Formation, part I: Basic Principles

Image: The consecrated virgin St. Marcellina with her brother, St. Ambrose. St. Marcellina was encouraged by her brother to help guide younger consecrated virgins in the fourth century. 

One of the most noteworthy aspects of Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago (ESI), the 2018 Instruction on the Ordo virginum, is its outline of the initial formation process for consecrated virgins in paragraphs 74 – 107, along with other references to formation scattered throughout the rest of the text.  

This is an important development, because prior to this none of the Church’s canonical documents on consecrated virginity so much as mentioned the need for formation. So in a very strict technical sense, before ESI it was theoretically possible to argue that the Church didn’t envision any formation at all as being required for would-be consecrated virgins. (Not that I personally would have tried to make this argument, of course!)

Prior to ESI, one would have hoped that reference to parallel situations in canon law (cf. CIC can. 17), ordinary pastoral solicitude, and plain common sense would have indicated the need for some sort of formation for aspiring consecrated virgins. But it is still helpful to have the Church’s vision of formation substantially clarified in ESI—especially since, before this Instruction, educated and well-meaning people could have come to different conclusions on certain points.

I will write a follow-up post on the steps in the process of formation as described in ESI, but I think it’s important to start out by discussing some of the more general questions and principles of formation that ESI articulates. And so what follows are my own thoughts and personal insights, written primarily from my perspective as a canon lawyer, but also from the viewpoint of my vocation as a consecrated virgin.

1. ESI clarifies the nature of this vocation 

In my opinion, the most important contribution ESI makes to our understanding of appropriate formation for consecrated virgins is its clarification of the fundamental nature of the Ordo virginum as, among other things: a visibly public form of consecrated life (cf. ESI 38 and 67) which is inspired by the Evangelical counsels (ESI 27); characteristically rooted in the local diocesan Church (ESI 42); having an essential contemplative dimension (ESI 29) while also being ordered towards apostolate, ministry, and concrete service of the Church (ESI 39); and which is meant as a radical gift of a woman’s whole life (cf. ESI 74).

Although these issues might seem only indirectly related to formation per se, in reality these kinds of clarifications are foundational to any formation program. Without wanting to put too fine a point on it, you can’t form someone for something unless you understand specifically what you are forming them for. Formation for a life of dedicated service as a public representative of the Church in consecrated life will naturally have to be very different, and perhaps much more involved, than the formation required for making something like a simple private commitment to evangelical chastity.

2. ESI envisions formation as a personal work 

ESI further clarifies how the Church envisions formation for the Ordo virginum as an integral and “hands-on” project. That is, a project which certainly involves the aspiring consecrated virgin taking in new information in an intellectual way, but one which can hardly stop there. Any kind of serious formation requires real dialogue, practical discernment, pastoral engagement, and the forming of relationships. Or to put it more straightforwardly, while things like reading lists and information packets can be very helpful as supplemental resources (and are certainly much better than nothing!), the Church via ESI does not see women as being adequately formed for consecrated virginity by simply reading books, articles, or other texts.

This principle is evident throughout ESI’s section on formation. For instance, ESI 92 requires “the Bishop, the Delegate [for consecrated virgins] and the consecrated women who participate in the service of formation” to become acquainted with aspirants and candidates for consecrated virginity in a direct way as individual people, so as to more fully understand their strengths, weaknesses, and overall aptitude for this vocation. As ESI 98 goes on to tell us: “The obligation of the Bishop, the Delegate, and the consecrated women who collaborate in the service of formation will therefore consist in ensuring that the candidate receives a systematic introduction to the charism and to the features of this form of life, in accompanying her while she intensifies and deepens her spiritual life, and in observing how she harmonizes and arranges her lifestyle in docility to the action of the Spirit.” In a similar vein, ESI 94 speaks of an aspiring consecrated virgin having regular meetings and communication with the above-mentioned formation team. And even earlier on in the Instruction, we are told that: “Consecrated women take an active part in formation initiatives, in agreement with the Bishop. They collaborate as far as possible in the formation of aspirants and candidates for consecration.” (ESI 45)

The importance of accompaniment is a theme that runs throughout this Instruction, even in sections that do not discuss formation specifically. In my view, this serves as a salutary reminder to us that, although consecrated virginity is an induvial vocation (in the sense that this vocation is not dependent on membership in an organized institute), as Pope Francis notes, ultimately “nobody is saved alone”* and thus nobody can truly be formed in consecrated life alone. Consecrated virginity is integrally woven into the fabric of the broader Church, which is a interdependent community and a spiritual family.

3. ESI dictates a comprehensive approach 

Another striking feature of ESI’s discussion on formation is how formation is envisioned as a process for fostering the development of the whole person. While ESI undoubtedly conveys the necessity of spiritual formation, it does not present formation in the Ordo virginum as being simply a matter of adopting a new spirituality or more intense prayer life.

For example, ESI 87 refers to the importance of human formation, noting that formators should be attentive to an aspirant’s or candidate’s “realistic self-knowledge,” her “capacity to establish healthy, serene and generous relationships with [both] men and women,” her professional development, and her responsible use of “goods, of social media and of her free time.”

ESI also indicates that intellectual formation is a requirement for aspiring consecrated virgins. This is particularly clear in ESI 102, which states: “When her practical circumstances and her personal abilities allow, the candidate will be encouraged to attend courses of study at theological colleges, institutes of religious science or similar institutions. In no case should an adequate theological preparation in the areas of biblical studies, liturgy, spirituality, ecclesiology, and moral theology be omitted.”

This shows us that a call to consecrated virginity is not meant merely as a private interior change, but is intended as a vocation which encompasses a woman’s entire life and all the dimensions of her personality.

4. ESI provides a formation timetable 

Prior to ESI, there was no universal consensus regarding exactly how long discernment and initial formation for consecrated virginity should last, or how this time period should proceed. I personally have heard of cases where, on the one hand, a woman first expressing her interest in the Ordo virginum was consecrated a mere few months later; and on the other, where a woman remained in a vague and unstructured “discernment” period that lasted for the better part of ten years. I am of the opinion that neither of these situations were just or fair to the women involved. Yet as much as I hate to admit it, prior to 2018 both of these scenarios were technically permissible since before the Instruction was published the length and manner of formation fell into what was a near total lacuna, or an almost complete gap in the law.

But now, thankfully, the Church has given us a canonical framework for how formation for consecrated virginity should proceed. In a nutshell, it is now a requirement that potential consecrated virgins have a “preparatory period,” which I think in English we could also call an “aspirancy,” which should last from one to two years. (ESI 92). This is to be followed by what ESI calls the “formation program,” but which as an English speaker I would call a “candidacy,” lasting two or three years. (ESI 97)**

Even though ESI speaks of the need to personalize formation to the individual, (ESI 77) it is still important to observe the timeline of formation which the Church presents to us in ESI. This is a matter of both prudence and justice.

It’s a matter of prudence, because among other concerns, a too-short formation period could lead to women being consecrated before they’re truly ready. Or conversely, a formation period that is too long could undermine the need for a candidate to make a confident decision with respect to her vocation.

Adherence to a defined formation timeframe is also a matter of justice, because a lack of clarity on when a candidate’s consecration may occur is, essentially, a lack of clarity whether her consecration is even likely to happen at all. This denies the candidate her right to discern seriously and make firm decisions about the overall the course of her life. For instance, loosely-organized “formation” that drags on for many years without a clear goal or direction, and which might eventually end with the bishop deciding against consecration, deprives the woman of the time she might have used more fruitfully in discerning other forms of consecrate life, or even marriage and family life.

5. ESI addresses the question of age 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, ESI’s clarification on the appropriate age for discerning a vocation to consecrated virginity is significant, because it affects our understanding of the essential nature of this vocation. That is, is this a call that a young woman can embrace and then build her life around, or is a vocation meant for only for older women who have a proven history and established lifestyle?

Prior to ESI, the only time a Church document mentioned the age with respect to the Ordo virginum was in the praenotanda of the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity, which includes the stated requirement that candidates: “by their age, prudence, and universally approved character…give assurance of perseverance in a life of chastity dedicated to the service of the Church and of their neighbor.” But this is general enough to admit several different interpretations. For instance, it could be read as something along the lines of: “Don’t consecrate a teenager!” Yet others had interpreted this to mean that consecrated virginity was meant as a sort of “second half of life” vocation, for women who were at least thirty-five years old, or even much older.***

But ESI 82 helpfully clarifies that consecrated virginity is indeed a vocation that young women are invited to discern. It states that the “hard” lower age limit for entering formation is eighteen; with a “soft” or merely customary lower age limit for actually receiving consecration being twenty-five years of age. Or as ESI itself puts it: “In no case can the preparatory period begin before the age of eighteen years,” and “Ordinarily consecration is not celebrated before the candidate has reached her twenty-fifth birthday.”

This same paragraph also states that “for admission to consecration the usual age for marriage in the region must be taken into account.” Interestingly, this line includes a footnote drawing a parallel with canon 1072 in the Code of Canon Law, in which pastors are directed to dissuade youths from marrying before the age which is accepted as normal in their own cultural context.

In my reading of ESI 82, I understand these passages as indicating that while nobody under the age of majority can embark on a formal path of formation for the Ordo virginum, it may still be possible in some cases for a woman under the age of twenty-five to receive the consecration of virgins. For example, if an exceptionally mature eighteen-year-old woman begins a five-year formation program and completes it fruitfully, her bishop may legitimately decide to consecrated her at the age of twenty-three, as opposed to asking her to wait an additional two years in a formational limbo not described or envisioned by ESI.

ESI also does not specify an upper age limit. From a technical canonical perspective this is not surprising, since religious life and other forms of consecrated life also don’t have a universally prescribed upper age limit for new vocations. But, just as individual religious communities can set their own upper age limits, I personally think it may be helpful for individual dioceses to consider adopting an upper age limit for discerning consecrated virginity in their own policies or proper diocesan law (even if it’s well understood that exceptions to a stated age limit could be possible on a case-by-case basis). Among other things, a stated upper age limit for consecration in the Ordo virginum helps communicate the idea that consecrated virginity truly is meant as a radical offering of one’s whole life, that it should be a woman’s “first choice” vocation, and that it presupposes an openness to formation and a willingness to take on significant new commitments.

6. ESI emphasizes respect for the internal forum 

Finally, ESI makes explicit what could have always been inferred about formation for consecrated virginity: namely, that the distinction between the internal and external forum must always be respected.

To give some background, when the Church speaks of the internal versus external forum, this indicates the distinction between a person’s private interior life and their outward observable actions and behavior. As a illustration, a person’s attendance at a particular Mass is a matter of the external forum, as this can be easily noted by anyone else who happened to be present; but on the other hand, his or her interior attentiveness and spiritual experience while at that Mass are matters of the internal forum.

The Church’s law has always sought to maintain a strict boundary between the external and internal forum in order to protect the privacy and freedom of conscience of all the faithful, and to properly reverence the sacred relationship between God and an individual soul. This general principle finds its most obvious expression in the absolute inviolability of the seal of Confession. But it is also evident in ecclesial laws strongly discouraging, for example, clerical religious superiors from hearing the sacramental confessions of their subjects, (cf. CIC can. 630) or in the prohibition on rectors of seminaries serving as spiritual director to the students under their care. (cf. CIC can. 240 §2) The general idea in these latter examples is that an authority figure in the Church, who is empowered to make serious decisions about one’s future (such as whether or not someone will be ordained or determining where someone will be assigned), should not be influenced in their decision by the purely personal spiritual matters of their subjects, which are legitimately private.

As in some of my above-mentioned points, I think a working knowledge of the Church’s practices regarding the protection of the internal forum in parallel situations could easily have led one to conclude that aspiring consecrated virgins should likewise enjoy reasonable boundaries between the internal and external forum. So in that sense, this aspect of ESI is one of its least novel concepts.

Nevertheless, ESI references the need to respect the internal forum in several places. For example, ESI 53 states: “Regarding pastoral collaboration in the external forum, those entrusted with these responsibilities [i.e., responsibilities related to the formation of aspiring consecrated virgins] will not establish a spiritual accompaniment relationship with aspirants, candidates, or consecrated women. They know that their personal dialogue with each one is to be used specifically for listening, challenge, and review of progress.”

Similarly, under the heading of “The practice of spiritual accompaniment,”**** ESI 79 tells us: “To ensure the [aspiring consecrated virgin’s] freedom in the area of manifestation of conscience, the Delegate for the pastoral care of the Ordo virginum and the consecrated women who participate in the service of formation offer this service in the external forum. They do not establish relationships of spiritual accompaniment with the aspirants, candidates or consecrated women. They abstain from asking for information or advice about the aspirants, candidates or consecrated women from their directors, spiritual accompaniers, and confessors.”

One important concrete consequence of this newly-articulated principle is that there now must be some sort of formation director—either in-house from among the diocesan staff, or another qualified person brought in from the “outside” whom the diocese commissions for this task—for aspiring consecrated virgins and candidates. That is, while spiritual directors have an important role, the entirety of formation cannot be delegated to a woman’s spiritual director. If this were to happen, this would lead to one of two unacceptable options: either 1. The spiritual director would have to violate confidentiality, leading to a conflict of fora; or 2. The diocesan bishop would be completely in the dark about the candidate’s progress in formation or suitability for consecration.

A practical pastoral note…

Looking at all this, it might be tempting for discerners and aspiring consecrated virgins to compare, with a critical eye, how their diocese’s formation program measures up to everything described in Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago. And conversely, bishops and diocesan staff responsible for the Ordo virginum might feel dauted by the scope of the task at hand!

And so it might make sense to close by reminding all of my readers that, especially with such a “new” vocation, at the end of the day we all have to do the best we can with what we have. Certainly, some elements of ESI (e.g., respecting the privacy of the internal forum) can and should be implemented immediately. But other aspects (such as the development of a theological curriculum or robust program of human formation) are necessarily going to take some time. And this time of “growing pains” is going to be a reality no matter how many people devote their best efforts to this worthy project, and regardless of the resources devoted to it. In fact, I have often mused that it will probably take an entire “generation” of consecrated virgins to develop, from our collective studies and lived experience, all the details of truly effective practical formation programs.

In the meantime, we all keep doing what we can to serve the women who, in God’s providential plan, come to us. Every step we take can be a step forward, and we trust the Holy Spirit to guide us in the beautiful work of nurturing new vocations.

Notes: 

 * cf. Fratelli tutti, 32

** I think we can use the terms “aspirancy” and “candidacy” to refer to periods of formation, because ESI refers to women in the “preparatory period” as “aspirants,” and to those in the “formation program” as candidates.

*** On a more whimsical personal note, when I was discerning my own vocation in the 2000s, for whatever reason thirty-five was often cited (or rather, mis-cited) as the lower age limit for consecrated virginity. Obviously, in my case it was clarified that thirty-five was simply a suggested lower age recommended by some bishops. But on my actual thirty-fifth birthday—by which point I had already been consecrated for eleven years!—I remember thinking: Huh, I’m finally “old enough” to be a consecrated virgin now!

**** ESI frequently speaks of “spiritual accompaniment.” I understand this as being more or less the same thing as what I would normally call “spiritual direction.”

Consecrated Virgins and Bitterness

...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, [and] self-control.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

***

Recently, I read a comment online where one poster remarked that most of the consecrated virgins she had met in the context of her vocational discernment tended to come across as discouraging and bitter (to see the actual thread, go here.)*

As a consecrated virgin myself, I have to say that not only was I not offended in the least by this comment, but I also found the honesty of the observation to be refreshing. To be very frank, it was a little like the relief we all feel at the end of the story when the child finally points out that the emperor has no clothes! Although I’ve never seen this discussed publically anywhere before, based on my own personal experience and observations, to me it seems like bitterness is a one spiritual and human formation issue to which modern-day consecrated virgins might be particularly prone.

It should go without saying that, like all generalities, this statement of course does not apply to each and every consecrated virgin categorically. Yes, I have been blessed to encounter consecrated virgins whom I could only describe as serene and joyful. But at the same time, unfortunately I do also have to say that some of the most disturbingly bitter women I have ever met have been consecrated virgins as well. And I’m sure I would be justified in supposing that most of us consecrated virgins have had personal struggles with temptations to bitterness at least at one time or another.

The Church Fathers often wrote about pride as a special temptation for the consecrated virgins of their time, identifying it as the vice most crucial for them to avoid and overcome. For today’s consecrated virgins, I think bitterness might perhaps take this place.

While consecrated virgins around the world may have very different opinions about what it means to be a consecrated virgin on a concrete level (e.g.: should our consecrated witness be totally open or more discreet? should we strive to work for the Church full-time, or have a purely secular career? etc.), I think we can all agree that our Lord, this vocation, and the wider Church would not be well served by the bitterness of consecrated virgins.

In some significant ways, bitterness can undermine the very purpose of our vocation, since it’s hardly an attitude conducive to a free and joyful giving of ourselves to our divine Spouse. Bitterness is also a very effective counter-witness to the rest of the faithful. In this sense, I think we could even consider bitterness to be a “scandal” in the true sense of the word—i.e., that which could cause others to falter in their faith.

I know that bitterness among consecrated virgins isn’t the most comfortable topic of discussion, but I do think it would be good for it to be discussed. My thought it that, like any spiritual problem on either an individual or communal level, simply ignoring this one isn’t going to make it go away, and may even enable it to grow.

I am quite aware that, with all things considered, I myself may not be the best-qualified person to begin this discussion. So for everyone who feels drawn to write in the comment box about how I lack the life experience, insight, personal maturity, and holiness to talk about avoiding sins related to bitterness—you are absolutely correct! Therefore I respectfully ask for your prayers, and that you patiently put up with my efforts here, which are first and foremost an attempt to preach to myself.

What is bitterness?

Just to make myself clear on what I’m talking about, when I refer to “bitterness” here, I mean the striking and demonstrable lack of Christian joy and hope. That is, the sort of noticeable lack which would seem to reflect an inner pettiness, sense of resentment, or an unbecoming anger at one’s life circumstances.

Outward manifestations of bitterness can include things such as: excessive complaining, an inappropriately sarcastic sense of humor, a consistently negative attitude towards life in general, and an overall tone of harshness in one’s speech and mannerisms.

In our inner lives, symptoms that could indicate that we are becoming bitter may include: a tendency towards self-pity, taking a certain delight in recounting all the ways we have been treated unfairly in the past (whether to ourselves or in conversation with others), being jealous of those who seem to be better loved and appreciated than we are, and regularly feeling disappointed or annoyed with most of the people in our lives for not treating us with as much respect and deference as we feel we deserve.

The act of being a habitually bitter person, whether or not we consider it to be a sin in a formal sense, certainly sets the stage for all kinds of sinful behavior. I think that some of the more minor and venial but still fairly common sins that result from bitterness are things like: gossip and back-biting; making unreasonable, and therefore selfish, demands on those closest to us; and a lack of charity in our actions that could be colloquially described as “just plain being mean.” Bitterness also fosters an absence of gratitude for the good things that God has already us—and perhaps could also preclude the initial openness to receiving these blessings in the first place.

What I am NOT talking about when I speak of bitterness are normal human reactions to difficult things in our lives, such as sadness or grief over a real loss, feelings of honest frustration when dealing with a trying situation, or the simple experience of having hurt feelings.

I’m also not talking about other kinds of personal character weaknesses or “human formation issues,” like a tendency to lose one’s temper or to having an inappropriately heightened level of emotional sensitivity (the kind of sensitivity wherein one could be described as being “touchy”). Finally, when I speak of bitterness, I am most definitely not commenting on diagnosable mental health problems like clinical depression or personality disorders.

But now, with consecrated virgins specifically in mind, here are what I see as some likely possible causes for bitterness, along with my reflections (however inadequate they may be) on how perhaps to begin to overcome them:

1. A real lack of support

It’s almost a bit of a truism to point out that, because consecrated virginity is such a “new” form of consecrated life, it isn’t very well understood even by many within the Church. Because of this, consecrated virgins often lack the support given to Catholics in almost any other vocation.

For example, right now in many dioceses, formation programs for aspiring consecrated are either very limited or literally non-existent. Also, while consecrated virgins are canonically under the direct authority and supervision of their bishop, for a variety of reasons (including many very understandable reasons) it can happen that in some places a consecrated virgin will not have a workable system of communication with either the bishop or a direct representative of his. All this is on top of the fact that, due to geographical distance and perhaps also to other social and cultural factors, individual consecrated virgins can tend to be quite isolated from each other.

These things can all lead to some consecrated virgins having what I think we could call a well-founded sense of being unfairly left alone, or to their legitimately feeling as though they been expected to “fend for themself” spiritually.

Similarly, consecrated virgins may also frequently encounter a lot of painful misunderstandings from fellow devout Catholics. When we explain our vocations to others, it’s not uncommon to hear things like: “you’ll never be as good as a nun”; “the Church doesn’t need consecrated virgins”; “the REAL brides of Christ are Sisters in habits”; “you would have done more good for the Church if you had been married and raised a good Catholic family”; or even “you wasted your religious vocation!” And sometimes consecrated virgins find that, within their parish or diocese, their vocation is regarded more as a burden and a liability for the community rather than as an objectively good thing for the Church.

The sense of rejection that can result from feeling that one has tried to offer one’s whole life and entire self to God, but that this self-gift is not wanted by His Church, can be a shattering experience. Therefore, it shouldn’t be too hard to see how this kind of pain can unfortunately lead to a consecrated virgin becoming bitter.

So what can one do to avoid becoming bitter in these kinds of situations? First, I would say that the best ways is to keep the truth clear in your mind at all times. Even if your parish priest (or the Sisters from the local mother house, or your daily Mass-going family, or your Confirmation sponsor, or the the Vicar for Religious from your diocese, etc.) says something insensitive or acts discouragingly towards your vocation on a regular basis, this does NOT at all change the fact that Christ really and truly did call you to be His bride. It also doesn’t affect the good that you can do for the God’s people, your identity within the Church, or your reward in Heaven. It’s a lot easier to let even frequent negative remarks roll off your back if you know and have confidence that they are wrong.

And on a related note, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is avoiding bitterness, it’s also good for us to learn to look at our discouraging experiences in light of their actual context. For instance, if someone in your parish says something hurtful to you about your vocation, it’s almost certainly the case that he or she was speaking purely out of ignorance and not out of any real desire to offend you.

On a deeper level, I think it could be helpful to take unhelpful or objectively unfair circumstances as a call to grow in what I would call a disciplined spiritual maturity. Being often overlooked, unappreciated, or even outright criticized because of one’s vocation to consecrated virginity is a powerful opportunity for us to purify our motives—i.e., to grow strong in our desire to live our consecrated lives purely out of love for Christ and His Church, without regard for the esteem of others. It also gives us a chance to live the spirit of the beatitudes more deeply, by resolving to be unfailingly gracious in our thoughts, words, and deeds, no matter how we may be treated.

However, at the same time I think it’s also important that we be honest about our situations, both to ourselves as well as to the appropriate people in the appropriate contexts. In my opinion, pretending to ourselves that everything is alright when this is objectively not the case (such as, for a hypothetical example, telling ourselves that we had an excellent formation program—when in reality, “formation” consisted solely in something like being asked to read through the materials on USACV website and nothing else) is only setting the stage for greater bitterness at some later point, when we run out of the emotional energy needed to keep up this kind of false optimism.

Additionally, an attitude of respectful honesty and realism can help us to be better aware of our strengths and weaknesses—along with whatever exterior limitations may be placed on us—as we strive to grow in our consecrated lives. We need this kind of self-awareness in order to become well-balanced and non-bitter consecrated virgins.

Finally, a respectful honesty about the “unfair” aspects of our experience of following a vocation to consecrated virginity is absolutely necessary if we ever hope to improve things for the women who may be called to consecrated virginity in the future.

2. Unrealistic expectations

Another probable cause of bitterness among consecrated virgins might be unrealistic expectations. Because there is so little information available on the practicalities and lived experience of consecrated virginity, and because the actual women who live out this vocation are so few and far between, I think it’s not unreasonable to suppose that a number of aspiring consecrated virgins enter into this vocation with what could be called an overly romanticized conception of the realities of this life.

For example, I often hear of aspiring consecrated virgins who say that they feel attracted to this vocation because they see it as a way to “fit in,” to find a niche, and to feel appreciated within the Church. Besides being a less-than-optimal motive for seeking consecration in the first place, this expectation emphatically does not correspond to the actual experience of life as a consecrated virgin in most places today.

Likewise, my impression is that many candidates for consecrated virginity might tend to over-estimate the sensible consolations they will receive as a result of their consecration, not fully realizing that any prayer life, like any marriage, will go through dry and taxing times as well as rich and joyful ones. To me it also seems that some aspiring consecrated virgins imagine that they will receive abundant personal, direct support and encouragement from their bishop and other priests in their diocese or from a local network of fellow consecrated virgins, and are therefore are unpleasantly surprised and disappointed when they discover that they need to be much more emotionally self-sufficient then they had hoped or expected.

For those of us who are concerned about becoming bitter as a result of this kind of disappointment, the easy (but perhaps not always immediately helpful) answer is to keep our expectations realistic. If you are presently discerning a vocation to consecrated virginity, find ways to ask the honest, hard questions. Do whatever you can to be sure you have a decent grasp, not only of the theological nature of this vocation, but also of the experiences you are likely to have when living it out in your day-to-day life.

Yet as is obvious to anyone who has become personally acquainted with this particular difficulty, “keeping your expectations realistic” is not always as simple a solution as it sounds. That is, if you are dealing with crushed dreams in the present, it’s not really possible to go back in time or to adjust your expectations retroactively.

But, similar to what I’ve written above, consecrated virgins who are feeling disappointed can reflect upon the fact that they are actually not disappointed in the deeper theological sense—that is, they have still received what they had been promised when Christ first called them.

Even if you aren’t now regularly receiving awesome mystical graces, or if you don’t have the personal mentorship of your bishop, or you’re not experiencing an ultra-close sense of sisterhood among consecrated virgins, or the people in your parish only think you’re weird when you talk about being a bride of Christ…ultimately, all of these issues are more or less superfluous. At the end of the day, you still have your spousal relationship with Christ and your special personal identification with the Church, which are the truly important gifts one receives in this vocation.

It’s also good to remember that we can always start to develop a sense of realism now, which can help equip us to live out our consecrated lives in a happy, healthy, holy way in the future. By ceasing to build up and entertain unreasonable hopes, even at this “late hour,” we can open ourselves to receive with gratitude the gifts that God is giving us in actual reality.

I suppose that it could happen that a consecrated virgin becomes so disillusioned by the difference between her consecrated life as she first envisioned it and the concrete reality of her life as a consecrated virgin that she begins to doubt she even discerned her vocation properly in the first place.

While anyone in this situation should be talking to a good spiritual director instead of reading this blog, I do have one observation that might be pertinent. That is, perhaps a consecrated virgin suffering though such a situation might pray for the grace of a renewed sense of vocation…or even for an interior experience of being called, as if for the first time, to what consecrated virginity actually entails—i.e., a total, sacrificial gift of oneself to Christ, and in Him, to His Church.

3. A fundamental selfishness

Admittedly, this last heading sounds a lot harsher than I would like it to, but I really can’t think of any other words to describe the idea I’m trying to convey. Of course, I highly doubt that many consecrated virgins (if any at all) discerned their vocation with motives that were blatantly and manifestly selfish. And it also goes without saying that, given the realities of our fallen human nature, very few human beings ever do any good deed with an entirely disinterested heart.

But even taking these two points as a given, I think it’s good to reflect on how easy it could be for us as consecrated virgins to develop a spiritual worldview that turns out to be subtly—and I want to say even almost “innocently”—selfish on a very foundational level.

At this present time, to me at least it seems like most of the existing informational material on consecrated virginity tends to focus mostly on the individual virgin’s personal experience of receiving the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity. For example, much of the available vocational literature consists of personal reflections from consecrated virgins on the graces they received at their consecration, on the beauty of their consecration Mass, on the touching level of support they were given by their parish community, or on the joys of being a bride of Christ.

Naturally, all of this is good in and of itself. Consecration to a life of virginity is indeed a very precious and beautiful thing, and this vocation is truly great gift to the individual consecrated virgin.

But while a consideration of the personal benefits of consecrated virginity certainly isn’t wrong or theologically problematic, I do think we could say that, when taken only by itself, it is a somewhat unbalanced understanding of this vocation. That is, an exclusive or near-exclusive focus on the elements of consecrated virginity which are of primary befit to the individual (i.e., what a woman “gets out of” this vocation) undermines the pride of place that should be given to the more central aspect of this vocation—namely, the call to sacrificial self-giving for the honor of God and the good of His Church.

While this might seem like only a slight matter of emphasis, it really is significant. A candidate for consecrated virginity who looks forwards to a lovely consecration Mass and to the graces of that day—or a consecrated virgin of many years who enjoys meditating on her identity as the beloved bride of Christ—is obviously not selfish in the sense of maliciously seeking her own best interest at the expense of others. But at the same time, it’s important that we realize that if these things are the sum total, or even just the principal theme, of a consecrated virgin’s or candidate’s interior life, then her spiritual focus actually is primarily on herself and her own consolations.

This kind of subtle selfishness is, of course, not nearly as morally problematic as the more egregious varieties of selfishness which manifest themselves in the grave matter of mortal sin. In most contexts we really can’t compare the selfishness behind patently corrupt acts (like adultery or defrauding the poor of their life savings) with the much more “benign” kind of selfishness involved in things like an over-emphasis on experiencing spiritual
consolations for the sake of our own pleasure.

Yet in many ways, this more minor and understandable type of selfishness is actually more of a danger for consecrated virgins, since we are much more likely to give into temptations to selfishness on this level. And while our particular species of selfishness might never metastasize beyond the category of minor venial sin, we should remember that any and all selfishness keeps us from being as close to Christ as we could be. To borrow an illustration from St. John of the Cross, it ultimately doesn’t matter whether a bird is tied down by a heavy rope or by a fine thread—both of these ties can be equally effective in keeping it from flying upwards towards the heavens.

The reason why these observations on selfishness are pertinent to this post is that selfishness, no matter how subtle or unwitting, is by its nature connected to bitterness.

As human beings, we can only reach our fullness of life and happiness when we are striving to give of ourselves in love. The Vatican II document Gaudium et Spes acknowledges this reality when it states that man “cannot fully find himself except through a sincere gift of himself.” (GS 24) Because we are made in the image and likeness of God, we can never fully flourish unless we, in some way, come to reflect the total self-giving of the inner life of the Trinity in our own lives.

Our call to reflect the inner life and love of the Trinity, first in our vocation as baptized Christians and then in our lives as consecrated virgins, involves our learning to love, eventually, without concern for our own consolation. While of course we all have human needs that are right and proper for us to take into account (and while God also does want us to seek Him as our true good for our own benefit), at the same time we need to remember that real self-giving love doesn’t ask “what’s in it for me?”

If our main intentions in following our vocation are ultimately rooted in selfishness, even if it’s a “pious” selfishness like desiring beautiful experiences in prayer for the sake of our own enjoyment, we will never grow to our full stature as daughters of God and brides of Christ. Consequently, we will not progress as the rate we should—presuming that we manage to progress at all, or that we don’t in effect move backwards—in our growth in the theological virtues of faith, hope, and love. And a deficiency in any of these virtues will more than probably manifest itself on the level of our human personality in the form of bitterness.

Avoiding this kind of bitterness will never be exactly easy, because overcoming all forms selfishness is one of the central struggles of the Christian life. And in the consecrated life, this struggle is magnified—although I think we can say that it is only magnified so that the victory we win with the help of God’s grace can be even more complete and perfect. So while the journey here (which I think all of us consecrated virgins, not just those of us presently struggling with obvious bitterness, have to take) is difficult, it is also very beautiful.

As consecrated virgins, our growth towards the disinterested, self-sacrificial love to which we are called will give us a greater affinity with our sisters, the early virgin-martyr saints who were so important to the flourishing of the Church in her first centuries. And even more importantly, it will bring us towards a closer likeness with our crucified Spouse, who came not to be served, “but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28)

notes:

* Just as a side note to anyone who actually goes and reads this thread, for a lot of reasons, I do NOT think that it's appropriate to call consecrated virginity "the single life," "consecrated single life," "lay consecration," or anything similar. But that's a topic for another post!

How Do I Make a Private Vow?

Here is a question I received in the comment box of my recent post, “Consecrated Virginity versus Private Vows”:

I would like to make a private vow of virginity before making my Consecration [of] Virginity vows and was wondering if there are any private vow prayers that are already written out that I can pray. And what would you suggest of what one can do to live their private vows?

Thank You and God Bless You! —Karen

Dear Karen,

First of all, forgive me for correcting one small detail in your original question: I just have to point out that the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity doesn’t actually involve a vow per se.

Consecrated virgins do publically state their resolution to persevere in a life of perpetual virginity (this occurs twice in the Rite of Consecration: in the examination following the homily, and in the formula for the “renewal of intention” which is spoken by the candidate immediately before the central consecratory prayer). However, this commitment is not technically the same thing as a vow, although I think it would probably qualify as one of the “other sacred bonds” that Canon Law frequently mentions.

Still, the constitutive action in a solemn consecration to a life of virginity is the candidate’s RECEPTION of the prayer of consecration from a bishop. A consecrated virgin is consecrated passively by an action of the Church, much in the same way as a Church building is passively consecrated. This is in contrast to (for example) professing religious vows, as the making of a vow is an action which the candidate actively does.

Of course, there is a “passive” element in the consecration which occurs through the profession of religious vows, in that the Church must formally receive them through the witness of a duly authorized representative (such as a religious superior) in order for such vows to be valid. But in one sense, through their active profession of vows religious could almost be thought of as “consecrating themselves.” Likewise, the profession of any type of vow or promise—including private vows—is a similarly “active” action.

Even though consecration to a life of virginity does not number among the seven Sacraments, because of its “passive” nature it could perhaps be thought of as “working” like one. This is why it is generally understood that there can be no true dispensations from consecration to a life of virginity—the Church can’t “un-consecrate” a virgin anymore than she could “un-bless” a sacred object or “un-do” a Sacrament. However, a religious can in some circumstances be dispensed from his or her vows, because the Church is able to release individuals from the promises they have made and can relieve them from the obligations which these promises have subsequently imposed.*

Because the passive dynamic of consecrated virginity is so different from the active dynamic of professing vows, I would be concerned if the making of a vow per se (i.e., in the more limited technical definition of the term “vow”) was assumed to be an intrinsic part of the charism of consecrated virginity “lived in the world.” To me this would seem to run the risk of tying to fit consecrated virgins inappropriately into a paradigm proper to religious life, which could tend to undermine the uniqueness of consecrated virginity as a distinct vocation within the Church. Because of this (among other reasons), I don’t think that the profession of a private vow should ever be regarded as a mandatory step in the process of becoming a consecrated virgin.

But with all that being said, I do think that many aspiring consecrated virgins could find it spiritually and humanly helpful to make a private vow at some point in their discernment.

On a very personal note, when I was still in college I made a private, temporary vow of virginity under the guidance and with the support of a spiritual director. My motivation for doing this was mostly that, since I was absolutely head-over-heals in love with Jesus and (having been endowed with all the patience of a young twenty-something! ;-) ), I just couldn’t stand the thought of waiting any longer to make at least some sort of commitment to Him. But for other women, I can imagine how a period of living a privately-vowed commitment to dedicated virginity could be helpful as a means of testing or strengthen their resolve, or of discerning in a more concrete, practical way whether or not they truly feel called to a spousal relationship with Christ. (And my thought is that the best way for an aspiring consecrated virgin to “live out” a private vow is simply to live, as fully as possible, the lifestyle she intends to have after receiving the Rite of Consecration.)

However, I think that the decision to make a private vow as a preparation, whether remote or proximate, for receiving the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity should be between the aspiring consecrated virgin and her spiritual director. While it most cases it might also be appropriate for the aspirant to discuss this step with whoever is officially responsible for the formation of consecrated virgins in her diocese, because a private vow is essentially a matter of conscience, I don’t think there should ever be pressure to make a private vow from the “outside” (that is, in what we would call the “external forum”).**

For a woman making a private vow specifically as a preparatory step for receiving the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity, my own opinion is that they should profess this vow in a very low-key kind of way. I.e., I think it would be best for her to have only a handful of witness (if that many), and to be somewhat selective with whom she shares her decision to make a private vow. My thought is that a large, festive celebration connected with a private vow might tend to undermine the actual Rite of Consecration as the principal vocational commitment in a woman’s life. Also, I would be concerned that, if aspiring consecrated virgins were very open about living under private vows, this could cause confusion among the faithful or blur the distinction between private devotional commitments and the public liturgy of the Church.

For women who do not intend to become consecrated virgins, but who choose to make a private vow of chastity or virginity because they feel called to live as privately-vowed laywomen, I think the situation is somewhat different. If your main vocation in life is to make a private vow, then by all means you should celebrate it! I think it would be very appropriate for a woman in this situation to invite her family and friends to witness her private vow, to have a party immediately afterward, or perhaps even to wear a wedding dress if she felt drawn to this. (As one example, the author of the blog “Mulier Fortis” describes her profession of private vows here.)***

For both cases—that is, aspiring consecrated virgins who make private vows during their formation or discernment, as well as women who feel called to private vows as their main vocation—here are a few points to keep in mind:

1. Private vows are private and thus non-liturgical, so the Church does not provide any pre-written formula for private vows. If you feel called to make a private vow, I strongly recommended that you write your own formula. I think this would be the most fitting course of action, anyway—since private vows are a form of personal devotion, I feel that it’s best for the words used in a private vow to come straight from the heart of the individual who will be making the vow.

2. If you need inspiration for what to write in your own private vow formula, one starting point might be to look at the various formulae used for religious vows in different communities. However, in composing a private vow formula, you should NOT include anything that suggests that your private vow is being officially accepted by an authorized authority, or in the name of the Church. It should be clear from the wording of your vow that you are engaging in what is simply a private act of personal devotion.

3. Another place to find inspiration might be in some of the writings of the saints who made private vows. But, when you write a private vow, be very honest with yourself and make sure that you’re not promising anything that’s beyond your capacity. (For example, do not read Come, Be My Light and decide to imitate Bl. Theresa of Calcutta by vowing “never to refuse God anything” under pain of mortal sin. Mother Theresa was capable of keeping this vow. Most Catholics—myself included—are not.) It’s best to show your proposed private vow formula to your spiritual director before you actually make your vow.

4. In some instances, in might be possible and desirable to make a private vow right before or right after a Mass. Especially in the case of a woman who is making a private vow as her main vocational commitment, it might even work out that she could profess her vow immediate following a small, “invitation only” Mass offered for specially her and her intentions as she comes to such a definitive point in her spiritual life. But, a private vow should NEVER be made during Mass, or in the course of any of the Church’s liturgies. This is because the Church is, as a rule, opposed to the combining of liturgical prayer and private devotions.

5. If you make a private vow, remember that while you are not canonically bound to observe it, you are still morally bound. In other words, while the laws of the Church do not specify any consequences for failing to keep a private vow, a private vow is still a serious promise made to God. Therefore, a private vow is a step which should be discerned carefully. In particular, one element which needs to be discerned is whether you should make a life-long vow, a temporary vow, or a temporary vow which will be renewed periodically, or a temporary vow which will eventually lead into a life-long vow. If something unforeseen happens in your life where you find yourself unable to honor a private vow, should you take the step of having the vow properly dispensed—which is fairly simple, since many clerics (such as the pastor of whatever parish is geographically closest to you) have the authority to dispense a member of the faithful from a private vow.

notes:

* But with all this being said, I don’t want to undermine the fact that professed religious are indeed truly and fully consecrated by their vows! If any religious would like to elaborate on the consecratory nature of the vows in the combox for this post, their input would be very welcome here.

** For those unfamiliar with this terminology, in questions and practices relating to formation, there is a distinction which always needs to be made between the “internal forum” and the “external forum.” The internal forum is basically an individual soul’s personal, interior relationship with God—i.e., the internal forum involves the kinds of things that would be discussed in spiritual direction or in the Sacrament of Penance. The internal forum is always supposed to be treated with strict—and in some cases, absolute—confidentiality. On the other hand, the external forum has to do with a person’s manifest attitudes and observable behavior. E.g., the question of whether or not someone shows up at Mass everyday is something which can be asked in the external forum; the kinds of spiritual consolations that person experiences while at Mass is something which should be discussed only in the context of the internal forum.

Because the internal forum represents the area where we are all at our most vulnerable, those in authority who would make the decision as to whether or not a candidate is to be ordained, consecrated, or professed are typically forbidden from having access to information proper to the internal forum. For example, in seminaries, the priest-professors who vote on whether or not a seminarian should go on to priesthood are not allowed to hear seminarians’ confessions under any circumstances other than danger of death.

*** I think “Mulier Fortis” is a good blog for those who are discerning life-long private vows as a vocation. But one of the only things I have a reservation about is the way that the author describes having a somewhat elaborate ceremony to renew her private vows every year. Naturally I don’t want to criticize this if it works for her and her parish, but my recommendation for someone with a vocation to life-long private vows would be to have only one vow ceremony (with possibly some commemoration of the anniversary.)

Is Consecrated Virginity a Viable Form of Consecrated Life?

Here is a question from a reader on my last post:

“‘The earliest precursors to religious life were the primitive rules (such as the rule of St. Caesarius of Arles) written for communities of consecrated virgins or hermits as means for them to live their original commitments more faithfully.’

This would indicate to me that consecrated virginity lived in the world has something lacking. If the first nuns were consecrated virgins who started to live in community under a rule of life so they would be more faithful to their consecration, what does that say about the modern resurgence of consecrated virgins who live on their own with no one to answer to, no rule of life, doing their own thing? Is this a healthy, viable way to live consecrated life? Can it last, or will it die out like it did in the early centuries of the church?” –Anonymous

I have often received comments and questions very similar to this one in real life (including from a professor at my thesis presentation!), so I’m glad to have the chance to address some of these issues. This particular question actually touches on serveral separate but related points, which I’ll address one-by-one:

1. First of all, the development of new forms of consecrated life does not negate the earlier forms. For example, the advent of non-cloistered, “active” Sisters in the 1600’s does NOT make the more ancient vocation of cloistered, contemplative nuns any less valid or valuable; on an objective theological level you can’t say that active religious life, having evolved out of older forms of religious life, is somehow “more complete” than religious life devoted entirely to contemplation. Both forms of religious life have their own special place within the Church.

With this in mind, I feel that this same dynamic is in place regarding consecrated virginity lived “in the world.” That is, I don’t believe that the development of organized monastic life indicates that consecrated virginity is not a full, distinct vocation in its own right.

I can see how some might want to ask the question of whether or not the millennium-long veritable discontinuation of the practice of consecrating non-monastic virgins* suggests that consecrated virginity lived “in the world” may not actually be a true expression of consecrated life. But, the fact of the matter is that by including consecrated virgins in the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the contemporary Church has indeed recognized the Patristic-era Order of Virgins as legitimate, and not merely as a “provisional,” form of consecrated life.

2. Likewise, consecrated virginity does involve a unique “charism.” That is, consecrated virginity as a state in life does have a very distinct identity in the Church.

For one thing, consecrated virginity lived “in the world” is one of the only forms of consecrated life which involves a direct, continuative bond with the local diocese and the diocesan bishop.

And, reception of the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity is different from the profession of religious vows, in that whereas religious vows are essentially promises one actively makes to God, virginal consecration is a solemn blessing passively received from God through the ministry of the bishop. This might seem like an overly technical distinction, but it does have implications for the spirituality of consecrated virgins.

Also, while I believe that it is highly appropriate for women in all forms of consecrated life to embrace a “bridal” spirituality, consecrated virginity is the only vocation which by its very nature involves a call to a spousal relationship with Christ. Canon Law describes consecrated virgins as being “mystically betrothed to Christ, the Son of God,” but it actually does not use nuptial imagery to describe women religious. (But this does not mean that women’s religious life is somehow anti-spousal, only that spousal imagery is not absolutely essential to the vocation. In theory, it’s possible than a women could have a vocation to religious life without necessarily experiencing a call to be a bride of Christ.)

Finally, consecrated virginity has a particular connection to the early Church and the ancient virgin-martyr saints, and consecrated virgins are commissioned in a special way to pray the Liturgy of the Hours.

3. With regard to the desirability of community life, it’s good to remember that certain customs and practices can be devoutly helpful to individuals as they seek to best live out their vocations, without those practices being therefore intrinsic to a particular vocation.

For example, many Catholic married couples find that saying a daily rosary with their children is helpful in fostering an atmosphere of joyful Christian family life. It’s easy to see how such a practice would greatly assist individuals in living out their vocations to matrimony and parenthood. Perhaps some spouses and parents would even say that they found they personally “needed” their family rosary in order to maintain a decent spiritual life or to remain faithful to the obligations of their state.

However, at the same time you couldn’t say that a family rosary was intrinsic to the sacrament of matrimony or Catholic parenthood, in the sense that the practice of a family rosary isn’t a sacramental or canonical requirement for a valid marriage.

The Church might strongly recommend devotional practices such as a family rosary, but she does not strictly demand them. A person can even become a canonized saint without having adopted any specific set of devotional prayers.**

While certainly we can’t regard community life in the same way as we would devotional practices—since community is intrinsic to religious life, societies of apostolic life, and in some sense secular institutes, and as such does contribute in a major way to the theological identity of these forms of consecrated life—my thought is that community life probably functioned in a similar way for the early consecrated virgins (and perhaps could function in a similar way for modern consecrated virgins…but I’ll get to that in my next point).

That is, while some Patristic-era consecrated virgins and the earliest consecrated virgin-nuns did live in community, I think this was simply because they found it to be personally helpful, and NOT because their membership in a community was a determining or fundamental aspect of their vocation. A consecrated virgin is a consecrated virgin regardless of whether or not she lives on her own, with family, or with other consecrated virgins; whereas a woman religious is by definition one who belongs to a religious community.

4. Modern consecrated virginity is not actually anti-community life. While consecrated virgins are free live on their own, they are not required to do so. Although the small number and geographical dispersion of today’s consecrated virgins makes residential community life somewhat of an impractical proposition at the time of this writing, there is nothing to stop a group of modern consecrated virgins from living under the same roof for purposes of mutual support. In fact, some commentators understand the second paragraph of canon 604,*** which explicitly opens the possibility for consecrated virgins to associate, to allow for this specific sort of arrangement.

Naturally, as a matter of prudence, anyone presently seeking to become a consecrated virgin should have the emotional and spiritual resources to be capable of living a consecrated life with only a minimum of external human support. But on a theological (if not a practical) level, a call to consecrated virginity is not identical with a special call to solitude or independence.

5. And, it would seem to be possible to live a truly consecrated life without the benefit of day-to-day community support.

Or at least, the Church seems to think it is. Aside from the restoration of a non-monastic Order of Virgins, the fact that the Church endorses the existence of secular institutes and eremitic life, as well as the fact that she does not mandate that the diocesan clergy should live together, seems to indicate that the Church believes that it is possible to be faithful to a life of celibacy and prayer without necessarily living in a community of like-minded individuals.

We also have the example of numerous saints to further attest to this possibility. For example, St. Genevieve of Paris (my patroness!) was a consecrated virgin in the fifth century. While she lived at about the time when the first true religious Orders were forming, she herself never joined any formally organized community. Yet, throughout almost her entire ninety-year life, she was known as a strikingly exemplary consecrated virgin.

Of course, subjectively an individual woman might feel that she herself would be unable to live a consecrated life outside of a community, and in my opinion this is a legitimate reason for entering religious life instead of becoming a consecrated virgin. But, such cases would not disprove the objective possibility of living a truly consecrated life as a consecrated virgin in the world.

Conversely, it’s also good to keep in mind that, while community life could surely be a great help remaining faithful to one’s vocation, in and of itself it isn’t a fool-proof guarantee that one will live a fervent consecrated life, or even that one will attain to the level of charity required of all Christians. Just simply living in community doesn’t automatically make one a saint!

6. Most importantly, it is a serious mistake to see consecrated virgins as normatively having “no one to answer to, no rule of life, [and] doing their own thing.” I would be the first to agree that this would not make for a “healthy, viable way to live consecrated life.” And if consecrated virginity is understood this way in some places, then my thought is that this is actually an abuse of the Rite of Consecration.

It is true that consecrated virgins do have much more freedom than do most religious in the ways in which they can structure their day-to-day lives. However, it’s totally inimical to the concept of consecrated life in general to enter into a public state of consecration with an attitude of “doing my own thing.” When a person becomes consecrated in a public manner through the Church’s liturgy (versus, for example, dedicating one’s life to God through a private vow of celibacy or virginity), in a very real way he or she no longer “belongs” to oneself, but to God and His Church.

As I see it, if a consecrated virgin is living a life that could rightly be considered “consecrated”—i.e., if she is living out her vocation the way it is ordinarily supposed to be lived—then she should truly be organizing EVERY aspect of her life around her commitment to the Church. As I have mentioned before, this is one major reason why I strongly believe that consecrated virgins should, under normal circumstances, be “dedicated to the service of the Church” in as direct and literal a way as possible.

I do hesitate to say that consecrated virgins should have a “Rule of Life” per se. My main objection to this is that the following of a set, specific Rule would seem to be an element uniquely proper to religious life and diocesan hermits (similar to the way in which following the spirituality of a specific founder of foundress is a constitutive aspect of religious life, but not consecrated virginity).****

Yet at the same time, if a consecrated virgin made it a priority to:

- attend daily Mass if it was at all humanly possible;
- pray the Liturgy of the Hours;
- work for the Church full-time in so far as she was capable, or otherwise to devote a comparable amount of time to volunteer service in the Church;
- make time for private prayer, spiritual reading, and studying the faith;
- live a demonstrably simple lifestyle;
- and to engage in some type of appropriate penance or sacrifices;

…then it would seem to me these commitments would serve the same purpose as a Rule, in that they would ensure that the consecrated virgin was living a life readily identifiable as being “consecrated.”

Finally, consecrated virgins do have someone (besides the Lord!) to “answer to”—their bishop. This is evident in the general introduction to the Rite of Consecration, which states that it for the bishop to determine the conditions under which women living in the world are to undertake a life of consecrated virginity.

Of course, consecrated virgins don’t vow obedience in the same way that nuns and Sisters do; which, among other things, means that the bishop would not be nearly as involved in the smaller, mundane decisions of every-day life. For example, the bishop obviously would not determine things like what time precisely to say Vespers, where to go grocery shopping, how often one could visit family and friends, ect. Nor would a consecrated virgin need her bishop’s approval to engage in the many smaller acts of charity that present themselves over the course of the day. E.g., a consecrated virgin would not need to be “commissioned” to do something like bring food to a sick parishioner or to check in regularly on an elderly neighbor.

However, this does NOT mean that the evangelical counsel of obedience has no place in the life a consecrated virgin! The bishop should, either personally or through a delegate (like a Vicar for Religious or Episcopal Delegate for Consecrated Life) be aware and approve of the general shape of a consecrated virgin’s consecrated life.

Likewise, my belief is that all of a consecrated virgin’s serious decisions—such as where to go to school, what job to take, whether or not to engage in a major project like writing a book or starting a charitable organization—should be mutually discerned by the consecrated virgin and her bishop or the bishop’s representative. Additionally, a consecrated virgin should be completely open to her bishop’s suggestions as to how she could best serve the needs of her diocese, or his requests for a particular form of service to the local Church, even if these go against the consecrated virgin’s own personal preferences or inclinations.

So in a nutshell, consecrated virginity lived “in the world” is a true and valid vocation, which subsequently should entail the same level of commitment, self-sacrifice, and responsibility as any public state of consecrated life within the Church. Any woman hoping to become a consecrated virgin in today’s world should sincerely intend to offer her life to Christ and His Church with as much totality as a strictly-cloistered nun offers hers—that is, an aspiring consecrated virgin should truly strive to give everything.

While it’s understandable that consecrated virginity may not yet be fully and appropriately understood by many Catholics, I think that it would have disastrously negative spiritual consequences for both individual consecrated virgins as well as for the wider Church if consecrated virginity were to be regarded as something like a less demanding “alternative” to
religious life.

notes:

* Although incidentally, the conferral of the solemn virginal consecration on women living outside of religious communities was not officially forbidden until the year 1926—less then fifty years before the promulgation of the revised Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity, which contained a form intended explicitly for women “living in the world.”

** Of course, this is referring to specific devotional practices (e.g., the brown scapular, various Fatima devotions, the Divine Mercy chaplet, the St. Louis de Montfort Consecration to Mary, ect.), and not to the liturgy, sacraments, or to prayer in general. These latter things, in contrast with what we would call “devotional prayers,” are truly indispensable for living a good and fruitful Catholic life!

***Canon 604 §2 reads: “In order to observe their own resolution more faithfully and to perform by mutual assistance service to the Church in harmony with their proper state, virgins can be associated together.”

**** But I would see no problem if some consecrated virgins found it personally helpful to write, with the help of her spiritual director or bishop, her own informal private “rule” or “plan of life” to serve as a basic set of guidelines for the daily living out of her vocation. But a situation would be much different from a consecrated virgin attempting to do something like follow the Rule of Saint Augustine or Benedict; or from enshrining an official rule as a major component of the spirituality of consecrated virginity in general.

“Dedicated to the Service of the Church”: Responses to Comments, Part II

In continuing my project to respond to all the comments (see my first set of responses here) I received on my December 13 post, “What Does it Mean to Be ‘Dedicated to the Service of the Church?’,” here is the comment I received from the first “anonymous” (which I have edited slightly for the sake of brevity; see the full comment at the bottom of its respective post):

“A fascinating post! Being a part of a religious community, one is limited by the directives of that community. Being ‘in the world’ gives one the opportunity to use one’s gifts to meet the needs of the world as one encounters the world. […] So when you say a consecrated virgin should have an occupation connected to the church—I agree—but I can easily see a consecrated virgin in the following occupations:

As a doctor—especially if the person accepts a modest income and dedicated a good deal of their practice to the poor and the underserved; as a teacher—again helping children who are in need of an education and in need of a Christian roll model; as a director of a non-profit organization that helps people who are homeless or poor or abused; [or] as a hospice worker, bringing comfort to the dying.

Sometimes, being affiliated with a church is not the best way to evangelize and reach the people who, as Christ said, were most in need of a physician. Sometimes the people most in need of the Good News don’t come to church at all.

So I think that—depending on one’s gifts—if a consecrated virgin worked directly with the church in a church ministry, that is wonderful. Those of us who are in the church will benefit greatly from her gifts—many of us in the church need to witness the beautiful model of sacrifice that consecrated virginity is. But I also feel that if a consecrated virgin found a way to bring the message of Christ to those she encountered, especially if her work were dedicated to being a servant of those in need, (Matt. 25: 31-46) like Christ poured himself out to be a servant—that is excellent as well.”

Dear Anonymous #1,

Many belated thanks for taking the time to write such a thoughtful comment! I agree with a lot of the things you mention here, but there are some important places where I think I would need to disagree, or at least make some distinctions.

First, I think you are correct in pointing out that, in terms of the ways in which individuals could serve the Church, they could be in some sense “limited” by the type of religious community they may join.

Speaking here with women’s religious life in the United States as my main point of reference and comparison, generally “active” communities have a specific apostolate or type of apostolate as part of their charism (i.e., their foundational spiritual identity).

For example, the Dominican Sisters of Mary see education and teaching as their own proper expression of Dominican spirituality, and the Little Sisters of the Poor were founded for the express purpose of caring for the impoverished elderly. The congregation of the Parish Visitors of Mary Immaculate exists to bring lapsed or wandering Catholics back to the faith, and while they accomplish this through a variety of ways (such as teaching CCD classes, running sacramental preparation courses for “over aged” children, ect.), they have a long-standing tradition of going door-to-door in search of the “straying sheep.” And although the Franciscan Sisters of the Renewal are not committed to any one specifc kind of work, they are exclusively dedicated to serving the underprivileged in poor neighborhoods.

Likewise, contemplative communities ordinarily have prayer as their only “work,” and often their prayer has a particular intercessory or apostolic focus—e.g., Discalced Carmelites pray for the diocesan clergy, Dominican nuns pray for the Dominican friars, and Passionist nuns pray for a greater spread of devotion to the Passion of Christ.

If a religious community were to abandon its own specific apostolate, in many respects it would change the fundamental identity of that community. Because of this, the Church speaks very strongly in several places about the need for each community to act in accord with their foundational charism. Even if a proposed new apostolate were to be more in accord with the actual needs of the diocese in which a particular community was located, the Church still requires that bishops respect the community’s foundational charism in all its traditional expressions.*

However, this is not the case for consecrated virgins, who are simply called to be “dedicated to the service of the Church” in a more generic sense, and not necesarily to any one particular type of apostolic work. A vocation to consecrated virginity lived “in the world” does not automatically entail a specific call to something like teaching or nursing in the same way that a vocation to a teaching or nursing religious congregation would.

And so even presuming that I’m correct when I argue that consecrated virgins should be dedicated to the service of the Church in a full-time and direct manner, this would still give an individual consecrated virgin a great deal of freedom, both to discern how she could best serve the Church according to her own particular talents and abilities, as well as to discern (hopefully with the help of her bishop) how her work could best respond to the areas of her diocese’s greatest need.

For a more concrete illustration of this:

One religious community that Catholic New Yorkers are all very proud of is the Sisters of Life. Founded by a late Cardinal Archbishop of New York for the purpose of working and praying for pro-life causes, the majority of their houses are still located in the metropolitan area, and as of right now they are still a community of diocesan right—which, in a nutshell, means that they have a very deep and direct connection with the Archdiocese of New York.

However, just because the Sisters of Life are for the most part situated in New York, and just because they are dependant upon New York’s Archbishop in a special way, it does not necessarily follow that their charism could be defined as: “meeting the general pastoral needs of this one particular local Church.” Even if Archbishop Dolan prayerfully decided that what New York really needed were religious Sisters who would teach in Catholic grade schools, this alone would not make it appropriate for the Sisters of Life to change their apostolate. (Yet conversely, because the Sisters of Life have pro-life work as an essential part of their charism, they can fulfill this aspect of their vocation just as well in any diocese in the world.)

But a consecrated virgin, on the other hand, does have the “charism” of being dedicated to her home diocese specifically. So in the hypothetical case mentioned above, if the Archbishop of New York saw a need for teachers in the local Catholic schools, a New York consecrated virgin would be free to take on an educational apostolate in response to that need. And if several years later the Archbishop felt that it would be important to have more catechists in the Archdiocese, new consecrated virgins could take on this apostolate (or previously consecrated virgins could change the field in which they serve). Yet in this case, the consecrated virgins who were catechists—or even those consecrated virgins who served the Church in an altogether different type of work—would be living the “charism” of consecrated virginity just as fully as the consecrated virgins who were school teachers.

But as for your next point, it is important to keep in mind that consecrated virgins aren’t just called to be merely “dedicated to service,” but are instead called to be dedicated specifically “to the service of the CHURCH.”

Because of this, I do believe that, with all other things being equal, it would be preferable for a consecrated virgin to work in some type of Church-sponsored institution. But I would also maintain—albeit in a qualified way—that a consecrated virgin could be truly “dedicated to the service of the Church” even if she were not working directly under the formal auspices of her diocese.

To begin with, sometimes the question of whether or not one works “officially” for the Church is more of a technicality than anything else. For instance, if I were to dedicate my life exclusively to solitary prayer and penance; or spend all my time creating liturgical art for Churches; or if I were to fund and operate my own soup kitchen; I might not be “working for the Church” in the sense that my archdiocese would not consider me to be offically an employee. Yet at the same time, it would be difficult to argue that these things would not constitute direct service to the Church.

As an actual historical example of this dynamic, the early Daughters of Charity, because they did not observe papal enclosure or profess solemn vows, were not initially considered to be true “religious” when they were founded in the seventeenth century. Instead, they were basically regarded as lay women who happened to live a common life and who professed the evangelical counsels privately. Yet, they were well-known for their self-sacrifice and generosity in serving the poor where they found them. So although the first Daughters of Charity therefore did not serve the poor with anything like an official mandate from the Church, they were still totally devoted to serving their neighbor out of love for Christ.

Similarly, since Christ calls His disciples to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, cloth the naked, welcome the stranger, and to visit the sick and imprisoned, anyone who spends themselves in the corporal works of mercy out of love for Christ would, in this sense, be fulfilling the Church’s mission in a real way.

Reasoning along these same lines, I think that a consecrated virgin could be truly serving the Church even if she worked in a non-Catholic, or even non-religious, charitable institution (that is, provided that that same institution did not embrace values or practice anything that was incompatible with the official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church regarding faith or morals).

Likewise, in theory a consecrated virgin could also be “dedicated to the service of the Church” even from within what we would normally consider a secular career—IF she was demonstrably and sacrificially committed to doing charitable work as her primary occupation. Your idea of a medical doctor working for a low income in an impoverished area would a perfect example of this. Other examples might include a lawyer dedicated to advocacy work for the poor or disabled, a teacher who worked with special-needs children and their families, or an accountant who worked primarily with non-profit charitable organizations.

But, I don’t think the situation would be the same if, for instance, a consecrated virgin was working as a medical doctor in a wealthy suburb for a usual doctor’s salary. There is a distinction that has to be made between, on the one hand, simply bringing one’s Christian values to the secular work world or glorifying God by means of professional excellence; and on the other, dedicating one’s entire life in a total, radical, direct, explicit, and exclusive way to the furthering of the Church’s mission.

The former description of “service” is the obligation of all Christians, and, insofar as it can be considered a specific “call” within the Church, is actually the proper vocation of the laity.** But it seems to me that consecrated people—by virtue of their being “consecrated,” or specially “set apart” for the things of God in a way that goes beyond that of all the baptized—are called to the latter definition of service to the Church.

Finally, when you say that: “Sometimes, being affiliated with a church is not the best way to evangelize and reach the people who, as Christ said, were most in need of a physician…” I would have to disagree on the grounds that, in baptism ALL Catholics are affiliated with the Church!

But taking your statement more in the spirit in which I think you meant it, I would tentatively lean towards agreeing that sometimes a more subtle or hidden Christian witness might be most effective in certain circumstances. While I strongly believe that bold expressions of Christianity are something very much needed by the Church today, I think you make a good point when you mention that “…sometimes the people most in need of the Good News don’t come to church at all.” I can also see how someone uncertain or even totally lacking in their faith might be initially “put off,” or feel somewhat frightened or “judged,” by a priest or religious, or by someone whose special consecration in the Church was obvious.

However, when relating these issues to consecrated virgins, the question is not so much: “What is the best means of evangelization in general?” as much as it is: “What kind of witness is most appropriate for consecrated virgins according to their own proper state in life?”

I would answer that, because consecrated virginity is a PUBLIC state of consecrated life within the Church, that it would be most appropriate for a consecrated virgin to serve the Church and to bear Christian witness in a more visible and obvious way.

This is not to say that I don’t believe anyone is called to be “unseen leaven in the world,” or to evangelize in a subtle way—only that I don’t think this is the true vocation of consecrated virgins. For women (and men as well) who feel drawn specifically to a “hidden” apostolate, the Church does recognize this type of call in the vocation of membership in a Secular Institute.

Or, if a woman feels called to a spousal relationship with Christ within the context of a lay lifestyle and with a minimum of formal exterior structure, she is free to make a private vow of virginity. In fact, I think that a private vow might be the best and most theologically consistent option for women who sense a vocation to a life of dedicated virginity, but who feel called neither to be “set apart” from the lay faithful nor to change their exterior occupations in any dramatic way.

Ultimately, all Christians are called to serve the Church in ways which harmonize with their various states in life, and everyone without exception is called to holiness. But precisely because of this, in order for consecrated virginity to have any special meaning as a vocation, consecrated virgins would have to be called to a level dedication to Christ and the Church which goes beyond one’s baptismal obligations. The Church sees consecrated virginity as a call to be “more closely united” to God;*** however, one cannot actually fulfill this call by simply resolving to observe those things to which all Christians are already bound.

notes:

* For examples, see the 2004 Directory for the Pastoral Ministry of Bishops (Apostolorum Successores), par. 100:

“While zealously defending the common discipline of religious institutes, even with regard to individual members, the Bishop should himself respect and require others to respect the rightful autonomy of institutes of consecrated life and societies of apostolic life, without interfering in their life and government and without claiming to be the authoritative interpreter of their original charisms.”

** See the Code of Canon Law, canon 225:

Ҥ1. Since, like all the Christian faithful, lay persons are designated by God for the apostolate through baptism and confirmation, they are bound by the general obligation and possess the right as individuals, or joined in associations, to work so that the divine message of salvation is made known and accepted by all persons everywhere in the world. This obligation is even more compelling in those circumstances in which only through them can people hear the gospel and know Christ.

§2. According to each one’s own condition, they are also bound by a particular duty to imbue and perfect the order of temporal affairs with the spirit of the gospel and thus to give witness to Christ, especially in carrying out these same affairs and in exercising secular functions.”

*** Cf. the suggested homily in the Rite of Consecration to a Life of Virginity.