Eschatological Tension And The Two Brides : Marriage And Consecrated V

[God's Beloved]

Our hearts are Restless O Lord, until they find their Rest in You !

 

As I was praying how to start the thread on Eschatological Virginity which applies to the Entire Church , there was a paradoxical  tension within me . Virgin and Married ?  Married and Virgin ? , The Kingdom of Heaven is strange indeed . Who but God could think of such a combination ! Two  set of  Brides came to my mind :

 

  1] Martha  and Mary [Lk 10 :38-42 ]

 

38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he entered a village and a woman called Martha welcomed him to her house.
39 She had a sister named Mary who sat down at the Lord's feet to listen to his words.
40 Martha, meanwhile, was busy with all the serving and finally she said, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do all the serving?"
41 But the Lord answered, "Martha, Martha, you worry and are troubled about many things,
42 whereas only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen the better part, and it will not be taken away from her."
 

 

  2] The Brides in the Sacrament of Matrimony  and Consecrated Virginity [Canon 604]

 

IN THIS THREAD MY INTENTION [TENSION] IS NOT THAT BETWEEN ACTION AND CONTEMPLATION AS TRADITIONALLY  MARTHA AND MARY HAVE BEEN UNDERSTOOD , BUT BETWEEN  MARRIAGE AS  AN EARTHLY REALITY AND VIRGINITY RELATED TO THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN .AND YET  THE TWO BRIDES ARE AN IMAGE OF THE CHURCH'S LOVE FOR CHRIST !

 

:wedgie:       :boink:    :secret: :buddies: :lol2:

 

 You are invited to share your thoughts on the paradoxical relationship  between  Virginity [ canon 604 ] and the  Sacrament of Marriage , Eschatological tension  we all experience in our hearts . Especially the views of married women and consecrated virgins are awaited.

 

 

Edited January 29, 2013 by God's Beloved

[Guest brandy_jo]

I have never seen the Martha and Mary story applied to virginity vs marriage.

 

The importance of each vocation lies in the call from Christ to follow the Will of the Father's Heart for the person who must live out their vocation with the Grace of the Holy Spirit.  Our vocations arise from the Trinity!!!  Of course, Consecrated Virginity is important in the Church!  This is why the Church in Her Goodness and Wisdom has these rites.  Marriage is likewise important in the Church.  They are not in competition with each other!!!

 

I think you make a good point in realizing that both are an Image of Christ's Love for the Church!!!

Edited January 29, 2013 by brandy_jo

[God's Beloved]

Dear Brandy-jo

The  1st set of Brides : Martha and Mary indeed do not signify Married vs Virginity. That was simply a TEASER  :hehe2: :spammer: 

I put  here to stimulate some thinking !

 

As I was praying how to start the thread on Eschatological Virginity
which applies to the Entire Church , there was a paradoxical  tension
within me . Virgin and Married ?  Married and Virgin ? , The Kingdom of
Heaven is strange indeed .

 

Every consecrated virgin [canon 604]  has the particular Charism to be a sign of the Church’s love for Christ, and an eschatological image of the world to come and the glory of the heavenly Bride of Christ.

 

The suggested homily in the rite says :

The Church is the Bride of Christ. This title of the Church was given by the  fathers and doctors of the Church to those like you who speak to us of the world  to come, where there is no marrying or giving in marriage. You are a sign of the  great mystery of salvation, proclaimed at the beginning of human history and  fulfilled in the marriage covenant between Christ and his Church.

 

The Prayer of Consecration in the Rite says :

You have poured out your grace upon all peoples. [So you are right in saying that every person must live out their vocation with the Grace of the Holy Spirit ]

You have adopted as heirs of the new covenant

sons and daughters from every nation under heaven,

countless as the stars. 

Your children are born, not of human birth, 

nor of man’s desire, 

but of your Spirit. 

Among your many gifts 

you give to some the grace of virginity.

Yet the honor of marriage is in no way lessened. 

As it was in the beginning,

your first blessing still remains upon this holy union.

Yet your loving wisdom

chooses those  who make sacrifice of marriage

for the sake of the love of which it is the sign. 

They renounce the joys of human marriage,

but cherish all that it foreshadows.   
[Those who choose chastity

have looked upon the face of Christ, 

its origin and inspiration. 

They give themselves wholly to Christ,

 the Son of the ever-virgin Mary, 

and the heavenly Bridegroom of those 

who in his honor dedicate themselves to lasting virginity.]

 

Marriage and Virginity are Equally important vocations in the life and mission of the Church. I  missed discussions on Marriage as a Vocation  on this phorum. Hope we can discuss a lot on both  these vocations. It should be helpful to those discerning Sacramental Marriage or Consecrated virginity as their  Calling and all those interested in Consecrated life.

Edited January 29, 2013 by God's Beloved

[Chiquitunga]

Marriage and Virginity are Equally important vocations in the life and mission of the Church. I  missed discussions on Marriage as a Vocation  on this phorum. Hope we can discuss a lot on both  these vocations. It should be helpful to those discerning Sacramental Marriage or Consecrated virginity as their  Calling and all those interested in Consecrated life.

 

Several years ago, and a few times since, this issue was brought up in VS and it has been decided by the moderators/dUSt, etc. that VS is specifically for the discussion of the vocations to Consecrated Life & the Priesthood. The term Vocation Station is a catchy one :like: but it doesn't imply that all vocations are discussed here. Now there's the Raising Small Humans subphorum and Open Mic, Transmundane Lane, etc. to discuss Marriage in depth. Not that I'm saying this topic doesn't belong here ... although it could be very appropriate in Transmundane Lane. This is a very "transmundane" subject! :smile3:

Edited January 29, 2013 by Chiquitunga

[God's Beloved]

Several years ago, and a few times since, this issue was brought up in VS and it has been decided by the moderators/dUSt, etc. that VS is specifically for the discussion of the vocations to Consecrated Life & the Priesthood. The term Vocation Station is a catchy one :like: but it doesn't imply that all vocations are discussed here. Now there's the Raising Small Humans subphorum and Open Mic, Transmundane Lane, etc. to discuss Marriage in depth. Not that I'm saying this topic doesn't belong here ... although it could be very appropriate in Transmundane Lane. This is a very "transmundane" subject! :smile3:

 

Thank you Chiquitunga for  informing about the Transmundane Lane and Open Mic . I found some interesting threads that could be visited again out there.

 

I had the intention to reduce the tension between the two vocations. So what do we do ?  Consecrated virginity [CV] is a mystical marriage with Jesus Christ who is Fully Human and Fully Divine.  Should  the couple [ Jesus and His virgin bride] go to the Transmundane viz. beyond the worldly considerations -where they rightly belong ?  :think: :crazy:

 

Anyway , God's Plan to Reconcile earth and heaven /reconcile all things in Christ will only happen after His Second Coming. Until then CV will have to live in the 'already' and 'not yet' a sign of the Kingdom of Heaven. 

 

Both sacramental marriage  and  vocation to virginity are becoming rare on the planet. CV according to the Church is the theological locus of the sacrament of marriage . They both throw light on each other. Since most of the resources for CV are ancient or medieval , the resources on the understanding of the sacrament of marriage  can be helpful to understand CV today and vice versa. If we have two threads : one for marriage and another for CV in two different  zones of phatmass , the tension will only become too apparent. So I'm taking the risk of discussing both together on this thread. Simply unavoidable.......

[God's Beloved]

Consecrated virginity as the Archetype of the Sacrament of Matrimony

 

All over the world , in different countries and cultures , the vocation to consecrated virginity [ Canon 604] is understood and lived in a variety of ways.

 

It is true that Charisms are a gift  for the Christian community . But what role does an ancient charism have in today’s world ? Did the Second Vatican Council do the right thing by reviving the rite ? Has the original charism associated with this vocation also been revived according to the intention of its  founder who  is Jesus Christ Himself ? Can  OCV become outdated and irrelevant ?

 

Today I wish to share my reflections on OCV  from the perspective of it being the Archetype of the Sacrament of Matrimony.  In Early Christianity  , there was no specific Rite of Sacramental marriage. The local customs were followed .As mentioned in the  writings of St Paul  , virginity for the sake of the Kingdom had a strongly  eschatological dimension  and considered a somewhat better choice compared to marriage. The passage of time proved  that the  Second Coming of Christ  did not happen as expected . The Church is  aware of the Presence of Christ  in the  community of the baptised  [ the middle coming] . Yet the Final coming of Christ  is a  mystery . We do not know the dates and time set by the Father in Heaven . We pray for His Kingdom to come  here on Earth   through His Will being done. We are supposed to be pilgrims  on the road less travelled  .

Read : History of marriage

 

 

Why is it said  that consecrated virgins  are an eschatological image of the heavenly bride and the life to come when the church will at last be fully united with Christ her bridegroom ?   Doesn’t it sound like mythologizing  the relationship of Christians with Christ ? What is the purpose of such Imagery ?  Sometimes I feel really disillusioned  , especially in the context  of the sexual abuse of consecrated/ religious women by clergy  in some parts of the world  , the imagery of  consecrated virgin as bride of  Christ  is often to be blamed . We need to read the signs of the  times  , maybe be willing to demythologize  the charism of OCV  while retaining  its truth , while also avoiding the abuse of the rite as  a mere ceremony  by women in other vocations  to consecrated living.

This painful search  has often made me go back to the origin of  this charism  - to  the wound on the Sacred Heart of its founder Jesus Christ  on the Cross  where the  Church was born as His bride. It is an ancient tradition of belief . The  Charism  of  consecrated virginity  from this perspective  is the Identity and Charism of the Universal Church herself  

 

As St. Cyprian Bishop of Carthage (Africa), martyr of the 2 nd century stated: "There is no pot of gold or silver as precious as a virginal body. A bride of Christ, is that ancient alliance, all gilded inside and out, in which rests the divine law. "

What is the relevance of the saying  of the Fathers of the Church about the vocation – for today’s world ? I have struggled with this question. Consecrated virginity embodies the essence of the whole church . Yet it seems to me that  the ancient Rite of Consecration of virgins  is actually an archetype of the Sacrament of Matrimony. The charisms of the two vocations  overlap each other , enrich each other . This can also be seen in the ‘Prayer of consecration’  in the rite for virgins.

 

The Catechism of the catholic church states:

 

1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament." 
Read Catechism

 

Ideally it is consecrated virginity that should enrich the vocation of sacramental marriage  since the former  is the marriage of Jesus Christ with His body the church . But due to lack of understanding of the vocation in today’s world , there is much that  consecrated virgins  can learn from the theology of the sacrament of matrimony.

 

There  have been various  forms  / rites for the celebration of marriage in the church since 2000 yrs  .According to theology of marriage in the Latin Rite church  , the spouses  are the ministers of the sacrament [ grace ] to each other . The proper  intention / consent  is very important for the validity of the marriage . In the  Eastern Rite churches  , marriage is not valid without  the nuptial blessing by a  priest . 

 

 The church has  no formal definition in this regard for the Rite of consecration to a life of virginity which is actually a marriage with Christ  . There are various theologies  about this Rite . However Tradition has been constant  irrespective  of the various cultures  in which this Rite has been celebrated  , regarding the importance of the  ‘Propositum’  / the ‘Prayer of Consecration’ /  a special  Blessing  at the end of the Eucharist. 

 

According to the theology of the Sacrament of marriage  in the Latin rite catholic church , what is important  is the exchange of consent  by the  couple  since they  are the ministers  of the sacramental grace  to each other .  Defect in consent  [ explicit or implicit ]   can create doubts about the validity of the marriage .  However  in the  Rite of consecration of virgins , although it is also a Rite of marriage  between Christ and the  virgin,  it is not a 'sacrament'  of the love between Christ and the Church  , but it is a 'Fact' .  The virgin cannot be a minister of  sacramental grace to Christ .  Hence although the Propositum or Renewal of Intention  is important , it is not the central element of the Rite .  What is truly important is the Prayer of Consecration by a Bishop  who  is aware that this is the central element of the rite  and has the intention to consecrate according to the mind of the church. 

 

In the vocation of  marriage , the spouses  co operate with God  for the procreation of children . Similarly in the  Consecration of a virgin , the Bishop  plays the role of God the Father  and blesses and consecrates the union between Christ and the virgin  who symbolizes the church , so that she can be fruitful in service of the church community.

 

For any virgin preparing for Consecration  it is important for  her , the bishop and the community present – to understand  what is happening.

 

• Some  understand  the Rite  as similar to the profession of Religious  . They take private vows to embrace the evangelical counsels  for  some time before   the public ceremony  in which their private vows [ resolution / intention they have formed in their hearts ]  are consecrated by the bishop  through the ministry of the Church.
• Some understand the Rite  according to the theology of the Annunciation .The words in the Prayer of Consecration – which is a constitutive sacramental -   bring about an ontological  change in the person of the virgin  perhaps 'similar' to transformation of bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ  in the sacrament of the eucharist.

 

Whatever the approach to the understanding of the Rite  ,I think- to benefit from its empowerment and grace , it is indeed important  for  each one to  be aware of  their roles and have the correct intentions  according to the mind of the church , throughout the rite.  Otherwise  there can be doubts regarding the validity of the consecrations of  many  CVs around the world since this vocation is little understood  almost everywhere !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[God's Beloved]

What happens after Death ? for Christians and those who are Not Christians ?

 

Every consecrated virgin [canon 604]  has the particular Charism to be a
sign of the Church’s love for Christ, and an eschatological image of
the world to come and the glory of the heavenly Bride of Christ.

 

During the last ten days, I got news of two deaths- one a catholic in
the neighborhood  and another a very dear aunt who was like a
grandmother to me . Like my family , she was not a christian but I can
say she was one of the best christians  I have known because of the life
she lived , even though she was uneducated.  The death of christians
always fascinates me and fills me with joy , with a holy jealousy that
they have already gone to  Heaven /a state of Life i await with
longing.  

 

When I was not a christian, Jesus came in my life in response to the
void I felt at the death of my dearest sibling. The reality of DEATH
shook me . Then I learnt about Jesus saying,' I AM the RESURRECTION and
the LIFE!'  I made up my own naive understanding of the Resurrection.  I
told all my friends that  when we die , we go to Jesus and Jesus lives
in our heart , so the dear ones who die also live in our hearts and are
closer to us than before they died. I was only 14 and had no formal
instruction in the faith. I thought after He died on the Cross, Jesus
did not have a body but was pure spirit. Later  I learnt that christians
believe in the resurrection of the 'body' , and that when we receive
the Eucharist , we do not possess Jesus , but Jesus possesses us and we
BECOME  the Eucharist more and more as we journey through life as a
Eucharistic community . As it is said about the Eucharist, " Behold who
you are , Become what you believe ! "

 

While studying theology in college , we learnt about Eschatology from
the perspective of various religions . Since the death of my aunt , I
have wept only last night for her. I am all the time consciously or
unconsciously  meditating on death and life , Christian eschatology or
Fulfilment and  how to relate this with a woman who lived a deeply 
godly life and yet she was not a christian. I also think how dear my
family is to me. Heaven for me with Jesus , cannot be a Heaven if my
dear ones won't be with me. Actually I do believe they Will be with me .
That's my Faith in  the Plan of God to reconcile all things in Christ
through His Paschal Mystery.

 

[God's Beloved]

I like to think of Mother Mary ,  Virgin and Married . She is THE MODEL for  Both the Brides :  Consecrated virgins and  Sacramentally Married women

 

 

Mary, eschatological icon of the Church General Audience — March 14, 2001http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/alpha/data/aud20010314en.html

1. We began our meeting by listening to one of the most famous passages in
John's Book of Revelation. In the woman with child, who is giving birth while a
bloodred dragon rages against her and the child she has conceived, Christian
liturgical and artistic tradition has seen an image of Mary, the Mother of Christ.
However, according to the sacred author's primary intention, if the child's birth
represents the coming of the Messiah, the woman obviously personifies the People of
God, both the biblical Israel and the Church. The Marian interpretation does not
conflict with the ecclesial meaning of the text, since Mary is "a type of the
Church" (Lumen gentium, n. 63; cf. St Ambrose, Expos. Lc., II, 7)

The profile of the Mother of the Messiah is thus seen against the background
of the believing community. The dragon, which evokes Satan and evil, rises up
against Mary and the Church, as the symbolism of the Old Testament has already
indicated; red is the sign of war, slaughter and bloodshed; the "seven heads" with
diadems mean immense power, while the "ten horns" recall the impressive strength of
the beast described by the prophet Daniel (cf. 7: 7), which too is an image of the
abusive power that rages in history.

2. Good and evil thus confront each other. Mary, her Son and the Church
represent the apparent weakness and smallness of love, truth and justice. Against
them is unleashed the monstrous, devastating energy of violence, deceit and
injustice. But the song that closes the passage reminds us that the final verdict
is entrusted to "the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the
authority of his Christ" (Rv 12: 10)

Certainly, in historical time the Church can be forced to seek refuge in the
desert, like ancient Israel on its way to the promised land. Among other things,
the desert is the traditional refuge of those pursued, the secret, tranquil place
where divine protection is offered (cf. Gn 21: 14-19; 1 Kgs 19: 4-7). However, as
the Book of Revelation stresses (cf. 12: 6, 14), the woman remains in this refuge
for only a limited period. The time of anguish, persecution and trial, then, is not
indefinite: in the end liberation will come and the hour of glory

In contemplating this mystery in a Marian perspective, we can say that "Mary,
at the side of her Son, is the most perfect image of freedom and of the liberation
of humanity and of the universe. It is to her as Mother and Model that the Church
must look in order to understand in its completeness the meaning of her own
mission" (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Libertatis conscientia, 22
March, 1986, n. 97; cf. Redemptoris Mater, n. 37).

3. Let us fix our gaze, then, on Mary, the icon of the pilgrim Church in the
wilderness of history but on her way to the glorious destination of the heavenly
Jerusalem, where she will shine as the Bride of the Lamb, Christ the Lord. The
Mother of God, as the Church of the East celebrates her, is the Hodegetria, she who
"shows the way", that is, Christ, the only mediator for fully encountering the
Father. A French poet sees her as "creation in its first honour and its final
flowering, as it came forth from God at the dawn of its original splendour" (P.
Claudel, La vierge à midi, ed. Pléiade, p. 540)

In her Immaculate Conception Mary is the perfect model of the human creature
who, filled from the very beginning with that divine grace which sustains and
transfigures the creature (Lk 1: 28), always and freely chooses God's way. On the
other hand, in her glorious Assumption into heaven Mary is the icon of the creature
who is called by the risen Christ to attain, at the end of history, the fullness of
communion with God in the resurrection for an eternity of bliss. For the Church,
which often feels the weight of history and the assault of evil, the Mother of
Christ is the shining emblem of humanity redeemed and enveloped by the grace that
saves.

4. We will reach the ultimate goal of human life when "God will be all in
all" (1 Cor 15: 28), and - as the Book of Revelation foretells - "the sea [will be]
no more" (Rv 21: 1), that is, the sign of destructive chaos and evil will be
destroyed at last. Then the Church will be presented to Christ as "a Bride adorned
for her Husband" (Rv 21: 2). That will be the moment of intimacy and unblemished
love. But now, gazing precisely at the Virgin Assumed into heaven, the Church
already has a foretaste of the joy that will be fully hers at the end of time. Mary
accompanies the Church on her pilgrimage of faith through history as "a model of
ecclesial communion in faith, in charity and in union with Christ. Eternally
present in the mystery of Christ, she is, in the midst of the Apostles, at the very
heart of the Church at her birth and of the Church of all ages. Indeed, the Church
was congregated in the upper part (of the cenacle) with Mary, who was the Mother of
Jesus, and with his brethren. We cannot therefore speak of the Church unless Mary,
the Mother of the Lord, is present there, with the Lord's brethren" (Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith, Communionis notio, 28 May 1992, n. 19; cf.
Chromatius of Aquileia, Sermo 30, 1).

5. So let us sing our hymn of praise to Mary, the icon of redeemed humanity,
the sign of the Church which lives in faith and love, anticipating the fullness of
the heavenly Jerusalem. "The poetic genius of St Ephrem the Syrian, called the
"lyre of the Holy Spirit', tirelessly sang of Mary, leaving a still living mark on
the whole tradition of the Syriac Church" (Redemptoris Mater, n. 31). It is he who
describes Mary as an icon of beauty: "She is holy in her body, beautiful in her
spirit, pure in her thoughts, sincere in her understanding, perfect in her
sentiments, chaste, firm in her intentions, immaculate in her heart, eminent and
filled with all virtues" (Hymns to the Virgin Mary, 1, 4; ed. Th. J. Lamy, Hymni de
B. Maria, Malines 1886, t. 2, col. 520). May this image shine brightly at the
centre of every ecclesial community as a perfect reflection of Christ and a sign
raised among the peoples, like a "city set on a hill" and "a lamp put on a stand so
that it gives light to all" (cf. Mt 5: 14-15).

[nikita92]

Thanks for the theological lesson. However, would these posts best serve in another section on Phatmass?!

[God's Beloved]

Dear Nikita , "Mary, eschatological icon of the Church " is a teaching of Pope John Paul II  which I merely pasted here. 

 

This thread is about the  heart of the vocation / charism of  Consecrated virgins called to be  an Eschatological image of the entire Church .  Very little  reflection  has been done on this topic by CV in the Post Vatican II era after the vocation was revived for today's world .  Hence some CV  themselves have  hardly reflected on this .  CV is a canonical vocation to Consecrated life [canon 604]  so  it better serves in the Vocation Phorum.

 

CV is  also the most ancient form of Consecrated life in the Church  and has influenced  Religious life as well. So writing about eschatology is not at all out of place here.