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I've had a weird looking bump on my skin the past few months. I put it off because I was just thinking it was no big deal or that it would go away, esp with a lot of medical offices being closed. Anyways I've read up on more and have worked myself into a frenzy because the prognosis of what it *might* be looks pretty bleak. I know google is not a substitute for a medical degree, but please pray that I'll be able to get a prompt appointment to figure out what it is, and hopefully it's nothing fatal.

doctor thinks its benign, she said if I want I could get it checked out by a dermatologist but more or less for my own piece of mind. I might do that, but I feel a lot better.

How did your appointment go?

The 2018 Vatican document Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago (ESI) no. 70 talks about a woman leaving the Order of Virgins: I'm personally inclined to see this mention of being dispensed from "obligations arising from consecration" as indicating that the consecration itself cannot be dispensed. And so I think a CV leaving the Ordo virginum would be more akin to a priest returning to the lay state than a religious being dispensed from her vows. As in, one is still a consecrated virgin, but is no longer obligated to say the Divine Office, to present herself publicly as a CV, to engage in whatever apostolic service she was involved in, etc. I have also heard of a case where a brand-new CV decided to leave after less than a year, and the diocese just declared that her consecration had been invalid instead of dispensing her from the obligations of consecration. Which, from the very little I know about this case, seems like it was probably the most appropriate option. Like Chinquitunga said, consecrated virginity is a different vocation from religious life, with its own spirituality. I was twenty-three when I was consecrated, and religious life was a viable possibility for me, but I still chose to become a consecrated virgin because I felt very strongly that God was calling me to this specifically. Among other things, even whole-heartedly granting that religious women can still consider themselves "brides of Christ," spousal spirituality is emphasized much more heavily in consecrated virginity than in any religious Order. Consecrated virgins also have a direct connection with the diocesan local Church, which isn't the case for even religious communities of diocesan right. And being "in the world"--even when living a very outwardly "consecrated" way of life--is a different kind of Christian witness. I saw this all the time on VS, but a vocation to consecrated virginity really has to be based on a "first choice," positive attraction to the charism of the Ordo virginum. If a woman was prompted to discern consecrated virginity specifically because it allowed her to care for elderly parents (as opposed to feeling called to consecrated virginity first, with the resulting freedom to care for elderly parents being a happy side effect) I would actually see this as a pretty big red flag.

The Marian Sisters of Santa Rosa welcome three new aspirants: http://www.mariansisters.com/blog/entrance-day5447723 On June 29th, the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, AL welcomed a new novice: https://olamnuns.com/2020/07/07/a-new-name/

I happened to have many discussions with Protestants but I admit never the typical sola scriptura argument has commenced on the pretext of the discussion of nudism. Probably because Protestants are usually well aware of the that the Bible speaks of being exposed or nude as “shameful”. The only exclusion is the state of the total innocence of human beings before the Fall and also when some prophets were ordered by God to tear their clothes or even walk around fully naked thus deliberately violating the public norm, for the prophetic reason (female prophets have never required to do that, for a good reason). So, it is very safe to say that while the Bible affirms that the human body is good and not shameful in itself it makes it very clear that the public exhibition of the naked human body brings upon its “owner” shame. This should be enough to prevent a Protestant(s) from asking questions, especially on the Catholic forum i.e. on the forum of people for whom the Tradition is equally important. Apart from sola scriptura it may be useful to examine other reasons why public nudity is not acceptable for Christians. Jesus said quite clearly “woe to one through whom the temptation comes”, something like that i.e. woe to those who tempt others, even without a deliberate intention to do so. It is a well-established scientific fact that men are “turned on” by seeing certain parts of a female boy, fully or partially naked. Women are much less so (mostly) but they are as well can be provoked that way. If a man claims that he is not erotically stirred by being surrounded by female breasts and bums, totally naked or semi-exposed like on your avatar he would lie (to others or/and to himself) or he would be entirely devoid of libido (perhaps for a medical reason) or he would be a saint (but a saint would not likely to go to a nude beach). From here follows that anyone who goes naked in public or wears revealing clothes (like on your avatar) temps another person, deliberately or not. This is the simplest level of sin Jesus spoke about. There is more in that though. To go around naked or semi-naked causes a reduction of own personhood. Let us take the example of your avatar because it is handy. I see an aged man on the left who is evidently very pleased to be next to a visibly younger woman with an enormous (probably artificially increased) breasts, one of them barely covered. It is very natural for a man to be pleased with such a situation. It is also natural for some men be pleased in showing off their sexual partner – while to other men it would be unacceptable because they would feel that making other men lust after their partner would be somewhat degrading, for her and for him as well. But the most important here, to my mind, is depersonalisation or a human being, a woman on the photo. The sight of her huge semi-naked breast totally obscures the sight of her face thus making it impossible to think about her as a person, an image of God. All I can see (and I am a woman, an artist who used to draw nudes) is a huge breast deliberately “framed” in a way to arouse a very primitive response. To be fair, this effect is achieved by all women (and men) who dress provocatively. By doing so they make men (an women) see, first of all, the flesh and only then (if they apply themselves hard enough) a person, a soul. Hence, the comment of Little2Add about rolling in mud is actually entirely reasonable – “dress up girl so I would be able to speak to you as a soul, not a lump of flesh”. So, the answer to your entirely dishonest Q “why Catholic Church is against public nakedness” (apart form sola scriptura) is that the public nakedness provokes others to sin and also provides a cover for acting out various perversions like exhibitionism, voyeurism and so on. It also, because of our fallen nature prone to sin, via activation the strongest instinct, sexual, instantly renders a human person, being publicly exposed, “a lump of flesh”, an object to have a sex with. That stands in a sharp contrast with a naked couple in a privacy of their bedroom because such privacy makes it very clear that whatever happens between them is the act of the utmost trust, entirely hidden.

Well, this seems like a fun troll, but I'll play along. Well this is a Catholic site, so the "it's not in the Bible" doesn't work around these parts. We use extra-biblical sources to guide our faith (teachings of the magisterium, writings of church fathers, doctors, saints; reason etc). Also Jesus never, in the scriptures, condemns eating your deceased loved ones. I mean if we use the "but Jesus never said" logic, we can get to some pretty crazy places, which is all fun and games until your gnawing on granny's femur and wondering how you got there. By "activity that's even less accepted," I'm assuming you mean variants of sexual sin and/or lust. That's what we call near occasion of sin. It is a sinful thing in itself to deliberately put yourself in a near occasion of sin for no good reason. Like maybe if you had a severe allergic reaction to clothing that caused anaphylaxes, you could justify it. But maybe you don't even see these particular "activities," as sinful at all, in which case, I'm not sure what the point of being a Christian is if you just make up your own rules as you go along. Are you a hippie?

haha Fr Ripperger is amesome! and that's so true. i think someday in Heaven it would be so strange to see the things we worried about here on earth! lol. oh I actually meant a different mystic but I'm happy to hear about Blessed Maria because that means there are more like this!! (I'm reading the article now and wow she did have a very intense life... so much suffering too!) that website is so informative... there is also this mystic!! https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2015/01/maria-teresa-carloni-modern-day-mystic.html

Why would God call you to the religious life and then never let a religious community accept you? "For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope" (Jeremiah 29:11, RSV-CE). That doesn't make any sense. Either you're not called, you are called and refuse to answer it, or you are called but now is just not the right time. Leonie Martin, the sister of St. Therese had a lot of problems growing up. She had trouble in school, misbehaved, and was abused by a maid that worked in her home. Her mother worried about her. It's been theorized that she had autism. She was a Poor Clare for a short time and then left. She was a Visitation Sister, but left multiple times. Finally, she entered yet again and stayed a Visitation Sister the rest of her days.

Thanks very much for explaining Chiquitunga and Sponsa-Christi. I didn't realise that consecrated virgins didn't take vows as such. And I see why they are free to be more involved in the work of the local church. I had assumed before that it must just be mostly for women who felt called but couldn't enter convents because of family commitments but I see this is not the case. Thanks!

Oh yes, for sure. I think every lay mystic I’ve heard of who was in a private vow was exactly this way too.. but I am guessing perhaps you mean this one. What an intense life! https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2014/01/blessed-maria-bolognesi-mystic-who.html?m=1 But yeah, I wouldn’t analyze and worry too much over this. I was listening to a talk by Fr. Ripperger recently where he was saying how totally simply God is, while we are so complicated, me included!

Hi GraceUK! So the Consecration of Virgins does not involve taking vows, but being consecrated like a church. So if there was anything like a dispensation, it would be like a deconsecration of a church - but I have heard it is not actually possible, and that this is the opinion of Cardinal Burke who I think oversaw them (correct wording?) as well. This is one aspect that makes their vocation and commitment for life really an extra special and rare gift to the Church. About just entering a religious order instead - these vocations are really very different though. The CV is a witness to belonging to Christ alone as His bride. Religious life has this and other aspects to it as well, like living in community and owning nothing on one’s own in the vow of poverty. Each one of a gift to the Church in a different way. Many saints were espoused to Christ alone and did not live in religious communities. Not living in a religious community also allows a consecrated person to be a witness in a different way that a religious sister can’t. Anyway, just some thoughts; all great callings.

I was reading an interview with an Australian CV and I very much like what she said in the end: “The vocation you discern should reflect who you are and make you the best person you can possible be.” https://www.catholicoutlook.org/first-consecrated-celibate-in-the-diocese-of-parramatta/

I believe the Catholic Encyclopedia was written many years before Vatican II, and thus before the revival of the Ordo virginum as its own state in life. (The same goes for the papal document "Sponsa Christi.") So, these obviously wouldn't be addressing questions about how consecrated virgins relate to other forms of consecrated life. Also, not everything that's written in books--and certainly not everything that's posted on the internet!--reflects an authoritative teaching of the Church. Sometimes writings on a given topic are just one person's opinion on an open theological question. And sometimes something posted on the internet is just plain wrong! So please don't drive yourself crazy by trying to reconcile contradictory writings, or trying to understand long rambling internet rants. I'm a consecrated virgin myself, and also a canon lawyer, so I appreciate wanting to understand this stuff. But even I think you're overthinking things a bit! Discerning your vocation is a dialogue with God, which does have an intellectual component, but is not primarily an intellectual exercise. And I apologize if this sounds patronizing, but as I mentioned before, some of the questions you're wrestling with are questions that the Church herself currently doesn't have firm answers for. Trying to come up with definitive answers to the questions you're asking is the kind of work that would be appropriate for a doctoral dissertation in theology or canon law, or as an academic project for an established theologian. It's not the sort of thing you cross off your list as a young adult before embracing your vocation to a particular state in life.(To do so would be like trying to have "find a cure for cancer" as your high school science fair project!) Basically, I think what you need to know for purposes of discernment is just that of all vocations, consecrated virginity certainly has the heaviest emphasis on spousal spirituality, and there may be a sense in which a consecrated virgin is somehow "more" a bride of Christ than women in other vocations. But at the same time, the Church does indeed a tradition of using spousal language to describe the vocation of women religious. You don't need to go crazy trying to reconcile exactly how this works technically to be able to conclude that women religious are therefore not non-brides of Christ. So as far as your own discernment is concerned, if you feel called to religious life, then discern religious life! Let the Sisters you're discerning with tell you about what a spousal relationship with Christ means to them, and listen with an open heart.

I absolutely know what you mean, and am excited to hear other people's responses to your questions as well. I actually took this question to my Spiritual Director. I had really loved a community right away and had reached out to inquire and see if a visit would be possible. But because of classes and now COVID, I have had to reschedule a trip a few times. Every time, I have found myself waiting for her to respond or to reach out to me. I didn't want to come off as too overbearing or pushy! I mean this could be my home and I didn't want that to be their first impression of me!! However, my SD told me two things. The first was that my persistence is part of what makes me, me. And it is better for the community to see me for my entirety than a fake version of me. The second is that the VDs (my SD is the VD for his monastic community) want to see you reach out again. It shows both a level of commitment to your discernment and that the initial tug you had to contact that community in the first place had not gone away. I would recommend reaching out again! Maybe just a "Checking In" email to update her on your life and discernment. St Josemaria Escriva said "To begin is for everyone, to persevere is for saints" God bless!

New Passionist postulant (and former VSer): https://www.passionistnuns.org/blog/2020/7/16/abbey-enters-the-monastery

I don't know if this has already been posted, but the Dominican Sisters of Mary live streamed their First and Final Profession Masses a few days ago. Both masses were so amazing and it was so beautiful to see the Sisters' total self-gifts to Christ. God is so good! First Profession: Final Profession:

Gia, I just wanted to let you know that I'm in a very similar situation. I have discerned consecrated life and I am an only child, and my parents wish me to marry. I don't have any great advice, besides the point that we must respect our parents and be kind to them, (never argue about this with them, this was my mistake) - but our parents really can't tell us to not follow a vocation. This is between us and God, and it is important that we seek His Will. I know it is very painful to be in this situation.. try to trust Him and keep your eyes on Him. It might help you to have a spiritual director and talk to him about everything. God bless you!

Good, thankfully! I’m grateful to have a job and that my family is all safe so far. I’m praying a lot for everyone to weather these crazy times. What does tbr stand for?