Consecrated Virginity

[savvy]

Last week there was a ceremony at my parish, where a local woman became a consecrated virgin.

She wore a wedding gown and received a ring. She took a vow of virginity. She is not a nun, but lives on her own and has a secular job.

There were about 10 priests and the Bishop at the ceremony, and the church was packed. I had no idea this was such a big deal.

Has anybody come across this?

[TheresaThoma]

I know one consecrated virgin.(She was once a Sister but her community basically fell apart after V2.) She told me that to "officially" become a consecrated virgin you must make a public vow. Before she made her public vow she had been making private vows (with just a priest as a witness) but those have to be renewed annually.

[faithcecelia]

I have never been at the ceremony, but I do know 2 consecrated virgins. One is Sr Wendy Beckett, the artist 'nun', who is actually not a nun at all as her vows were transferred to consecrated virgin when she decided to become a hermit. She now lives in a mobile home in the grounds of my former Carmel. The other one had been in Quidenham for some years but through her noviciate came to realise that she was not called to Carmel. She also lives on their property and carries out the duties an extern would - plus much much more - and is very much a part of the Quidenham community, for all she is not technically a member.

[savvy]

[quote]I have never been at the ceremony, but I do know 2 consecrated virgins. One is Sr Wendy Beckett, the artist 'nun', who is actually not a nun at all as her vows were transferred to consecrated virgin when she decided to become a hermit. She now lives in a mobile home in the grounds of my former Carmel. The other one had been in Quidenham for some years but through her noviciate came to realise that she was not called to Carmel. She also lives on their property and carries out the duties an extern would - plus much much more - and is very much a part of the Quidenham community, for all she is not technically a member. [/quote]

I know Carmelites have a guild where non-religious members help them out.

[faithcecelia]

[quote name='savvy' timestamp='1324420522' post='2354587']
I know Carmelites have a guild where non-religious members help them out.
[/quote]

Its not the case here though, the woman is paid by the community.

[cmaD2006]

[quote name='TheresaThoma' timestamp='1324414161' post='2354555']
Before she made her public vow she had been making private vows (with just a priest as a witness) but [u][i]those have to be renewed annually[/i][/u].
[/quote]

Actually if you look at canon law, private vows don't have a firm definition (meaning canon law does not define or constraint the time period of "private vows") ... so they can be done for a period of time, or perpetually. It depends on the content of the vow itself. It could be that the priest (and/or spiritual director) instructed her to make annual ones.

Edited December 20, 2011 by cmariadiaz

[MissScripture]

I knew a woman where I used to live who was a consecrated virgin. I didn't know her well, so I only heard her mention it once and she said that she looked into it when she knew she wasn't supposed to get married, but did not find being a Sister appealing, either. She said before she took her vows, she had to meet with the Bishop several times and he told her that she needed to be sure, because these vows were forever, and no one had the power to release her from them. She had a ring that she wore like a wedding ring.

And that is the extent of my very limited experience with knowing someone who was a consecrated virgin. I found it very interesting, though. I know she did a lot in our parish, though she didn't have an official position there.

[faithcecelia]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1324478628' post='2355069']
these vows were forever, and no one had the power to release her from them. [/quote]

Wow, I never knew that! I had never given it any thought, but if I had I would have assumed the vows could be annulled like marriage vows or religious vows. Not of course that anyone should intend that when they make them, but that the possibility existed.

[HopefulBride]

[quote name='faithcecelia' timestamp='1324479418' post='2355074']
Wow, I never knew that! I had never given it any thought, but if I had I would have assumed the vows could be annulled like marriage vows or religious vows. Not of course that anyone should intend that when they make them, but that the possibility existed.
[/quote]

I didn't know this either!

[Discipulus]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1324478628' post='2355069'] She said before she took her vows, she had to meet with the Bishop several times and he told her that she needed to be sure, because these vows were forever, and no one had the power to release her from them.[/quote]

There are no forms of consecrated life in the contemporary church, and no vows - as opposed to a sacrament such as matrimony - that are 'forever'.

They are, however, 'forever until properly dispensed,' which requires a canonical process that can be very lengthy, and may not end as one wishes it to. That's to say that an application to dispense vows may be unsuccessful, although this is extremely rare given that there is little point in trying to keep someone to vows that they no longer feel able to keep; and coercion towards keeping a particular lifestyle is not favoured in the modern church.

If you look at the 1983 Code of Canon Law, it makes particular mention of consecrated solitary life;

[i]Can. 603 [/i]
[i]1. In addition to institutes of consecrated life, the Church recognizes the eremitic or anchoritic life by which the Christian faithful devote their life to the praise of God and the salvation of the world through a stricter withdrawal from the world, the silence of solitude, and assiduous prayer and penance.[/i]
[i]2. A hermit is recognized by law as one dedicated to God in consecrated life if he or she publicly professes in the hands of the diocesan bishop the three evangelical counsels, confirmed by vow or other sacred bond, and observes a proper program of living under his direction.[/i]
[i]Can. 604 [/i]
[i]1. Similar to these forms of consecrated life is the order of virgins who, expressing the holy resolution of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are mystically betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church.[/i]
[i]2. 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.[/i]

Note that there is reference to public profession, although that isn't necessarily the same thing as public vows (vows can be deemed to be canonically 'private' or 'public'; there is also a distinction between 'solemn' and 'simple' vows). The 1983 Code also addresses the nature of these undertakings:

[i]Can. 1192 [/i]
[i]1. A vow is public if a legitimate superior accepts it in the name of the Church; otherwise, it is private.[/i]
[i]2. A vow is solemn if the Church has recognized it as such; otherwise, it is simple.[/i]
[i]3. A vow is personal if the person making the vow promises an action; real if the person making the vow promises some thing; mixed if it shares the nature of a personal and a real vow.[/i]
---
[i]Can. 1194 A vow ceases by the lapse of the time designated to fulfill the obligation, by a substantial change of the matter promised, by the absence of a condition on which the vow depends, by the absence of the purpose of the vow, by dispensation, or by commutation.[/i]
[i]Can. 1195 The person who has power over the matter of the vow can suspend the obligation of the vow for as long a time as the fulfillment of the vow brings disadvantage to that person.[/i]
[i]Can. 1196 In addition to the Roman Pontiff, the following can dispense from private vows for a just cause provided that a dispensation does not injure a right acquired by others:[/i]
[i]1/ the local ordinary and the pastor with regard to all their subjects and even travelers;[/i]
[i]2/ the superior of a religious institute or society of apostolic life if it is clerical and of pontifical right with regard to members, novices, and persons who live day and night in a house of the institute or society;[/i]
[i]3/ those to whom the Apostolic See or the local ordinary has delegated the power of dispensing.[/i]

By their very nature, vows cannot be indissoluble, since that would grant them sacramental status; and consecrated life is not a sacrament. At the risk of stating the obvious (!) solemn or perpetual vows are only perpetual so long as they remain in force - that's true for both consecrated religious and consecrated solitaries.

I know several solitaries here in the UK. There is - ironically perhaps! - an association through which they offer support to each other. Although she's a hermit rather than a consecrated virgin, Sr Laurel from Oakland USA keeps a blog in which she describes the nature of solitary consecrated life in very informative and inspiring terms: [url="http://notesfromstillsong.blogspot.com/"]http://notesfromstil...g.blogspot.com/[/url]

Hope this is of interest.

Edited December 21, 2011 by Discipulus

[Lilllabettt]

Actually, consecrated virginity does NOT involve making vows.

In religious life, a person actively makes a vow to God.

When a virgin is consecrated, the woman passively [u]receives[/u] the consecration from her bishop - in this the rite is not unlike priestly ordination.

Because consecration is something a woman receives, not something she herself does - it is not something that can be "undone."

[Lilllabettt]

[b]More info on consecrated virginity, its indissolubility [/b]
[b]and how it relates to other forms of consecrated life in the Church:[/b]
[b][url="http://www.consecratedvirgins.org/"]http://www.consecratedvirgins.org/[/url][/b]

[faithcecelia]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1324495282' post='2355253']
Actually, consecrated virginity does NOT involve making vows.

In religious life, a person actively makes a vow to God.

When a virgin is consecrated, the woman passively [u]receives[/u] the consecration from her bishop - in this the rite is not unlike priestly ordination.

Because consecration is something a woman receives, not something she herself does - it is not something that can be "undone."
[/quote]

This is interesting. In a solemn profession (at least Carmelite as that is what I have witnessed) the sister is consecrated to God also - she is asked if she accepts it. I also know that when sister decide to leave then the community or Bishop cannot free her from the vows, it has to come from Rome.

[Discipulus]

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1324495282' post='2355253']
Actually, consecrated virginity does NOT involve making vows.[/quote]

You're quite correct, or course - apologies for muddying the water by bringing in the issue of vows. Hopefully it wasn't totally uninteresting even if it wasn't entirely relevant! The reason I confused the issues - other than my own ignorance, of course - is that a vow of chastity is often made through the bishop as an expression of solitary religious commitment, and although that is sometimes referred to as consecrated virginity, it's different to the particular form of life being discussed here. Sorry for my [i]non sequitur[/i] comments. (You'd think the title of the thread would have been something of a giveaway for me, wouldn't you?).

[quote name='Lilllabettt' timestamp='1324495282' post='2355253']Because consecration is something a woman receives, not something she herself does - it is not something that can be "undone."[/quote]

Hmmm. I'm aware that this form of consecration is seen as a sacramental and has also been said to be irrevocable, but it's also based upon the implicit promise of perpetual virginity, and I don't see how a consecration can be permanent when it can in fact be rescinded (by the woman willfully losing her virginity, however unlikely that may be) or simply by the fact that the consecration is not deemed to bring about an actual ontological change. The latter would imply it was a sacrament like ordination, not a sacramental; I don't think anyone has argued that the consecration constrains an individual from ceasing to be a virgin, whereas priestly or episcopal ordination does ontologically change the man by imprinting a character upon him so that unlike other individuals, certain actions he takes have particular consequences e.g. in confecting the eucharist or offering absolution. That seems inconsistent to me.

I must look into this further, because despite my confusion, no doubt I'm in the wrong. I'm not arguing with you, by the way, just thinking out loud.

I see that the eminent canon lawyer Therese Ivers has some questions and answers on this: [url="http://doihaveavocation.com/blog/archives/343"]http://doihaveavocat...og/archives/343[/url]

Clearly she's a much better source of information than I am. Sorry again for my rather obvious errors (most definitely public, not private, but hopefully not perpetual).

Edited December 21, 2011 by Discipulus

[Sister_Laurel]

[quote name='MissScripture' timestamp='1324478628' post='2355069']
I knew a woman where I used to live who was a consecrated virgin. I didn't know her well, so I only heard her mention it once and she said that she looked into it when she knew she wasn't supposed to get married, but did not find being a Sister appealing, either. She said before she took her vows, she had to meet with the Bishop several times and he told her that she needed to be sure, because these vows were forever, and no one had the power to release her from them. She had a ring that she wore like a wedding ring.

And that is the extent of my very limited experience with knowing someone who was a consecrated virgin. I found it very interesting, though. I know she did a lot in our parish, though she didn't have an official position there.
[/quote]

Consecrated virgins do not make vows but are consecrated by God via the mediation of the Bishop (the Church). In religious life (or diocesan eremitical life) one is professed (makes vows) and ALSO receives consecration by God during solemn or perpetual profession. (The prayer of consecration is not present in the rite of temporary profession; instead a prayer of blessing is used.) We speak of profession usually, but in solemn/perpetual profession both elements are present and "profession" becomes the shorthand for the entire event. One can argue that in either the case of CV's or of perpetually/solemnly professed religious and hermits, the consecration does not go away and cannot be dispensed, however, in the case of religious and diocesan hermits the vows and all of the rights and responsibilities attached to the life ARE dispensed. So too would the rights and responsibilities of the consecrated virgin cease if the virgin violated her commitment (not vow) to celibate chastity.

Regarding Sister Wendy: early in the history of canons 603 and 604 (1983-1987 or so) it became common to admit women wanting to be hermits to consecration under canon 604 rather than profession under 603. Bishops had fewer qualms about consecrating virgins than admitting individuals to perpetual vows under canon 603. (Eremitical life was less well understood, formation for vows was required, and there were serious concerns about who becomes responsible for a hermit with financial difficulties, etc since c 603 hermits are self-supporting.) Later these women might well be admitted to vows under canon 603. Today we are clear about the distinctness of these two vocations and it is no longer acceptable to offer canon 604 when c 603 is not allowed in a diocese. (Yes, this still happens.) One needs to discern which of the two vocations one is called to and so does one's diocese. I suspect that Sister Wendy is one of the older instances of usage of c 604 in place of c 603 and later was admitted to profession under canon 603. She is identified as a diocesan hermit, not a consecrated virgin and this implies she has made vows under canon 603.

best,
Sister Laurel M O'Neal, Er Dio
Stillsong Hermitage
Diocese of Oakland

Edited February 21, 2012 by SRLAUREL