Consecrated Virginity

IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Consecrated Virgins Living in the World

What does it mean to be a consecrated virgin? ­ a nun without an order? ­ a woman dedicated to career or charitable works to the exclusion of marriage? Why would a woman choose to remain unmarried - choose to remain a virgin - and choose to live such a life in the midst of contemporary society?

In his 1996 apostolic exhortation Vita Consecrata, Pope John Paul II describes the witness of the life of consecrated virgins: "They constitute a special eschatological image of the heavenly bride and of the life to come when the church will at last fully live her love for Christ the bridegroom." This is a vocation which embraces the call to be "bride" and to unabashedly witness to the men and women of this world, the all-embracing love of God. This is it; it is our entire reason to be - not to do - but to be, with our Spouse, in the heart of his body, the Church.

Why tell you about this? Several reasons - several people have noted now and again that this was a new "paradigm" - a vocation in some sense paralleling the life of the diocesan priest, as it is lived individually within the structure of the local diocese (rather than a religious order), and under the local Bishop. Some perceived our desire to support the priesthood, and some ordained clergy have expressed their desire to better support us. And always a number of people have noted that women inquire about vocations, and, of course, one wonders who might be attracted to this particular form of consecrated life.

A Consecrated Virgin Living in the World is a woman who receives the profound blessing of consecration at the hands of the bishop of the diocese through the approved liturgical Rite of the Consecration to a Life of Virginity lived in the world. Through this sacramental, she renews her promise of perpetual virginity to God and through the Rite is set aside as a sacred person belonging only to Christ. A great grace is bestowed as God accepts the offering of herself, the Bishop consecrates her perpetually as a sacred person, and her virginity is made more spiritually fruitful. Consecrated Virginity is a particular public form of consecrated life in the Church. It is lived individually. It is particularly helpful when explaining the vocation to clarify how it fits into the overall scheme presented in Vita Consecrata. There, the Holy Father recognizes the three states of life: 1) the laity (married and dedicated single), 2) the ordained, and 3) the consecrated. Within that broad group of consecrated are the specific forms that have arisen - Eastern and Western monastics, contemplative and apostolic religious, those living the eremetical life, members of secular institutes, and consecrated virgins. Referring to consecrated virgins, Pope John Paul II notes it is a "source of joy to witness the new flowering of the ancient order of virgins, known ever since apostolic times."

And this vocation does reach back to apostolic times; by oral tradition we have it that it is St. Matthew himself who is credited with consecrating the first virgin. Early Christian virgins included Agnes, Agatha, Lucy and Cecilia. The consecration existed well before various Institutes of Religious Life and their related ceremonies of Profession of Vows. Around the 9th or 10th centuries, the Rite of Consecration fell into disuse for women living in the world but continued to be retained for nuns in monasteries. Even then, it was a Rite distinct and separate from the profession of vows. After Vatican II, in 1970, the Rite was restored for women living in the world.

Why now? Why in the later part of the twentieth century did the Holy Spirit again lead the Church to open up this most ancient vocation to the modern Christian woman? Could we venture to say that the modern Christian woman is eager to be presented with this model of a new and authentic feminism? The modern vocation of consecrated virginity lived in the world is a vocation which celebrates the very tension which it creates and to which it witnesses - the tension of living as the bride of the incarnate Christ - devoting one's body, mind, and spirit to an intimate and entire spousal union with Christ, the virgin's first love, while living fully within the context of secular society, the very world intimately loved by her Spouse.

Some particular notes about this vocation:

A consecrated virgin enters a permanent, public state in the Church. It is not a matter of private or temporary vows. Strictly speaking, the consecration of a virgin doesn't involve vows; at her consecration, the virgin renews her resolve to continue in the state in which she is, a woman invited by Jesus to remain fully a virgin for Him.

The consecration is received through the hand of the diocesan bishop, and this establishes a particular important link to the local church. Consecrated virginity wasn't started by a saint or religious founder; instead it began within the Church herself. The virgin, like the diocesan priest, is given to the local church. She gives herself in prayer and sacrifice.

Canon 604 of the Code of Canon Law adds the Order of Virgins to the public forms of consecrated life recognized in the Church. This juridical text unexpectedly refers to the virgin's "mystical betrothal to Christ". Right in the legal doctrine of the Church! - a mystical betrothal. This truly is the heart of our vocation. As the Church is the bride of Christ, the consecrated virgin is an icon of the Church, and bride of Christ. Although it sounds somewhat foreign to modern ears, today's consecrated virgin finds that Jesus Christ himself offers to her the intimacy of a spousal relationship, a relationship nourished by attentiveness to prayer. She stands in the midst of today's culture as a living witness to the future life of all persons, a life in which there will be no giving or taking in marriage, but each person will live in intimacy with our Creator God.

Consecrated virgins are also dedicated to the service of the Church. They support themselves financially, and usually offer volunteer service to their diocese or parish. They are not obliged to take on any particular work or apostolate. They pray daily the Liturgy of the Hours, attend daily Mass if possible, and spend significant time in personal prayer. Consecrated virgins live in the midst of society, and therefore do not wear a habit or use the title "Sister", which are signs of separation from the world (appropriate for apostolic religious, but a contradiction to the consecrated virgin's life in the world.)

The consecrated virgin really is given to the local diocese, and a particular role she has is to support and encourage and work alongside the local clergy. Consecrated virgins may associate with one another and a number of them have come together in the United States to form the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins. We deeply thank our reigning Bishops, our retired Bishops, our Vicars for Consecrated Life, and many other members of the clergy for their committed understanding and encouragement of our vocation in the United States. It is the diocese that is the spiritual family of the virgin, not a religious order or association, and, serving in complementary roles, diocesan priests and consecrated virgins both serve, hand in hand, to build up the local church.

©2004-2008 by the United States Association of Consecrated Virgins. All rights reserved. The USACV provides this information service under the authority of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.