Suffering With Joy

The Vocation of the Consecrated Virgin

October 21, 2011

St. Agnes

The subject of vocations is coming up more and more frequently in recent years.  Everyone mentions the usual suspects: the priesthood, religious life, and marriage. But there are others that are mentioned in canon law we are unlikely to hear of from the pulpit.

I learned about a particular vocation by chatting with a woman I saw often at Mass.  It turns out she is a consecrated virgin. “So what is a consecrated virgin?” I asked.  I had never heard of it.  After we had talked about it, I went to the internet and hit the mother lode.  It turns out over 3000 women worldwide have given themselves to God in this vocation, around 150 in the United States.

Only the bishop can accept a woman as a consecrated virgin and she dedicates her life for the spiritual welfare of the diocese. You’d think most bishops would be making sure that every vocations program in the diocese would include information about this calling considering the spiritual benefit to the diocese, but I’ve never heard word one about it from the pulpit or anywhere else before or since I met this woman.

The following is taken from the web site of the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins.

What is a Consecrated Virgin?

The Consecration of a Virgin is one of the oldest sacramentals in the Church, and one of the fruits of Vatican II was the restoration of this profound blessing on virgins living in the world. The promulgation of this restored Rite for women living in the world was on 31 May 1970.

Through this sacramental, the virgin, after renewing her promise of perpetual virginity to God, is set aside as a sacred person who belongs only to Christ. The acting agent in the Consecration is God Himself who accepts the virgin’s promise and spiritually fructifies it through the action of the Holy Spirit.

This sacramental is reserved to the Bishop of the diocese. The consecrated virgin shares intimately in the nature and mission of the Church: she is a living image of the Church’s love for her Spouse while sharing in His redemptive mission.

The consecrated virgin living in the world embodies a definitive vocation in itself. She is not a quasi-Religious, nor is she in a vocation that is in the process of becoming a Religious institute or congregation. Nevertheless, she is a consecrated person, with her bishop as her guide. By virtue of the Consecration, she is responsible to pray for her diocese and clergy. At no time is her diocese responsible for her financial support.

The consecrated virgin living in the world, as expressed in Canon 604, is irrevocably “consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the diocesan bishop consecrates [her] according to the approved liturgical rite.” The consecrated virgin attends Mass daily, prays the Divine Office, and spends much time in private prayer. She can choose the Church-approved spirituality she prefers to follow.

Supporting herself by earning her own living, the consecrated virgin is not obliged to take on any particular work or apostolate. Usually, consecrated virgins in the United States volunteer their time to their local parish, diocese, or Church-sponsored association. Some volunteer their time also in civic responsibilities.

Who can be consecrated?

A woman living in the world who has never married or lived in open violation of chastity, and who by age, prudence, and good character is deemed suitable for dedicating herself to a life of chastity in the service of the Church and of her neighbor may petition her bishop to receive the Consecration. She must be admitted to this Consecration by her local Bishop; it is he who determines the conditions under which the candidate is to undertake a life of perpetual virginity lived in the world. Usually, a woman who aspires to the Consecration works with a spiritual director and has lived a private promise of perpetual virginity for some years before seeking the Consecration of a Virgin.

It is understood that a laywoman aspiring to the Consecration of a Virgin is able to support herself by work or pension or independent means and has provided financially for her medical care.

A woman aspiring to the Consecration should be practicing her faith. She accepts the teaching of the Church and Sacred Scripture, with a readiness and capacity for personal growth. She should be able to give herself totally to God and the Church.

If you know women who are in their early thirties who have never married and who otherwise meet the criteria expected, perhaps among them is one who is called by God to be a consecrated virgin. Please direct them to the site linked above.

In our diocese we have three consecrated virgins.  One is a contemplative who makes rosaries and lives on a small pension.  Another one has been heavily involved in pro-life diocesan work and is now elderly.  I don’t know who the other person is or what she does.  In the diocese of Oklahoma City I know of a consecrated virgin who makes her living as an EMT.

These fine ladies can be anywhere.  The next time your parish holds a vocations seminar, why not check with your bishop and find out if your diocese has any consecrated virgins who would like to talk about their vocation?  In this world where sex is touted as the be-all and end-all, there are still those well-adjusted women who have quietly given their virginity to Christ – who look like anybody else walking down the street, but who are spouses of Christ the same as women who enter the convent.  They are a true blessing to any diocese.

Want to subscribe to posts by email? Visit the third box in the sidebar.

V. Praised be Jesus Christ!

R. Now and forever. Amen.

(Click on the link above to read why I am ending my posts with this.)

Tags: consecrated virgins, vocations

6 Comments to The Vocation of the Consecrated Virgin

1. 

   I’m idly curious if this works for men as well… not sure that it does, or should.
   Christian recently posted..Pitchers
Christian on October 22nd, 2011
2. 

   I had a friend who was discerning a life as a consecrated virgin; however, the Lord deemed it better to take her home to him (she died of cancer at that age of 43).

   In our world of “sexual freedom” consecrated virginity shines out reminding us of our true love: Jesus Christ.
   Carol@simple_catholic recently posted..Sunday Snippets: A Catholic Carnival (October 23, 2011)
Carol@simple_catholic on October 22nd, 2011
3. 

   I have not heard of this before either. Thanks for the information.

   I’ll admit I’m surprised a woman with such intentions wouldn’t just go ahead and try to find a religious community to join. Otherwise, it just means they’re going to be by themselves, with no companionship and growing old and dying alone. So frankly, I’m not surprised to hear that only a small handful of women worldwide have taken up this life. (I’m not judging, by the way. Just expressing some bewilderment–though I still respect their decision.)

   But what about men? Is this same option granted to men who do not wish to join a religious order but want to consecrate themselves?

   Evan
   Evan recently posted..Foot-in-Mouth Disease
Evan on October 23rd, 2011
4. 

   Evan, there is no vocation as such for men. This is a specific calling for a few women that the Church recognizes and God gives them the grace to fulfill their vocation. They are not called to religious life in community, which is another specific calling. I assure you these women are neither lonely nor alone but joy filled with many rich relationships.
barb on October 23rd, 2011
5. 

   Carol, one of the greatest thing about being a Christian, no matter what our vocation is, is that Jesus is, as you say, our true love. The consecrated virgins I know and have met are just plain awesome, to use an overused word.
barb on October 23rd, 2011
6. 

   Christian, canon law only provides for women in this vocation. It’s a revival of a vocation found in the early Church and seems most timely for our day and age of over sexualization. There is something really beautiful about women who can walk among us, looking just like an ordinary person and doing ordinary work, but who has Christ as her Spouse infusing all of her relationships. It is so completely countercultural which is exactly what the Catholic Church is.
barb on October 23rd, 2011