Vows

[Byzantine]

Could you please explain to me, in as much detail as you're willing to give, the conditions necessary for a vow to be binding? Thanks!

[cappie]

I assume you do not mean vows for religious life, given that: a vow, even in an unimportant matter, [b]presupposes the full consent of the will[/b]; it is an act of generosity towards God. One does not give unless one knows fully what one is doing. Every substantial error, or indeed every error which is really the cause of making a vow, renders the vow null and void. This condition must be properly understood; to judge of the effect of the error, it is necessary to know the will of the person making the vow at the moment of making it. One who can say sincerely, "if I had known this or that, I would not have made the vow", is not bound by the vow.

If, however, one who is aware of some ignorance on the matter of a vow, but, in spite of that, generously decides to make it, knowing its general import and that it is in itself proper and commendable, such as the vow of chastity, for instance, is bound by it, as it is entirely valid.

A greater study of this is found in the Summa Theologica Secunda Secundae Partis, Q. 88

[url="http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3088.htm#article3"]http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3088.htm#article3[/url]