Bride Of Christ

[BarbTherese]

Even St Teresa of Avila after her Mystical Marriage experience does not become The Bride of Christ, rather a bride of Christ witnessing to Christ's relationship with His Church (The Bride of Christ) in a quite rare, unique and entirely privileged and holy way or manner.

[God's Beloved]

Hi Barbara and all others who prayed for my Mom. Thank you so much ! Her angiography did not show any block. She is improving. i've been reading the posts from my smartphone but could not respond in detail. Am back to the thread from my desktop, trying to catch up with the discussion. Please forgive me if I miss out anything already discussed .......

 

I shall respond to my short post linking to the Apostolic Exhortation Marialis Cultus  with specific paragraphs refering to theology of CV , at another time.

 

Regarding Ontological change :

There are several  documents of the Church and writings of theologians  which discuss the term  In persona ecclesia . This term has several nuances . Some see it as a person [ e.g. a bishop] acting  ' in the name of the church'  when the Church as a Public Juridical Person is represented by him  in a country or legal forum etc. or a person  is a spokesperson for the Mind of the Church in a certain disputed matter in the World.  After the Second Vatican Council [which decided to revise the Rite of Consecration of Virgins]  this term has been used very less in this sense.

 

Another sense of the word In persona ecclesia is applied to CV  , analogous to  In persona Christi  applied to a priest . That's why a priest while celebrating the sacraments  is able to say  certain words  e.g. ' I absolve you ' , ' This is My Body '...... This is because  ordination brings an ontological change in the person in terms of vocational Identity especially during liturgical actions [ Who am I ]. 

 

Similarly,  the Rite of consecration of virgins which in the Homily mentions that she is being gifted the Title of the Church herself as Virgin , Bride , Mother  ---gives the CV a new vocational Identity in her service to the Church [ Who am I ] .  She receives the Liturgy of the Hours  so that when she prays even as an Individual , she is not only joining her voice to those of Christ the High Priest and of His Church , but  she prays  In persona ecclesia . This brings a unique spirituality to the vocation of CV , making her prayer effective  in a way that is different from the same prayer of the liturgy of the hours by an individual lay person. When she serves through charity , she does so In persona ecclesia . This is what makes her service different from the same service of charity done by an individual lay person or an NGO.

 

 

[quotes in blue are the words of the authors . In black are my comments.]

 

II. PRINCIPAL DUTIES OF THOSE CONSECRATED [taken from the Rite in the Roman Pontifical]
2 Those who consecrate their chastity under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit do so for the sake of more fervent love of Christ and of greater freedom in the service of their brothers and sisters.
They are to spend their time in works of penance and of mercy, in apostolic activity, and in prayer, according to their state in life and spiritual gifts.
To fulfill their duty of prayer, they are strongly advised to celebrate the Liturgy of Hours each day, especially Lauds or Vespers. In this way, by joining their voices to those of Christ the High Priest and of his Church, they will offer unending praise to the heavenly Father and pray for the salvation of the whole world.

 

 

On 15 May 2008 during a meeting of CV from 52 countries who were taking part in an International Congress Pilgrimage of the Ordo Virginum , the Holy Father Benedict XVI said :

 

From the sphere of the diocese with its traditions , its saints, its values, its limits and its problems, you broaden your horizons to the universal Church, sharing above all in her liturgical prayer , which is also entrusted to you so that "the praise of the heavenly Father be always on your lips;pray without ceasing"[RCV,n.28 ]. In this way your prayerful " I" will gradually be enlarged , until there is no longer anything except a great " we" in the prayer. this is ecclesial prayer and true liturgy.May you open yourselves in your dialogue with God to a dialogue with all creatures , for whom you will find you are mothers, mothers of the children of God [ cf.RCV,n.28].

 

Take care always to radiate the dignity of being a bride of Christ, expressing the newness of Christian existence and the serene expectation of future life. Thus , with your own upright life you will be stars to guide the world on its journey. Indeed , the consecrated virgin is identified with that bride who, in unison withe the Spirit , invokes the coming of the Lord : " The Spirit and the Bride say : 'Come' " [ Rev 22 :17]

 

So when the CV in vigil of the Second Coming of Christ , prays for God's Kingdom to come , her prayer is effective in a unique and special way because this is her Charism , essence of her vocation. She prays  In persona Church. In Christ's eyes , it is the Church praying to Him , calling Him , hastening His Coming.

 

In yr 1995 Pope John Paul II said to an International gathering of CV in Rome :

 

It is also the task of virgins to be the hard-working hands of the local church's generosity , the voice of her prayer, the expression of her mercy , the relief of her poor , the comfort of her suffering sons and daughters , and the support of her orphans and widows....

 

 

The Rite of Consecration of vrigins being a 'Constitutive sacramental' , it is through the action of the Holy Spirit according to the words of the prayer of consecration that this union takes place between the human nature of the virgin and the divine Word of God. The Word then possesses her completely. This is the mystical marriage that contains the call to give Jesus Christ to the world in service .The Virgin Mary-after she had conceived Jesus in her womb --set out to visit her cousin Elizabeth to serve her.

 

 

From the Homily in the Rite of consecration of virgins in the Roman Pontifical , to indicate Ontological change due to union of marriage between two natures :

When the fullness of time had come, the almighty Father showed, in the mystery of the Incarnation, his love for this great virtue. In the chaste womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word was made flesh, in a marriage covenant uniting two natures, human and divine.

 

In general the understanding of the Fathers of the Church and immemorial tradition  is that the CV is an Embodiment of the Church as Virgin, Bride, Mother. This supports the theology of Ontological change in terms of  WHO a CV IS .

 

 

What very few persons reading this thread know is that  the Rite of Consecration of Virgins was considered as one of the 12 Sacraments in the Church until the  12th century which defined the doctrine that there are 7 sacraments. In fact  Marriage was not considered a sacrament until the 12th century.  The liturgy of the Rite of Consecration of virgins became the Theological locus of the Sacrament of Matrimony .

 

 

 

 

 

 

[God's Beloved]

When the CV

in vigil of the Second Coming of Christ ,

prays for God's Kingdom to come ,

her prayer is effective in a unique

and special way

because this is her Charism ,

essence of her vocation.

 

She prays  In persona Church.

 

In Christ's eyes ,

she is the Church , His Bride

praying to Him ,

calling Him ,

hastening His Coming.

[abrideofChrist]

Only Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders confer ontological change.  This is why a CV cannot be consecrated validly unless Baptism and Confirmation and ontological change has taken place.  Ontological change is change in the actual person per se in reality.  What constitutes the person in ontological change actually undergoes very real change.  Consecration of a CV or any other form of consecrated life is The Church under the Inspiration of The Holy Spirit consecrating the baptised and confirmed person (ontologically changed) for some special purpose in The Church (sacramental).

 

Since when has the consecration of virgins been invalidly conferred upon one who is not confirmed?  Please back this up with appropriate citations.

[abrideofChrist]

Even St Teresa of Avila after her Mystical Marriage experience does not become The Bride of Christ, rather a bride of Christ witnessing to Christ's relationship with His Church (The Bride of Christ) in a quite rare, unique and entirely privileged and holy way or manner.

 

Irrelevant.  Dubay and all the other theologians categorize this as mystical union, not the spousal union under discussion in this thread.  If you don't accept Dubay, you can read in several different pages on the USACV's information packet that there is a difference. 

[BarbTherese]

Hi Barbara and all others who prayed for my Mom. Thank you so much ! Her angiography did not show any block. She is improving. i've been reading the posts from my smartphone but could not respond in detail. Am back to the thread from my desktop, trying to catch up with the discussion. Please forgive me if I miss out anything already discussed .......

 

...............edit.................

 Thank you for the update on your Mom.  May her health continue to improve and giving thanks for what has occurred already.  Continuing to keep her in my intentions.

 

Barb :)

[Laurie]

Since when has the consecration of virgins been invalidly conferred upon one who is not confirmed?  Please back this up with appropriate citations.

 

Thanks, ABC, for catching this. I was assuming it was needed, too.

 

I was thinking the Church would want the CV candidate to be confirmed before receiving the consecration.

 

But the Church wanting it would not be the same as the absence of it rendering the consecration invalid.

 

Very interesting.
 

[abrideofChrist]

Only Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Orders confer ontological change.  This is why a CV cannot be consecrated validly unless Baptism and Confirmation and ontological change has taken place.  Ontological change is change in the actual person per se in reality.  What constitutes the person in ontological change actually undergoes very real change.  Consecration of a CV or any other form of consecrated life is The Church under the Inspiration of The Holy Spirit consecrating the baptised and confirmed person (ontologically changed) for some special purpose in The Church (sacramental).

 

So according to this idea, how do you define the married person vs. the single person in the Church?  Remember that a true marriage bond is formed where none was before.  Also remember that confirmation is advised but not absolutely necessary before marriage.  Non baptized persons obviously would have neither baptism nor confirmation.  The theology of the body teaches against the idea of someone being USED in a relationship so think carefully about what "some special purpose" in the Church would be for a married person.

Edited August 15, 2013 by abrideofChrist

[BarbTherese]

I may stand corrected.  I took it as a ‘for granted’ (apologies) that in order to receive a canonical consecration, one would need to have been baptized and confirmed at very least, very least.   If these Sacraments had not been received prior, then that the consecration, if it took place, could be challenged on validity grounds.  Perhaps I am wrong.  I would have thought that evidence (baptismal and confirmation certificates) would need to be produced prior to consecration.

 

Catholic catechism

1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the "sacraments of Christian initiation," whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace.⁸⁹ For "by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed."⁹⁰

 

1304 Like Baptism which it completes, Confirmation is given only once, for it too imprints on the soul an indelible spiritual mark, the "character," which is the sign that Jesus Christ has marked a Christian with the seal of his Spirit by clothing him with power from on high so that he may be his witness.

[Laurie]

Here's a 1998 document from the Congregation for the Clergy. (Putting my comments in colored font so they stand out.) Below are the opening 4 paragraphs:

 

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_23111998_pvatican_en.html

 

PRIESTS IN THE EARLY CHURCH AND IN VATICAN II

 

The Second Vatican Council is itself interested in the priesthood, especially in regard to two debates: in these two principal fields, it is interesting to see which points of its discussion continue that of the early Church.

 

1. The first debate was about the nature of the priesthood. The Council has responded by beginning with the sacramentality of the episcopate, as the source of collegiality.

 

In other words, it hastens to recognize that the bishops were not just simple priests with superior power over other priests merely for the sake of making someone a delegate, either of the Pope or of the community. Rather, the consecration which they receive inserts them into the mystery of the apostolic succession and brings about in them a change in being. The Council designated this change as "ontological" at the precise level of the "munera", the messianic works of Christ and his Church.

 

The Bishops receive them already in ordination by the simple fact that they are newly configured to Christ, Head and Pastor. The indelible "character" has the consequence of enabling them to preach, to celebrate the sacraments, and to govern, having received this configuration, and having become also members of the body, a "sui generis college" of the consecrated, who in themselves are united with the Bishop of Rome, the Head of this College and the Supreme Pontiff, keeper of the Supreme Power of the Church universal. The concrete exercise of these duties demands more of a bond of communion, or to state the principle clearly in canonical terms, ordination itself confers a "Sacred Power" distinctively all its own, a sacramental power to build up the Church ( in contrast to the power of post-enlightened society, where there is a sense of competition between various interest groups).

 

This is of general interest, because it's a Magisterial document that uses the phrase "ontological change" in relation to clarifying episcopal ordination.

 

Furthermore, the phrase, "...the Council designated this change ontological at the precise level of the 'munera,' the messianic works of Christ and his Church" stood out to me.

 

It makes it clear that ontological changes are not one size fits all. They are not cookie cutter changes.They happen at different levels, a level that needs to be clarified and explained. (E.g., the ontological change of episcopal ordination is a different change than that which happens at priestly and diaconal ordinations.)

 

 

 

[BarbTherese]

So according to this idea, how do you define the married person vs. the single person in the Church?  Remember that a true marriage bond is formed where none was before.  Also remember that confirmation is advised but not absolutely necessary before marriage.  Non baptized persons obviously would have neither baptism nor confirmation.  The theology of the body teaches against the idea of someone being USED in a relationship so think carefully about what "some special purpose" in the Church would be for a married person.

 

Thank you very much for the question. You are stating that I remember points that are not in my memory at all - which is not to dispute at all that the points are correct or incorrect.

 

 I'm not going to answer because I'm pretty sure I have run my course in this thread and have made up my own mind about ontological change after research. It was ontological change that first really aroused my curiousity.  I have settled on when it does or does not occur and in accord with the mind of The Church insofar as I am aware.

 

Peace and Joy..........Barb :)

[God's Beloved]

Here's a 1998 document from the Congregation for the Clergy. (Putting my comments in colored font so they stand out.) Below are the opening 4 paragraphs:

 

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cclergy/documents/rc_con_cclergy_doc_23111998_pvatican_en.html

 

PRIESTS IN THE EARLY CHURCH AND IN VATICAN II

 

The Second Vatican Council is itself interested in the priesthood, especially in regard to two debates: in these two principal fields, it is interesting to see which points of its discussion continue that of the early Church.

 

1. The first debate was about the nature of the priesthood. The Council has responded by beginning with the sacramentality of the episcopate, as the source of collegiality.

 

In other words, it hastens to recognize that the bishops were not just simple priests with superior power over other priests merely for the sake of making someone a delegate, either of the Pope or of the community. Rather, the consecration which they receive inserts them into the mystery of the apostolic succession and brings about in them a change in being. The Council designated this change as "ontological" at the precise level of the "munera", the messianic works of Christ and his Church.

 

The Bishops receive them already in ordination by the simple fact that they are newly configured to Christ, Head and Pastor. The indelible "character" has the consequence of enabling them to preach, to celebrate the sacraments, and to govern, having received this configuration, and having become also members of the body, a "sui generis college" of the consecrated, who in themselves are united with the Bishop of Rome, the Head of this College and the Supreme Pontiff, keeper of the Supreme Power of the Church universal. The concrete exercise of these duties demands more of a bond of communion, or to state the principle clearly in canonical terms, ordination itself confers a "Sacred Power" distinctively all its own, a sacramental power to build up the Church ( in contrast to the power of post-enlightened society, where there is a sense of competition between various interest groups).

 

This is of general interest, because it's a Magisterial document that uses the phrase "ontological change" in relation to clarifying episcopal ordination.

 

Furthermore, the phrase, "...the Council designated this change ontological at the precise level of the 'munera,' the messianic works of Christ and his Church" stood out to me.

 

It makes it clear that ontological changes are not one size fits all. They are not cookie cutter changes.They happen at different levels, a level that needs to be clarified and explained. (E.g., the ontological change of episcopal ordination is a different change than that which happens at priestly and diaconal ordinations.)

 

 

Hi Laurie,

 

Could it be a coincidence that I was reading the same document on the internet at the same time and was about to put the link here when I saw yours already in.  The Holy Spirit is saying something thru this doc for sure .

[Laurie]

Excellent! :) The Holy Spirit, and Our Beautiful Lady, on her feast day. :)

[God's Beloved]

Thanks, ABC, for catching this. I was assuming it was needed, too.

 

I was thinking the Church would want the CV candidate to be confirmed before receiving the consecration.

 

But the Church wanting it would not be the same as the absence of it rendering the consecration invalid.

 

Very interesting.
 

 

 

The question whether  the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the 'fullness' of grace conferred by the Rite of Consecration of virgins and Identification with the Church as Virgin, Bride ,Mother --is a question I have been theologizing upon a lot recently . I know a CV  who  was in this situation and received the sacrament of confirmation conditionally 'after' her consecration.

 

Although the Church  recommends but does not necessitate the sacrament of Confirmation  before the sacrament of Matrimony , I am inclined towards a thesis that the bond in such a marriage would not be indissoluble . [Since the Church is encouraging theologizing in the area of validity of marriages ]. What happens when a Non catholic but baptized Christian marries a Catholic who has received baptism and confirmation , in the Catholic church ? I'll have to refer to my theology notes for the Church's position on this  ---unless someone here already has the answer handy !!

 

To me  , if a CV is not fully initiated into the Church , she cannot  receive the Title of the Church identifying her with the Church as Bride of Christ.  It would be an 'in-between' kind of situation.

[abrideofChrist]

Baptism of both parties and consummation of a valid marriage are the two elements needed for an indissoluble sacramental union.  The non-confirmed status of the baptized non-Catholic is irrelevant with regards to both validity of the marriage and its indissolubility.

 

A CV lacking the Sacramental strengthening of Confirmation would still be validly consecrated since the object of her consecration is not the strengthening of her baptismal commitment  (Confirmation) but the creation of a spousal bond with Christ.