Questions About Consecrated Virginity

[God's Beloved]

Thank you for the reply :) I'm trying to relate this to the ewtn article... would you agree that there is something constitutive in both Rites, for Consecrated Virginity and Religious life? am I understanding correctly that in religious life it's the vows that do this, and in the consecration of virginity it's the words of the Bishop?

 

I seem to remember reading before (maybe I'm wrong) that there's a difference between Sisters and nuns... is it true that nuns who make the solemn profession can't be freed from their vows? what about Sisters?

 

 

Consecrated virginity is the earliest form of consecrated life in the history of the church. Hence all the other forms of consecrated life that developed during the last two millennia  have continued some of the traditions related to consecrated virginity . Maybe one in ten thousand  who have studied theology  can understand  how not everything related to CV can be applied to Religious Profession.

 

From what I've read at least in the theology of Thomas Aquinas of the 13th century , Solemn Profession of vows  are Constitutive vows . I am extending this to Simple Profession of vows too.......just by logic.

 

However  I have a statement from the Congregation for Inst. of Cons. Life in Rome  , in reply to my queries  regarding difference between consecration of virgins and religious profession as follows :

 

Q .Canon 604#1 says that we are consecrated by  the Bishop. How exactly is this different from the Prayer of consecration in the Rite for the Profession of Religious Women ? In several theological articles it is said that in the Cons. Of virgins what is specific is the charismatic element in the Rite whereas in the Rite of Religious Profession what is specific is the ascetic element or the Profession of vows according to the Constitution of the Institute.

 

an extract from their response :

 

the candidate’s proposito expresses her intent and the solemn prayer of the Bishop consecrates her. This is distinct from the rite of religious profession in which the profession of the evangelical counsels---all other canonical requirements being in place ---consecrates the candidate to God [c 654]