What Is a rite of consecration, and religious vows

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Roseeurekacross

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For example

A rite of consecration

And what are religious vows of Poverty, chastity and obedience.

Are these binding or just something to be said.

Thanks
 
Roseeurekacross said:
For example

A rite of consecration

And what are religious vows of Poverty, chastity and obedience.

Are these binding or just something to be said.

Thanks
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A rite of consecration is just that - a rite to “set aside” or “make holy” the subject of the rite.
  • Poverty is understood differently by different groups, but often has to do with holding goods in common.
  • Chastity is remaining pure, not only in a sexual sense, but also in one’s thoughts, words, and deeds.
  • Obedience is the renunciation of one’s will, often in deference to one’s superiors, in all things not manifestly sinful.
Vows are binding, but it gets tricky when you examine how they’re binding. The real question here is who is accepting the vows?
  • I can vow to never eat ice cream on Fridays, and this is binding so long as I do not dispense (or cancel) myself from this vow.
  • I can vow to pray a rosary every Friday as an act of penance to my Spiritual Director or Pastor, and these would be binding so long as they have not dispensed me from this vow.
  • I can vow to live a life of solitude and penance (e.g. the life of a Hermit) to my Bishop, and this would be binding so long as he (or his successors, or the Holy See) have not dispensed me from them.
  • I can vow Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience in a Society of Apostolic Life, Religious Congregation, or Religious Order, and these would be binding so long as the Superior General (or the Holy See) have not dispensed me from them; the first scenario is considered a private vow (i.e. not accepted in the name of the Church), whereas in the latter two scenarios the vows are accepted by the superior in the name of the Church (and are therefore called Public Vows).
 
Lamentation said it all really, but I’d like to add my two cents.

The vows and rite of consecration are not just words, they are usually in the middle of the liturgy of the word and liturgy of the eucharist. It is within this particular setting, outside of time and space, that the vow is not only made before the superior, but before the holy cross of Christ himself. Therefore, the vow is made to the representative to the Church, but it is binding in heaven as well. As long as the superior stands as representative for the Church, it means that you have made the vow to Christ himself.

The rite of consecration is meant to bring out the mystery of the vows you profess. Just like the marital rite is meant to draw the couple deeper into the relationship they now profess to Christ, a vow that is sacred and cannot be unbroken, the rite of consecration is meant to do the same. The vows themselves are not are binding unto the state of life you live. As a married man, vows of poverty, chastity and obedience basically means poverty in spirit and submitting myself to the family entity, chastity in my relationship to my wife, do not confuse this to celibacy, and obedience which is to my wife, my rule, my spiritual director, my ordinary and the Magisterium.

If you want to learn more of how you live the vows in married life you can read cscolumcille.org/2017/07/08/the-evangelical-counsels-in-marriage/

For those who are single, the vow of chastity does not mean a vow of celibacy. It just means that you will be chaste in the relations you have with other people. When a monk or nun makes a vow of obedience they are obedient to the rule and if their rule says they are to be celibate, then they must be so.
 
thanks everyone. I have started the process ot discernment leading to aspiration with a Community.

First meetng done and daily prayer for a month. It will be a slow
process.

If I get permission I will write of the journey.

For now I have sorted out what all those things mean I hope. Researched the Community , its origins and beliefs and standards.

The cause for Cannonisation of its Founder has been opened. He was a Priest, He wrote a lot, worked in the Vatican Libraries for a time, was a hermit for a time, a Parish Priest etc.

Its people seem dedicated and genuine. It is a young Community compared with the others people list. But it is the one close to me with active members and local Clergy support.
 
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