Will a nun be a nun forever in heaven?

[rissa87]

You’re making some pretty bold statements. Do you have any theological references backing it up?

I ask because I am currently discerning this vocation, thus doing a lot of research on it. On Catholic Encyclopedia it has this to say about virginity and the rewards in Heaven for virgins.

From what I can interpret, those who haven’t actually had sexual intercourse, and are repentant, they can be restored to the virtue of virginity and the right to the aureola (which is the rewards in Heaven for virgins).

I think this is just talking about entrance into a religious order. I asked one of the priests in my parish about it and he said that you can enter a religious order even if you have been sexually active, as long as you are repentant, and still be a consecrated religious espoused to Christ… But that there are specific rewards in heaven that apply to those who have lived a completely chaste life and have consecrated themselves to God and are, therefore, consecrated virgins. He said there is a difference between a consecrated woman and a consecrated virgin.

 

[rissa87]

Continued from my last post…

I want to add that I do agree with you that this could be meaning people who have engaged in passionate kissing, etc. that has caused arousal but maybe hasn’t actually “crossed a line” so to speak… But I kind of think that the act of something like oral sex is equivalent to intercourse insomuch as it takes away the innocence of the people involved. I do not consider people who have engaged in this to be virgins and, therefore, I do not believe they would qualify for this exception. That’s just my take on it, but I would be curious to see what others have to say…

 

[SerraSemper]

You’re making some pretty bold statements. Do you have any theological references backing it up?

I ask because I am currently discerning this vocation, thus doing a lot of research on it. On Catholic Encyclopedia it has this to say about virginity and the rewards in Heaven for virgins.

From what I can interpret, those who haven’t actually had sexual intercourse, and are repentant, they can be restored to the virtue of virginity and the right to the aureola (which is the rewards in Heaven for virgins).

“Completely experienced” is interpreted traditionally as one who has in flesh had some experience of voluntary sexual sin of whatever variety - not, as the USACV interprets it - simply intercourse itself. Again, we need to make the distinction between eligibility for the consecration and eligibility for the aureola. The demands for consecration are less stringent than that of the aureola. There have been centuries of commentaries on this aureola, and if you are going by USACV publications alone, you will not find what you need. A good theological library may help you. God bless you in your discernment.