Bishop McGrattan has established the Order of Consecrated Virgins in the Diocese of Calgary as a response to the request from women called to the vocation of consecrated virginity.
The Order of Consecrated Virgins Living in the World
Consecration of women to this Order is one of the oldest sacramentals of the Church. The Lord Jesus drew all peoples into one Church and united them mystically with spousal love. Contemplating this mystery, the Church recognises the revival of the Ordo virginum as a gift of the Spirit and welcomes it with gratitude. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 114)
The new Ordo consecrationis virginum, promulgated on 31 May 1970 by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship on the special mandate of Pope St. Paul VI, came into force on 6 January 1971. At the request of women interested in consecrating themselves to the Lord in this way, Bishop McGrattan is making available in this Diocese the opportunity for women to enter this Order.
The Order of Consecrated Virgins Living in the World
Consecration of women to this Order is one of the oldest sacramentals of the Church. The Lord Jesus drew all peoples into one Church and united them mystically with spousal love. Contemplating this mystery, the Church recognises the revival of the Ordo virginum as a gift of the Spirit and welcomes it with gratitude. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 114)
The new Ordo consecrationis virginum, promulgated on 31 May 1970 by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship on the special mandate of Pope St. Paul VI, came into force on 6 January 1971. At the request of women interested in consecrating themselves to the Lord in this way, Bishop McGrattan is making available in this Diocese the opportunity for women to enter this Order.
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Understanding Consecrated Virginity
The image of the Church as the Bride of Christ is presented in the New Testament…revealing the intimate nature of the relationship that the Lord Jesus wanted to establish with the community of those who believed in Him. Since apostolic times this expression of the mystery of the Church has been demonstrated in a unique way in the lives of those women who with spousal love are dedicated to the Lord Jesus in virginity. Responding to a charism kindled in them by the Holy Spirit, they experience the spiritual fertility of an intimate relationship with Him and offer the fruits of this relationship to the Church and to the world. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 1) The Rite of Consecration The consecration is a solemn act carried out by the Bishop that calls upon the Holy Spirit to deepen within the woman her baptismal consecration so that she will be able to witness to the love of God in her life. Such a consecration necessarily requires a period of preparation and formation for the woman and a process of mutual discernment between the woman and the Church representatives. In the rite, those to be consecrated express their holy resolution. This is the firm and definitive resolve to persevere for their whole life in perfect chastity, and in the service of God and the Church, following Christ in accordance with the Gospel, to give the world a living witness of love and to be a clear sign of the future Kingdom. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 19) |
The Benefit for the Diocesan Church
The women who receive this consecration are called to let charity shine through their lives, charity that is the principle of unity and holiness in the whole body of the Church. They remain inserted in that part of the people of God in which they already live and in the heart of which their vocational discernment and the preparation for their consecration is carried out. They are, in fact, bound by a special bond of love and mutual belonging to this Diocese. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 42) The consecrated virgins take on a special relationship to the Bishop of the Diocese. They accept his teaching authority and pastoral decisions and respond to them through prayer for the needs of the Diocese and the intentions of the Bishop. They offer their experience, reflection, and creativity as a valuable contribution to the Gospel discernment of the Christian community. (Cf. Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 43) The Role of the Consecrated Virgin Preceded and sustained by the grace of God, the women who receive this consecration are called to live in obedience to the Holy Spirit, to experience the transforming energy of the Word of God that brings so many different women into a communion of sisters, and to proclaim the Gospel of salvation with their words and their lives, becoming images of the Church as the Bride, living only for Christ the Bridegroom, and thus making Him present to the world. They look to Mary, perfect image of the Church, as the guiding star for their journey. The Church entrusts them to her maternal protection. (Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago 114) |
For further information
- Interested women within our Diocese above the age of 21 may contact Sr. Dianne Turner at the Office of Vocations for further information. [email protected].
- Reading the Vatican document Ecclesiae Sponsae Imago is also highly recommended. https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2018/07/04/180704d.html