A consecration lived in the streets

Most Catholics know that some women and men give their whole lives to God as priests, deacons, sisters, brothers, monks, or nuns. Fewer know that the Church recognises other forms of consecrated life, lived not in religious community but in the midst of ordinary work, family, and neighbourhood. The Catechism speaks of "other forms of consecrated life" (CCC 922-933), each with its own shape, each rooted in the same gift of self to Christ through the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

These vocations are quieter, harder to see, and often deeply needed. Bishop Davies has spoken of "the greatness of the lay vocation lived in the midst of the world." The forms below are a particular shape of that greatness: men and women who are consecrated, who have made vows, but who continue to live in the world they were sent to.

The Order of Consecrated Virgins (Ordo Virginum)

Among the most ancient forms of consecrated life is the Order of Consecrated Virgins. A woman who has never married is consecrated by the diocesan bishop in a public liturgy and lives a life of perpetual virginity given to Christ. She is "a sign of the Church's love for Christ, and an eschatological image of the world to come" (CCC 922-924).

The Ordo Virginum has no shared community life. The consecrated virgin lives wherever her work, her family, and her vocation set her down. She prays the Liturgy of the Hours daily, gives herself to a life of prayer and apostolic service, and is in a real sense espoused to Christ in the heart of her diocese. In Shrewsbury, the consecration is conferred by Bishop Davies, and consecrated virgins of the diocese live their hidden vocation across our cities, towns, and parishes.

Secular institutes

A secular institute is a society of consecrated life whose members live the evangelical counsels in the world without leaving their secular profession or state. They make vows or sacred bonds, follow a rule, are formed in community even if they live alone, and seek to bring the Gospel into politics, education, medicine, business, the arts, and the trades.

Secular institutes are recognised in canon law (canons 710-730). Several institutes of pontifical right have members in this country. Members may be lay or, in some cases, clerical. They are often invisible by design. Their consecration is not advertised on a name badge. It is lived out in how they hold a meeting, treat a colleague, manage a budget, or vote.

Hermits under canon 603

The Code of Canon Law makes provision for the diocesan hermit (canon 603). A hermit is a baptised Christian, woman or man, who professes the three evangelical counsels by vow into the hands of the diocesan bishop and lives a life of "the silence of solitude, assiduous prayer and penance" for the praise of God and the salvation of the world.

The hermit is not a religious in a community. The hermit is alone with God, ordered by a rule of life agreed with the bishop, often supporting herself through quiet work. The vocation is rare and demanding. It is also a real possibility in this diocese for those whom the Lord clearly draws to that solitude.

Consecrated widows and widowers

The Church also recognises the consecration of widows and widowers, an ancient practice (CCC 922) revived in our time. A man or woman whose spouse has died may, through the discretion of the diocesan bishop, take a vow of perpetual chastity and dedicate the remaining years of life to prayer, charity, and the service of the Church. The vocation is sometimes called "consecrated single life after marriage." It is a real and beautiful state of life, particularly for those who feel the Lord is asking them to consecrate the gift of their widowhood.

What these vocations have in common

All of these forms share several features.

• A vow of perpetual chastity, made publicly to the Church, freely accepted as a sign of the Kingdom.
• Life lived in the world, not behind monastery walls. The neighbourhood, the workplace, the family of origin remain the setting of the vocation.
• Recognition by the diocesan bishop, who admits the candidate, receives the vows or oversees the consecration, and accompanies the consecrated person.
• A daily rule of prayer, ordinarily including the Liturgy of the Hours, daily Mass where possible, lectio divina, and time of mental prayer.

Saint Paul writes that "the unmarried woman or virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit" (1 Corinthians 7:34). These vocations take Paul's words at face value and build a whole life around them.

How discernment works

Because these vocations are less well known and rarely communal, the path to them is more personal. There is no novitiate to apply for. The path is ordinarily this:

1. A long period of prayer and parish life in which the call surfaces persistently.
2. A trusted spiritual director who knows the forms of consecrated life in the world and can help test the call.
3. An approach to the diocese through the Bishop's Office. Bishop Davies receives such enquiries and assigns a priest to accompany the formal discernment.
4. A formation period shaped to the form of life, with eventual public consecration if the discernment is confirmed.

Why the diocese needs these vocations

The Diocese of Shrewsbury is shaped by Bishop Davies' insistence that every member of the Church is called to holiness in the place the Lord has set them. The Order of Consecrated Virgins, secular institutes, hermits, and consecrated widows are particular and beautiful answers to that universal call. They are a sign that consecration is possible without leaving the office, the school gate, the bus stop. The world is not a place from which to escape into religion. It is a place into which Christ has come, and these vocations stay there with Him.

Your next step

If you are considering one of these forms of consecrated life, write to the Bishop's Office at curia@dioceseofshrewsbury.org. Address your enquiry to Bishop Davies; describe in one paragraph which form has been on your heart, how long you have been praying with it, and the name of any spiritual director you currently see. The diocese will respond and arrange the right conversation.