SPIRITUALITY

Prayer is the  primary obligation of a consecrated virgin. Therefore she devotes a substantial amount of time to worship and to the contemplation of divine realities. This is fulfilled through attendance at daily Mass, praying the liturgy of the hours, and spending time in personal prayer and spiritual reading. Consecrated virgins have a special focus on divine office, such that during the rite of consecration they are presented with the breviary and commissioned to pray the liturgy of the hours. In their prayers, consecrated virgins intercede for the whole Church, remembering especially their bishop, priests, and all the people of the diocese.

Consecrated virgins do not follow the spirituality of any one particular saint or founder. However, the rite of consecration to a life of virginity contains a profound spirituality of its own. These ancient and beautiful prayers celebrate the spousal relationship between a consecrated virgin and Christ- a relationship which is described as an image of Christ’s love for His Church. The Church considers a consecrated virgin as a “bride of Christ” because she freely offers herself and all the love she would have given to a husband and children to Christ  for the glory of God and the salvation of His people.

In living as a spouse of Christ, a consecrated virgin anticipates what will be the reality for all the faithful in heaven, where they “neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels.”(Mtt.22: 30). Consecrated virgins serve as  witnesses to the fact that Christ is the ultimate fulfillment, not only of the longings of the human heart, but also of all time and history. Like the bride in the book of Revelation, consecrated virgins are called to love Christ with such totality that their whole lives constantly echo the cry: “Come, Lord Jesus!” (cf. Rev. 22:17-20).

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By Rev Fr. Anthony Njoku

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