The Order of Virgins; hermits and widows
7. It is a source of joy and hope to witness in our time a
new flowering of the ancient Order of Virgins, known in Christian
communities ever since apostolic times.Consecrated by the diocesan Bishop, these women acquire a particular link with the Church, which they are commited
to serve while remaining in the world. Either alone or in association with
others, they constitute a special eschatological image of the Heavenly
Bride and of the life to come, when the Church will at last fully live her
love for Christ the Bridegroom.
Men and women hermits, belonging to ancient Orders or
new Institutes, or being directly dependent on the Bishop, bear witness to the
passing nature of the present age by their inward and outward separation from
the world. By fasting and penance, they show that man does not live by bread
alone but by the word of God (cf. Mt 4:4). Such a life "in the
desert" is an invitation to their contemporaries and to the ecclesial
community itself never to lose sight of the supreme vocation, which
is to be always with the Lord.Again being practised today is the consecration
of widows,known since apostolic times (cf. 1 Tim 5:5, 9-10; 1
Cor 7:8), as well as the consecration of widowers. These women and men,
through a vow of perpetual chastity as a sign of the Kingdom
of God
Institutes completely devoted to contemplation
8. Institutes completely devoted to contemplation, composed
of either women or men, are for the Church a reason for pride and a source of
heavenly graces. By their lives and mission, the members of these Institutes
imitate Christ in his prayer on the mountain, bear witness to God's lordship
over history and anticipate the glory which is to come.
In solitude and silence, by listening to the word of God,
participating in divine worship, personal asceticism, prayer, mortification and
the communion of fraternal love, they direct the whole of their lives and all
their activities to the contemplation of God. In this way they offer the
ecclesial community a singular testimony of the Church's love for her Lord, and
they contribute, with hidden apostolic fruitfulness, to the growth of the
People of God.hus there is good reason to hope that the different forms of
contemplative life will experience continued growth in the younger
Churches as an evident sign that the Gospel has taken firm root,
especially in those areas of the world where other religions predominate. This
will make it possible to bear witness to the vitality of the traditions of
Christian asceticism and mysticism and will contribute to interreligious
dialogue.
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