Now and then a man discerning the priesthood will wonder if the old rules about legitimacy apply if he’s considering the priesthood. Sometimes even diocesan websites state that the Catholic marriage certificate of the candidate’s parents must be submitted with the application. The reality is that prior to 1983, illegitimacy was an impediment to the priesthood and receiving Holy Orders. With the promulgation of the 1983 Code of Canon Law, this is no longer the case. Since illegitimacy does not pose an impediment to Holy Orders, a man is not required by universal law to submit his parent’s marriage certificate to a diocese, and he might do well to point this out to the diocesan vocations director in a charitable fashion. Further, if a person’s application is rejected solely on account of his being born illegitimately, he should speak to a canon lawyer.

(c) 2010 by Therese Ivers, JCL
www.DoIHaveAVocation.com

Q.  Why don’t you do a lot of articles on specific religious communities, seminaries, and other institutions?
A.  Other vocations websites give plenty of coverage to popular communities, seminaries, and to lesser known ones as well.  This website is designed to give you tools for discernment so that you carefully learn who you are, what God wants you to be, and how to evaluate potential institutions.  Also, just as with potential human spouses, each institution has its strengths and weaknesses.  What can be tolerated by one person might be a deal breaker for another.  Recommendations should come preferrably from an experienced person, such as a spiritual director who is familiar with the different vocations and areas to explore.

(c) 2009 by Therese Ivers, JCL

www.DoIHaveAVocation.com

Have you ever wondered what that prayer book priests carry around with them is?  Or have you heard about the Liturgy of the Hours, sometimes called the Breviary?  It is a 4 volume series containing the official prayer of the Catholic Church.  Drawing from the custom of the centuries, it contains the psalms, readings, reflections, and other prayers meant to be prayed at various intervals during the day.  There are seven sets of prayers for each day, Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, Daytime Prayer (mid morning, noon, and afternoon), Evening Prayer, & Night Prayer.  Each prayer set runs from 10-25 minutes each if recited, and much longer if sung or chanted.

Although priests and religious are required to recite the Liturgy of the Hours daily, the Church strongly recommends that the laity also recite it as much as they can given their circumstances.  “The Office has been drawn up and arranged in such a way that not only clergy but also religious and indeed laity may participate in it, since it is the prayer of the whole people of God.  People of different callings and circumstances, with their individual needs, were kept in mind, and a variety of ways of celebrating the office has been provided, by means of which the prayer can be adapted to suit the way of life and vocation of different groups using the Liturgy of the Hours” (Apostolic Constitution of Promulgation)

For those who would like to participate in this liturgical prayer of the Church, there are several options. First, you can buy the abbreviated one volume Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours.  This has Morning and Evening Prayer for each day as well as Night Prayer.   You can also buy the Liturgy of the Hours in its entire 4 volume edition (the year is divided into 4 books).  Finally, you may purchase for less than $2.00 an iPhone app, which has been Vatican approved containing the Liturgy of the Hours.  Please help to support this website, by purchasing one of these versions and/or guide listed in this post:

The Divine Office for Dodos: A Step-By-Step Guide to Praying the Liturgy of the Hourshelps people learn to pray all the Hours correctly.  It has over 90 detailed lessons, according to the official blurb.  While I actually learned how to pray the Liturgy of the Hours without a guidebook, this looks like it would be a very helpful tool for someone who wants to learn how to navigate through the different hours with all the ribbons and rubrics on their own without having someone tutor them.

Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours (abbreviated edition) has Morning Prayer, Evening Prayer, and Night Prayer for the entire year.

The Liturgy of the Hours (full edition) comes in 4 volumes.  You have a choice of leather or vinyl (each volume in the vinyl edition has its own color; for example, the Lent/Easter volume is red).  There is a large print version for the vinyl edition for those prefer large print.

The Liturgy of the Hours: Complete Set (Leather Edition)
Liturgy of the Hours (Vinyl 4 Color Edition)
The Liturgy of the Hours (Large Print Edition)

If you are interested in purchasing the Latin version of the Liturgy of the Hours, you may buy a leather or vinyl set at http://www.paxbook.com.  They are fairly pricey.

iBreviary is the entire Liturgy of the Hours in English, Latin, and other languages.  It is a Vatican approved app for iPhone and at the time of writing costs less than $2.00.

In browsing the web, I came across the story of a lady who became a consecrated virgin living in the world.  Later, she joined a religious community, and is a solemnly professed member there.  While the vocation of consecrated virginity is certainly compatible with that of religious life (the Rite has two options; one is for religious virgins and the other is for virgins in the world), it is unusual for a consecrated virgin to become a religious because consecrated virginity in and of itself is a definitive vocation.  Hence, this Sister’s story prompted me to reflect a little more deeply on vocational discernment and share some thoughts on what are seen as “stepping stone” vocations.

Stepping Stone Vocational Myth #1: People Should Become Diocesan Hermits to Form Religious Communities

There is a popular theory floating around, that a simple way to get canonical recognition and to start a religious community is for people to first become diocesan hermits and then form a religious community rather than go through the hoops of becoming an association of the faithful, gaining approval as a diocesan right, and then perhaps pontifical right congregation.  The problem with this theory is that the discernment process for becoming (and accepting/professing) diocesan hermits is focused on the call as a life-long call/commitment to “greater solitude and separation from the world”.

For, the vocation to become a diocesan hermit includes having an individually lived out personal rule of life that has been hand crafted to fit that hermit’s vocation and approved for that person only.  The vocation presupposes and requires a lifelong commitment to solitude – not community life, which is a defining characteristic of religious life.  To go through the long and arduous process of becoming a diocesan hermit (which often takes years and years) and vowing to live this life permanently (final profession) with the intention of going against the heart of the vocation in forming/joining a religious community in the future is fraud, pure and simple.  In fact, if such a diocesan hermit were to take such a step, I would advise his bishop to institute a canonical investigation to determine whether his vows were to be declared null (invalid) on account of the fraud and if this was found to be the case, to reduce him to the lay state and to impose a suitable penance upon him.

To be continued later.

© 2009 by Therese Ivers
All Rights Reserved
www.DoIHaveAVocation.com

Can a married person join the consecrated state?

Answer:

To join a diocesan or pontifical right religious order, secular institute, or a diocesan hermit, one must be single/unmarried in the eyes of the Church, or be lawfully separated from one’s spouse and given a dispensation by the Holy See (rarely given).  One of the defining characteristics of the consecrated state is that it is a state of public continence, of celibacy.  In other words, no one can cohabit with a spouse and be admitted to the consecrated state.  However, married people may join the lay/secular branches of religious orders or secular institutes.

Here’s the link to our glossary: http://doihaveavocation.com/blog/imm-glossary