A Consecrated Virgin

 On Sunday, I had the great honor and joy to attend my college friend's ceremony to become a consecrated virgin at the Cathedral of St. Andrew in Grand Rapids, MI.

My friend Lizzie is a remarkable person. While we were both studious, intellectual (read: nerdy) undergrads together, I was always struck by her focus and intentness on the things of God. She has long loved the liturgy, and in fact has her Master's degree in liturgical studies. It seems her calling was always to be set apart, to be specifically for Jesus, though it took her a while to discover this specific vocation: consecrated virginity.

I won't pretend to be able to explain consecrated virginity (actually, Lizzie has written a whole article about it for those who are interested), but I'll outline briefly what I know it isn't--an Eastern approach to explaining a mystery. It isn't human marriage: despite her bridal adornments, Liz is now espoused to God Himself. It isn't religious life: she did not take vows, nor will she belong to a religious community; instead, she will live and work in the world, much as before, yet not as before. It isn't temporary: she has now been consecrated and belongs definitively to God and His Church. Finally, it is not new: from what I understand this vocation was a precursor to monastic and religious communities, an expression of the flaming desire of those women in love with God to be His and no one else's.

For her consecration Mass, Lizzie had those of us in the choir sing "E'en So, Lord Jesus, Quickly Come," the refrain to which has been buzzing in my head all week: "Rejoice in heaven, all ye that dwell therein!" This rejoicing, this joy, because Jesus is our true love, our true homeland, and is coming soon--my friend is experiencing the foretaste of this on earth, as He has already claimed her for his own.