[[Dear Sister, I have read a few articles [here] and they have such good content and are very informative. I was reading the article "are canon 603 hermits religious" and the last paragraph prompted this question. I attached a screenshot for reference. My questions are: 1) If a group/laura of Hermits exceeded (three) or if they decided to live a more communal structure and sought to become an Association of the Faithful or even higher forms, what would happen to their vows? Would they have to take vows under the new juridical entity or would they continue to be members of this new entity while retaining their vows as 603's? 2) If so would this be indefinitely? Separate but related 3) are public vows necessarily tied to the canonical structure they were made in? e.g. institute, 603? Separate question: 4) I read of "final vows" for a member of an association of the faithful. Is there such a thing as "final vows" if they are private?]]Thanks for reading and for your comments and questions! They are excellent!! If a laura of canon 603 hermits sought to become an association of the faithful and in every way necessary remained a laura and NOT a community of hermits (i.e., not an institute of consecrated life), each and all would retain their vows under c 603. Because lauras often fail, and because an individual professed under canon 603 might also simply choose to leave such a laura while remaining a diocesan hermit, the vows remain binding. The situation changes if the laura ceases to truly be a "mere" colony of hermits each with her own Rule, ministry, delegate, horarium, and bank account, integral relationship with a parish, etc., and becomes structured as a single community with single Rule, horarium, superior, bank account, ministry, formation program, and so forth.
While lauras are helpful for mutual support of hermits, and while they require some degree of common finances, and even someone who takes a leadership role to some extent on a temporary basis (which could be rotated each month or so, for instance), the individual hermits need to maintain their own independence both because of the nature of the c 603 vocation itself, and in case they desire to leave or the laura fails. As I recall, the limit of 3 hermits in such a laura was decided by the Spanish Bishops conference in order to minimize the needs and dangers of greater numbers of hermits which naturally calls for more centralized governance and institutional structure. Greater numbers than 3 hermits militate against the solitary eremitical vocation envisioned and provided for canonically by canon 603.
That said, I know of one group that began as a laura and then became not only an association of the faithful, but beyond that, a community of hermits (of diocesan right) with a single Rule and all of the other elements I noted above. I don't believe they ceased to call themselves c 603 hermits or made vows as members of a community, but that is what they should have done. Ordinarily in such a case, the group's c 603 vows would be dispensed (or rendered invalid) the same day (or at the same moment) they became a community and made vows as part of the community under a given Rule, superior, etc. Because c 603 was written for solitary hermits, not members of a religious community it may well be that when a colony becomes a religious institute the vows are automatically invalidated because of a significant material change in the context of the life being lived and so too, in one's vows. New members could not and should not make vows under c 603, but under the usual canons which are binding on coenobitical religious. They have discerned a different vocation.
If they did not do this (dispense or understand c 603 vows as rendered invalid), one wonders what the diocese does with individuals who wish to be professed under canon 603 and may want to be part of a laura without joining this community or agreeing to all of its own laws and statutes. An individual may also desire to be professed under c 603 without a laura in said diocese; certainly c 603 itself does not require membership in a laura or community, so again, I wonder what the diocese does with such people. I also wonder what happens to c 603 hermits who need to provide for themselves but are unprepared to do so when other members of the community die and the community cannot be sustained. In such cases, c 603 vows (if never superseded by coenobitical vows and not rendered invalid due to a material change) remain valid until and unless they are dispensed.
Yes, public vows are canonically tied to the entity in which the vows are made. In some instances, after a three year trial, religious can canonically (legally) transfer their vows from one community to another community, but c 603 hermits are a different matter and cannot transfer their vows. Similarly, a religious wishing to become a c 603 hermit must leave her institute and vows in order to do so (this can be, and sometimes is, arranged so one's dispensation is signed the same day profession under c 603 is made). A diocesan hermit makes public vows within a given diocese and becomes a diocesan hermit in and of the Diocese of N_______. If the hermit desires or needs to move to another diocese and wishes to remain a diocesan hermit, she must obtain the agreement of the bishop of the new diocese as well as an affirmation from her professing diocese that she is a hermit in good standing. If hermits have been specifically professed as members of a community of hermits (not as solitary hermits who come together in a c 603 laura!!) and wish instead to become solitary diocesan hermits under c 603, their existing vows (if perpetual) will need to be dispensed and new vows made under c 603. This would also require a separate discernment process because the context is so very different. Again, though still eremitical it is a different vocation than solitary eremitical life, even when that is lived in a colony or laura. If a perpetually professed c 603 hermit participates in a laura of c 603 hermits and decides to leave the laura, her vows under c 603 remain binding until and unless she seeks a dispensation or decides to relocate to another diocese.
The indication "final vows" could, in my opinion, be used for private avowal (not profession!), because they indicate the intention of the person making the vows. However, such vows do not involve the same rights and obligations that public vows do; they are easily dispensed, and have no real sense of mutual discernment or ecclesial nature. Every vow made by a person, whether public or private (canonical or non-canonical) intends finality. This is true of canonically temporary vows as well. Calling a canonical vow temporary or perpetual therefore, mainly indicates where the person stands in terms of the church's own discernment of such vocations; has the person yet been seen by all involved, to be called by God to live this vocation in the name of the Church for the entirety of their lives?
That said, I know of one group that began as a laura and then became not only an association of the faithful, but beyond that, a community of hermits (of diocesan right) with a single Rule and all of the other elements I noted above. I don't believe they ceased to call themselves c 603 hermits or made vows as members of a community, but that is what they should have done. Ordinarily in such a case, the group's c 603 vows would be dispensed (or rendered invalid) the same day (or at the same moment) they became a community and made vows as part of the community under a given Rule, superior, etc. Because c 603 was written for solitary hermits, not members of a religious community it may well be that when a colony becomes a religious institute the vows are automatically invalidated because of a significant material change in the context of the life being lived and so too, in one's vows. New members could not and should not make vows under c 603, but under the usual canons which are binding on coenobitical religious. They have discerned a different vocation.
If they did not do this (dispense or understand c 603 vows as rendered invalid), one wonders what the diocese does with individuals who wish to be professed under canon 603 and may want to be part of a laura without joining this community or agreeing to all of its own laws and statutes. An individual may also desire to be professed under c 603 without a laura in said diocese; certainly c 603 itself does not require membership in a laura or community, so again, I wonder what the diocese does with such people. I also wonder what happens to c 603 hermits who need to provide for themselves but are unprepared to do so when other members of the community die and the community cannot be sustained. In such cases, c 603 vows (if never superseded by coenobitical vows and not rendered invalid due to a material change) remain valid until and unless they are dispensed.
Yes, public vows are canonically tied to the entity in which the vows are made. In some instances, after a three year trial, religious can canonically (legally) transfer their vows from one community to another community, but c 603 hermits are a different matter and cannot transfer their vows. Similarly, a religious wishing to become a c 603 hermit must leave her institute and vows in order to do so (this can be, and sometimes is, arranged so one's dispensation is signed the same day profession under c 603 is made). A diocesan hermit makes public vows within a given diocese and becomes a diocesan hermit in and of the Diocese of N_______. If the hermit desires or needs to move to another diocese and wishes to remain a diocesan hermit, she must obtain the agreement of the bishop of the new diocese as well as an affirmation from her professing diocese that she is a hermit in good standing. If hermits have been specifically professed as members of a community of hermits (not as solitary hermits who come together in a c 603 laura!!) and wish instead to become solitary diocesan hermits under c 603, their existing vows (if perpetual) will need to be dispensed and new vows made under c 603. This would also require a separate discernment process because the context is so very different. Again, though still eremitical it is a different vocation than solitary eremitical life, even when that is lived in a colony or laura. If a perpetually professed c 603 hermit participates in a laura of c 603 hermits and decides to leave the laura, her vows under c 603 remain binding until and unless she seeks a dispensation or decides to relocate to another diocese.
Temporary vows indicates a provisional confirmation of a vocation here. Admission to perpetual or definitive profession and consecration indicates an unqualified confirmation by the Church (including the Institute of consecrated life if there is one) that, insofar as this can be determined, the person is thusly called by God. It is important to remember though that one's own discernment does not cease with perpetual or definitive vows --- though the community or church ceases to be engaged in such a process of discernment in any focused way. Through the various canonical professions made, the process of discernment shifts, however, from an accent on "am I called", to an emphasis on "how am I called to live this vocation of mine** more deeply and truly" in this or that situation and context.
Only in very significant situations does the publicly professed and consecrated person freshly and seriously raise the question as to whether or not she is called; in these situations, the presumption on everyone's part (e.g., authorities, diocese, spiritual director, etc.) is that she is called and what is needed is to help her find a way to negotiate the difficulties being experienced. All of this (mutual discernment, presumption of vocation by others) differs (that is, it is missing) in the case of private vows because these remain at every point a matter of an individual's entirely private discernment and commitment. Even so, because this intention to finality is part of every vow made, and because the term can point to the person's intention, I don't think there is any problem with the term perpetual vows for private avowals --- so long as one understands the entirely private nature of the commitment and that one's own discernment does not cease once such vows are made.
** a vocation may be said to be "mine" only through the grace of God and the mediation and confirmation of the Church. The sense of "mineness" grows in time, not in the sense that the vocation is a person's possession precisely, but in the sense that one becomes more and more clear that one's own selfhood is perfected at the same time one lives one's vocation with fidelity; I know this is the path through which God has called me to perfection and will allow me to touch others with the Gospel of his Christ. In other words, there is a deepening and more extensive sense that God's faithfulness and our own interlock with one another in this vocation, while this mutual faithfulness results in the revelation of God and our own holiness and wholeness.
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