On "Second Consecration" and the Requirements for Admission to canon 603 Profession

[[Hi Sister, could you say something more about what you called "second consecration"? That's completely new to me! Also, you recently wrote a list of things someone desiring to become a canon 603 hermit [needed to have or do]. Did you [think of these] .  . . or did they come from the Church herself?. . .]]

Yes, I'd be happy to say something more about what is sometimes called the "second consecration". Baptism is a sacrament of initiation where we are consecrated by God to be disciples of his Christ and members of his Body. The graces of this being "set apart" for holiness are not inconsiderable! Think of all the ministries and projects the Catholic laity carries out in the name of the Church by virtue of baptism and then too by virtue of the other sacraments of initiation: Eucharist and Confirmation as well as the Sacrament of Reconciliation!! Sometimes the Church adds a specific commissioning for various ministries. At the same time, some vocations require additional grace of God including preparation for these vocations. I am thinking here of marriage and also ordained ministry; these require additional Sacraments as those called to these are "configured" to love (i.e., sacrifice and give oneself) in the wholehearted ways these vocations require! With ordination there are also levels of the Sacrament of orders that are received at different points in a person's priesthood, so deacon, priest, bishop.

Consecrated life is similar to marriage and priesthood. It requires specific graces of God and also calls for the configuration of the one dedicating her/himself in ways which allow taking on obligations that are not part of the consecration associated with baptism. (Think here of religious poverty, consecrated celibacy or chastity in celibacy, and religious obedience. Think too of the ability to give one's entire self to others as a representative of the Church in our world. None of these are accomplished with the grace of baptism alone. Hence, Consecrated Life requires a second consecration beyond that of baptism which helps configure one so they may assume the rights and obligations of the consecrated state of life in a specifically ecclesial vocation. Here the person is made capable of being entrusted and IS entrusted with a vocation that belongs first of all to the Church. With this second consecration, associated with perpetual profession, the person literally enters the consecrated state of life. (There is a regular blessing during the rite of temporary profession, but this is replaced by the prayer of solemn consecration during the Rite of perpetual profession.)

Thus, there is a difference between the consecration of baptism and what the Church identifies as the Consecrated State of Life. One only enters the consecrated state of life if and when the Church entrusts such a call to the person. It is a mediated state because it is an ecclesial vocation. God has entrusted these vocations to the Church and the Church is responsible for mediating these to persons she discerns are called to and prepared for the rights and obligations associated with them. For this reason, it is never enough for an individual to say, "I know God is calling me to this vocation" or to assume the descriptor "Catholic" as in Catholic nun, Catholic hermit, Catholic consecrated Virgin, etc. There needs to be a process of mutual discernment including personal vetting, supervised formation, etc. before one is entrusted with an ecclesial vocation. (cf., Centered on Christ, A Guide to Monastic Profession, Augustine Roberts, OCSO, Cistercian Publications, 2005)

This leads us to the list of things I wrote about that are required of a candidate for profession as a diocesan or c 603 hermit. No, I didn't make these up. I listed the things dioceses routinely require. Most of these are also found in a resources document for the "Discernment of Hermit Vocations According to canon 603" put out by DICLSAL (formerly CICLSAL), the Dicastery of Institutes of Religious Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. In fact, this list of considerations for the discernment of these vocations includes several items I did not mention in that recent piece. These include the reasonableness of making temporary profession for several years prior to making a perpetual profession, a consideration of the candidate's motivations in seeking profession and consecration under c 603, the levels of psychological and spiritual maturity possessed by the candidate (this can be linked to psychological testing which I did mention, of course), availability of sacramental life (including daily Eucharist) and spiritual direction, and an examination of the hermit's view of his/her relationship with the Bishop, Church, and world.