Follow-up on the Ways Consecrated Persons Affect the Church and its Hierarchical Structure

[[Dear Sister, can you say something more about how ecclesial vocations affect either priests or laity, and so, how they help the Church be the Church God wills it to be? Also, I hadn't heard that women religious let go of the habit in order to witness to the importance of the role of laity. Could you say some more about this?]]

Thanks for your questions. I agree it is important to explain more about ecclesial vocations as a leavening agent that changes the entire Church, so thanks for the opportunity. First, we should say that all Christians are called to live the evangelical counsels in some sense. We do a disservice to every vocation if we see the counsels as only important for consecrated persons or only part of their vocations. At the same time, consecrated persons live the Evangelical Counsels in a radical way meant to serve as a Christic paradigm for others in the Church. Consecrated life serves the Church by reminding her of the Christ who is in her midst as Brother or Sister while also present as her Lord. 

For priests, consecrated persons (and maybe especially religious priests) remind them that life in communion with Christ is profoundly prayerful and only that flows into service of equals among a communion of equals. This is important because it makes sure that the Catholic Church's hierarchical division into clerics and laity does not degenerate into a worldly thing and instead is genuinely Christian where the first become the last and the last become the first. The hierarchical nature of the Church is not problematical of itself so long as it continues to be, as much as possible, the hierarchy of the Kingdom of God. Should it degenerate due to ambition into a hierarchy of power and worldly status it is a greater tragedy than we can imagine. Consecrated women model the same Christlikeness of humility and service and do so (as do consecrated men) from positions of ministerial, communal, and theological expertise that challenge ministerial priests to always improve their own senses of these things so they may serve even better.

For the laity, consecrated men and women live lives dedicated to God in Christ and remind all the laity that this union must come first in every vocation. Individually they have no money to give, but as congregations they invest in the larger community and ministries that serve people in a myriad of ways, and of course, they give generously to the least and most needy in our society by pouring out their own lives for this purpose. In terms of the Church itself, consecrated men and women remind us all of the centrality of the poor Christ and the way we are each called to model him in our world. For the rest of the laity consecrated persons call them to aspire to more in their Christian lives. They provide a significantly countercultural model of success that is supremely loving and this summons both priests and laity to create both a Church and world marked in the same way. 

As John Paul II observed, a Church without consecrated persons and with sacred ministers and laity only, the Church would not be the Church her founder willed. Consecrated persons serve as a leavening agent that helps make sure the Church is countercultural, communal, and courageously and generously so. Hierarchy in this Body does not mean a privileged priestly class ruling over others who have nothing to bring to the Lord's table. It means a Body where all come around that table as a community made to serve one another with our own gifts, limits, and needs in whatever way we God calls us to. Again, consecrated persons are not a third level between the other two groups. Drawn from both priests and laity, they serve to summon all to an equality in Christ that allows the Church to truly image its Lord and his disciples in the world. 

By way of answering your last question let me tell you a brief story. About ten years ago someone wrote me about becoming a Catholic Hermit and wearing a habit. This person claimed to already have a habit she wore at home. She also noted that she was able to pray better in a habit. I found this lacking in the transparency, openness, and humilty (loving honesty) necessary for prayer. It is also theologically unsound. I can't count the number of times I have heard from those I meet that they believe religious have a special line to God, or that dressing up in a habit helps one pray better. Similarly, where serious prayer, unfortunately, becomes associated with those in a habit, so does ministry, the notion of union with God, and authentic holiness. 

Women religious took off their habits, in part, because these had originally been imposed on them by a Church demanding they become monastics to be recognized as religious. However, they were directed by Vatican II to recover the original charisms of their congregations and for most, this meant jettisoning monastic garb, and adopting ordinary dress (among other things). In part, however, women religious gave up their habits in order to truly stand in solidarity with others in the laity and call them to take on the universal call to holiness and ministry Vatican II recognized and made such an urgent matter in this world. They did so to help curtail the tendencies of the laity to think of themselves as second or third-class citizens in the Church and God's eyes. In other words, they stepped down from a fictional pedestal they had never wanted, so that others might rise to the level to which they were and are truly called as Disciples of Jesus Christ. This is precisely one piece of what vocations to the consecrated state are supposed to do.

Archdiocese of Seattle's Practice With Lay or Non-Canonical Hermit Vocations

[[ Sister Laurel, which diocese supports non-canonical or lay hermits by recognizing them at Mass? You wrote about it fairly
recently but I forgot the diocese. If someone wants to be a consecrated hermit in that diocese they cannot, but at the same time, the diocese supports eremitical life. I think that argues pretty clearly and strongly that one can be a Catholic AND a hermit without being a Catholic Hermit via c 603!! That's especially so since it is unusual to allow some kind of commissioning of lay hermits during Mass, don't you think? I appreciated your explanation of how some canons apply to lay persons in the Church and then additional canons apply if/when one is consecrated. I really had never heard what that meant before; it's not as negative as it had first sounded, but it raises a question for me. As I am a layman and can live many different vocations by virtue of that baptismal identity, am I freer than those with vocations defined by additional canons?]]

Thanks for your question and observations. I have made a similar point recently, though not in such a focused way, so yes, thanks! The Archdiocese is that of Seattle and it is, indeed, an unusual step to let lay hermits dedicate themselves or otherwise recognize lay (or non-canonical) hermits in this way. As you say, it indicates that one can certainly be a Catholic AND a hermit even if one is not a Catholic Hermit who lives this vocation in the name of the Church. I think it also, therefore, puts an end to any arguments that a Catholic living as an isolated individual and insistently calling oneself a Catholic Hermit or a consecrated hermit must also (upon learning this is a serious misuse of canonical and theological categories and language) consider oneself "illegal" or "leave the Church" if one is to remain a hermit. Those kinds of hysterical assertions may make good theatre or vlog posts supporting or encouraging some imagined victim role, but they are entirely out of touch with reality in the Catholic Church.

Your next question is quite good and I can only give you a general answer. As a lay person you are entirely free to pursue many vocational paths to live out your lay vocation. (This is my preferred terminology for distinguishing the canonical and non-canonical aspects of this vocation; I see it contrasts with your own.) The lay vocation itself is Sacramental and canonical; it is entered through reception of the consecration of baptism and confirmation and it is defined and governed in terms of rights and obligations by canon law -- though most of us don't think of our lay lives as being defined this way. 

Still, the requirements we must maintain to be a Catholic in good standing are certainly canonical. These are found in Book II, The People of God (from laos or λαος for People), cc. 224-231 of the (Revised) Code of Canon Law. Even so, as you say in your question, generally speaking, except for your lay vocation per se, the pathways you may be called to and/or choose in order to live out this vocation are likely non-canonical because you are called to live your Catholic Christian vocation in the midst of the world. Also, yes, we could say that you have greater freedom to do whatever and go wherever you personally discern God is calling you to. This is what it means to have a secular vocation (another term we are learning to have much greater esteem for)!!!

The Lay Vocation: Living as part of the People of God in the Name of the Church

[[Sister O'Neal, I am trying to get my head around this idea of "living a state of life or a vocation in the name of the Church." Does this only work for people in the consecrated or clerical states? Is it also true for lay people? If it is true of us then what are my rights and obligations? I don't think you have ever said anything about this.]]

Terrific question! And no, I may not have written directly about this. Yes, it applies to folks living in the lay state and/or lay vocations. Remember these are people who have been initiated through baptism (and other Sacraments of initiation) into membership in the People of God and thus, it also means people with all the rights and obligations of lay persons in the Church. You and any other lay person lives your vocation in the name of the Church: you are a Catholic lay person and the right to call yourself this is a significant right all by itself. It also comes with obligations.

(Assuming you are a baptized Catholic) everything you are and do is meant to be done in the name of your Catholic identity. You may teach or nurse or do medicine, you may be a business leader, a CEO, a housewife, or shipbuilder, student, caregiver, etc. As a Catholic lay person (or "just" as a Catholic) you are entirely free to live your faith and thus be a Catholic lay person in an infinite number of ways. You never stop being a person who lives your Christian faith in the name of the Church --- unless of course you reject  and walk away from this identity in some material way. Not everything you do may reflect well on your calling or on the Name in which you are called to live your life but the call is still yours. By the way, one tricky piece here is that you are not a Catholic shipbuilder, or a Catholic CEO. The Church has not commissioned you to do or be these specific things in her name. Even so, you are a Catholic Lay Person and CEO, or Catholic and shipbuilder, etc. You are free to make as much money as you can (though the evangelical counsel of poverty is also an obligation which is part of your Catholic vocation), free to marry, to raise a family, to move wherever you like, study whatever you want, and so forth (though in all of this the evangelical counsels of obedience and chastity also bind you --- though not religious obedience or religious chastity in celibacy).

You have the right (and sometimes the obligation!) to receive the sacraments regularly, to keep the precepts of the Church, to participate in a parish or other faith community, to participate as you feel called in all of the forms of lay ministry the church opens to you. If you are trained and commissioned as an EEM you do this in the name of the church. You are a Catholic EEM. You have the obligation to be knowledgeable about your faith, to inculcate the theological and cardinal virtues (etc.), to live the law of the Church and of God's Law of Love, to become  a person of prayer (the very prayer of God), to raise your children in a similar way, to create a home which is genuinely Catholic and reflects Catholic faith and values. You are free to associate with others and create associations of the lay faithful. In serious or emergency situations you are even free to baptize! These are also rights which are yours as a person in the lay state. Moreover, you have the right and obligation to discern the shape of God's call in your life and to live this out the best you can. This vocation is the foundation of every other in the Church.  At every moment and mood of your life you have the right and obligation to hear and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a Catholic in the Lay state.

When people say "I am a Catholic" all of this and more is implied --- or at least is meant to be implied. Above all, I think, to say, "I am a Catholic" is to recognize and embrace a call to holiness in Christ, to recognize and embrace a call to be God's embodied Word as you image Christ in this unique and foundational state of life. Because you are baptized, confirmed, and nourished with  the Eucharist and the Word of God, strengthened as needed with the Sacrament of the Sick, healed and reconciled with the Sacrament of reconciliation, you are called and commissioned to live this state of life in an inspired and edifying way. Here rights and obligations become hard or impossible to tease apart but they are all part of your unique vocation as a Catholic and as Catholic Laity.

Are there limitations on your rights and obligations? Yes, of course. What I mentioned as "tricky" earlier points to some of these limitations. If, like I have done, you study Theology and become a theologian by training, expertise, and even passion, unless the Church specifically charges you with this right and obligation you cannot identify yourself as a Catholic theologian because you do not do or teach theology in the name of the Church. This requires a special Mandatum which can be granted or taken away. This does not mean the theology you do or teach is anything other than Catholic or profoundly orthodox, but unless the Church herself has granted you this Mandatum, you, like I, cannot call yourself a Catholic Theologian.

Similarly, you may be a gifted preacher, knowledgeable in the Word of God and human psychology, but unless and until the Church grants you the right (and charges you with the associated obligations), you cannot call yourself a Catholic preacher. (You would be a Catholic and a preacher, but you do not preach in the name of the Church; she has not granted this ecclesial calling, rights, and commensurate obligations to you). You may pray and live in all the ways a Catholic Religious prays, but you do so in the lay state (and why not?!); you are not a Catholic religious unless and until you are initiated by competent authorities into this state of life. Such rights and obligations belong to the Church (we call these callings, "ecclesial vocations") and they are hers alone to confer; they are never self-assumed.

But the more pertinent point in light of your question is the truth that by the very fact of your Baptism you live lay life in the name of the Church. The Church recognizes you as part of the People of God, the (Gk.,λαος laos,laity, or People), and that is a very significant vocation wherever and how ever you live it out or express it; for wherever and how ever you do this, you are called to be Church. You are (a) Catholic; your selfhood is lived in the name of God and the name of the Church. The challenge, of course, is always to live this vocation worthily in a way which builds up the People, to understand that with baptism you did not simply join a religious group but were gifted with and embraced a Catholic vocation marked by its undeniable call to an exhaustive (if difficult!) holiness-in-community, and very unique (and challenging!) freedom.