States of Life
183. Meaning of State of Life
1. By a person's state we indicate something that establishes him with some permanence in his position and lays upon him pertinent duties. A person's state is not something mainly external and readily changeable; rather it is something internally recognized by intellect and embraced by will as lasting and in some measure binding. Thus, we do not speak of a man's being rich or poor as his state; this is his condition. But we do speak of a man's state as his being married or single, priest or layman or religious.
2. It is suitable that within the Church there should be various states, each with its own duties. For the Church has a variety of activities, and her beauty of order requires a scale of different offices or states to see that these activities are exercised. Says St. Paul (Eph. 4:11, 12): "He gave (that is, appointed) some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, for the perfecting of the saints."
3. States with their pertinent duties differ according to the different activities assigned to each one. There is distinction of states of perfection, and distinction of active duties, and distinction of grades in each state and duty.
4. Among men who strive to cast off servitude to sin in order to serve God in justice, we distinguish the three orders of: beginners; the proficient; the perfect.
184. The State of Perfection
1. The perfection of Christian life consists chiefly in charity. Charity unites a person to God by grace and love and friendship. Thus charity best attains the end of Christian life, which is union with God. Says St. Paul (Col. 3:14): "Above all things, have charity, which is the bond of perfection." Charity bonds together in unity all other perfections.
2. Absolute perfection belongs to God alone, for what is absolutely perfect is lacking in nothing whatever, and is therefore infinite. Relative perfection is perfection in relation to a certain thing-person, state, condition, etc. Now, in relation to man, there is a perfection that belongs to the person who has finished his course and has attained the goal; this is the perfection of the blessed in heaven. Another perfection is that of man the wayfarer who is still engaged in making the journey of this earthly life; this perfection is possible to attain here on earth. It consists, first, in the removal from life of all mortal sin. Secondly, it consists in getting rid of every attachment or appetite which hinders a person from tending wholly to God. It is possible to have charity without this full perfection, with both its elements, but it is impossible to have charity without freedom from mortal sin. In the proficient, and even in beginners, charity exists; but the perfection of charity is in the perfect.
3. Primarily and essentially, perfection consists in obeying the commandments. Our Lord said that we are to love God wholly, and to love our neighbor as ourselves for God and in God. He added, "On these two commandments dependeth the whole law, and the prophets" (Matt. 22:40). Now, the love of God and neighbor is prescribed in the Ten Commandments. And, since this twofold love is the matter of charity or perfection, we rightly say that perfection consists in obeying the commandments. The counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedience to a religious superior, are instruments for the achieving of charity, but these are not prescribed for all; they are for those called by God to a special way of life. The counsels call for the giving up of good and lawful things (marriage, occupation in worldly business, self-determination as to employment, etc.) which, none the less, can be a hindrance to charity.
4. If by the term, state of perfection, we mean the position that a person has in the Church, we see that a person can have the state without having the inner perfection. It is also possible for a person whose official status is not a state of perfection to be perfect in his spiritual life.
5. Those officially occupying the state of perfection in the Church are bishops and religious. These have bound themselves, with religious solemnity, to the unobstructed service of God.
6. Priests and others in major orders have (in the Western Church at least) the vow of chastity which belongs to the state of perfection. But for the rest, though they are bound to attain perfection in their own lives and in their own souls as all men are (and they the more so by reason of holy order), they do not hold the official status of state of perfection. Only bishops and religious are officially in the state of perfection.
7. The episcopal state (that of bishops) is more perfect than the religious state. For in spiritual things it is not lawful to look back or to descend from higher to lower status. But a man may lawfully pass from the religious to the episcopal state; hence the latter is the more perfect.
8. The religious state, in point of total dedication to the pursuit of perfection, is more perfect than the state of the diocesan or parish clergy.
185. The Episcopal State
1. When St. Paul says (I Tim. 3:1), "If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work," he means what he says, namely, that the desire is for a work, necessary and precious, wholly indispensable. But St. Paul does not speak of the motive of the desire; he does not say that the desire is good, but that the work is good. Now, it is hardly possible for a man to desire the bishop's office without desiring what belongs to it-power to rule, a right to reverence and honor, a sufficiency of temporal goods. And, for the rest, to desire the bishop's office is likely to desire with presumption, possibly with ambition, possibly even with covetousness. For the great office of a bishop is a great burden as well, and it involves the state of perfection. But to accept the bishop's office when called to it, is always lawful, often a duty. Vainly to desire the office of bishop, or ambitiously to aspire to it, is wrong. Says the unknown author of a Homily on Matthew xxv: "It is good to desire a good work, but to desire primacy of honor is vanity. Primacy seeks the one who avoids it, and eludes him who seeks it."
2. But it is not right for one appointed to the bishop's office to refuse the appointment absolutely. There is inordinateness of will in the desire to have rule over others; there is also inordinateness of will in the refusal to accept one's appointed task. St. Augustine says (Ep. xlviii ad Eudox.): "Do not prefer your ease to the needs of the Church."
3. The person chosen as bishop should have fitness for the office, and should be able to instruct, defend, and govern the faithful peacefully. It is not necessary that he be the best person for the office, but that he be a good person. For himself, a man appointed to the bishop's office need make no objection to his appointment so long as he is aware of nothing in himself that would make it unlawful for him to accept the post.
4. A bishop must remain in office as long as it is possible for him to discharge its duties well for the spiritual benefit of his subjects. When, for some good reason, he feels that he can no longer sustain the burden, he may lawfully appeal to the pope for release from his duties. Hence, it is sometimes lawful for a bishop to resign his charge.
5. A bishop binds himself to fulfill the duties of his pastoral office for the eternal welfare of his subjects. Hence, when the spiritual good of these subjects requires his presence among them, he must remain at his post, despite trials and persecutions. Yet if his subjects will suffer no essential spiritual lack because of his absence for a time, he may depart, whether because of some advantage to the Church, or because of danger to his own person.
6. It is perfectly lawful for a bishop to have property of his own. To live without owning anything of one's own is a matter of counsel, not of precept. And no one is bound to a counsel unless he has freely obligated himself to it by a vow.
7. As to the disposition of ecclesiastical goods, bishops are required to be faithful stewards or trustees; they are to use surplus goods for the benefit of the poor, for the decency of divine worship, for aid to needy clerics, and for the upbuilding of the Church in her necessary temporalities.
8. A religious who is raised to the episcopate is bound to retain such offices and duties of the religious state as are compatible with the discharge of the bishop's duties, and are helpful in that work. But he is no longer bound to such of his former observances as conflict with the demands of his new state.
186. The Religious State
1. The religious state is one in which a person seeks to adhere wholly to God. And in this is perfection. Hence, the religious life implies the state of perfection.
2. A religious is bound to make effort after perfection, and to strive to fulfill the demands of perfect charity. He must be faithful to such counsels as bind him by vow. And he must practice with fidelity the Rule he has professed.
3. For the attaining of perfect charity, the first requisite is voluntary poverty. By this, a person most effectively releases himself from attachment to earthly things and affection for them. Our Lord said (Matt. 19:21):"If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor . . . and come follow me."
4. Perpetual continence is also a requisite for religious perfection. For, despite the need for marriage, and the honest and honorable status of those who follow this way of fife, it does involve activities and duties which can hinder a person from devoting himself entirely to God's service. St. Paul (I Cor. 7:32, 33) says: "He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things of the Lord, how he may please God: but he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world, how he may please his wife." St. Paul says the very same thing of the woman who has, and who has not, a husband.
5. The religious state is a state of perfection, which means that those who embrace it must steadily strive for perfection. So that this striving may be well directed, and not, perhaps, a matter of restless and unavailing endeavor, it finds rule and regularity in full and willing obedience to a superior. Hence obedience is requisite for religious perfection.
6. Persons in the religious life are under obligation, freely assumed, to achieve the perfection proper to their state. Such obligation cannot be effectively assumed without a vow to observe the requisites of the religious life. In fact, religious perfection requires the vows of fulfilling its essential duties of poverty, chastity, and obedience in all lawful matters to a religious superior.
7. Indeed, it may be justly said that religious perfection consists in these three vows. For in the religious state a person strives for perfection, seeks to keep himself free from care and worry about external things, and offers himself wholly and steadfastly to God. Now, all these essential purposes of the religious life are admirably served by the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. The faithful practice of fulfilling these vows may rightly be said to constitute the perfection of the religious state.
8. The vow of obedience is the chief of the three vows. For (a) by obedience a person offers to God his own will, and this is something more excellent than his body which he offers by the vow of chastity, or external goods which he offers by the vow of poverty; (b) the vow of obedience includes the other two vows, for the religious life imposes chastity and poverty by precept; but chastity and poverty do not necessarily include the vow of religious obedience; (c) the vow of obedience, more directly than the other two vows, indicates full submission to God's will.
9. Willful and serious violation of any of the vows of the religious life is always a mortal sin. Now, the essential virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience are subserved by a variety of observances imposed by rule. Violation of any of these observances does not exceed venial sin, unless indeed the violation comes from contempt for the rule; in this case, the violation would be a mortal sin.
10. A sin committed by one who is in the religious life is more deplorable than the same sin committed by one who is not in that state of life. Yet it may happen that a sin, not opposed to any of the religious vows, and not the occasion of scandal in any way, is no greater (and perhaps it may even be less) than the same sin committed by another who is not in the religious state of life.
187. What is Fitting for Those in the Religious State
1. It is lawful and suitable for those in the religious state to teach and, if they are priests, to preach. For, if they have ability for such tasks, and are given jurisdiction by the right authorities, there is nothing in the works themselves to conflict with the religious state.
2. It is not lawful for those in the religious life to carry on secular business for motives of mere gain. Yet for charity, they may, with due moderation, occupy themselves with business affairs. Some measure of such work is required for the conducting of schools and orphanages. And in business connected with the Church or with the relief of a neighbor's need, there is charity, and not secular officiousness.
3. Those in the religious state are not bound to manual labor (unless there is a special precept requiring it in the Rule which they profess), any more than other people are so bound. Circumstances may, indeed, render manual labor necessary for religious, and then they are required to perform it.
4. It is certainly lawful for religious to live on alms. St. Benedict, living in a cave, and uninterruptedly intent on his spiritual growth, was supported for three years by food which a monk brought him at intervals; he did not engage in gainful labor to support himself. Those religious who live on alms are not idlers. They sanctify themselves and others by diligently fulfilling the duties of their state, and are content to be regarded as dependents, accepting whatever is given them; thus they are helped to be humble and are made more free to attend the things of God.
5. Not only may religious live on alms given them unasked; they may also beg for the material necessaries of life. To beg is to abase oneself, and when this is done for Christ, it is a notable act of religious humility, and a potent cure for pride.
6. St. Jerome, instructing the monk Rusticus, says, "Let your sober dress show your purity of mind, and your coarse cloak show your contempt of the world." It is suitable for religious to use common and coarse attire, for such apparel befits those who do penance and contemn worldly glory.
188. Varieties of Religious Life
1. There are various religious orders, societies, congregations, communities. This is so because the works of charity are various, and all religious are striving to achieve perfection in charity. One religious family may be devoted to teaching, another to the care of the sick, another to the reclamation of delinquents, another to the care of orphans, and so on. Hence, various religious communities exist. And religious practice is itself marked by variety; accordingly, one religious community practices silence; another, strict abstinence; another has a special task of perfectly reciting the Divine Office, another engages in manual labor, and so on. Here again we discern a reason for the existence of various religious communities.
2. There are religious communities for the works of charity in the active life, and there are others which are devoted to the contemplative life. For, while in itself the contemplative life is the more excellent of the two types of Christian life, both active and contemplative life serve and pursue charity; for we are to love God, and neighbor for God. The contemplative life advances the soul directly in the love of God. The active life advances the soul through works that manifest the love of neighbor for the sake of God.
3. A religious community or order can exist for some special service to neighbors. Indeed, a religious order can exist for such a service as soldering. A military order cannot be established for material conquest or a worldly purpose. But it can be established for the defense of divine worship, for public safety, for defense of the poor and the oppressed.
4. An order may be founded for preaching, for catechizing, for the hearing of confessions, and for other works that make for the instruction and sanctification of human souls.
5. A religious order may justly exist for the purpose of study. For study enlightens the mind, helps to the understanding of the truths of religion, keeps the student from gross employment and the urge to base sin, prepares the teacher and preacher and writer for their tasks.
6. It follows from what has been said in several places in our studies, that an order devoted to the contemplative life is, simply considered, more excellent than an order devoted to the active life.
7. The perfection of religious life is in no way hampered or hindered by the possession of goods in common. The vow of poverty is the surrendering of personal and private ownership of material things. And the perfection of this personal sacrifice is not lessened by the fact that material things are owned by the order or community as such. The vow of poverty frees the individual religious from care and worry about privately owned property, from the love of amassing personal riches, and from the vainglory of being personally wealthy. These are the ends intended by the vow of poverty; these ends the vow achieves perfectly despite the fact that goods are owned in common.
8. Religious living in community are a help to one another in their striving for perfection. One is helped by the good example of another; one profits by the instruction of another. And the earnest religious is helped even by noting what to avoid in the unsuitable attitude or conduct of another. But when one has reached perfection in contemplation, the life of solitude is more excellent than fife in community. Yet for anyone but the person who has really achieved perfection, the life of solitude is fraught with great dangers.
189. Entrance into the Religious Life
1. The religious life is a school of perfection, and even untutored pupils may enter that school to begin their progress towards perfection. Hence, not only those who are well practiced in the observance of the commandments should enter that fife, but also the unpracticed, that they may be removed from temptation, avoid sin, and work towards the attaining of perfection.
2. A good work done in fulfillment of a vow is better than the same work done without a vow. Hence, it is a praiseworthy thing for one who is called to the religious fife to make a vow of entering that life.
3. Such a vow binds in conscience. It must be fulfilled according to the measure of obligation assumed by the maker of the vow at the time he made it.
4. A person may make a vow to enter religion, and keep it by actually entering a community, and then, during his time of probation, conclude seriously that he is not called to the religious life. Such a person does not sin against his vow in leaving the order. For he fulfilled the vow when he entered the order as a candidate, and he has taken no further vow in the order itself. But a man who has passed his probation, and has freely made his solemn vows in religion, is bound to remain in the order perpetually through all his life.
5. In olden times, it was the custom of pious parents to enter little children in a religious community so that they might be trained from early youth in the duties of the religious life. This custom is no longer in vogue.
6. When parents are in need of support and cannot be fittingly cared for without the help of their children, these latter, even if they be grown up, cannot lawfully enter religion. Apart from such necessity, one who feels called to the religious state is not to be prevented from entering it because of parental disapproval or prohibition.
7. Parish priests may surrender their parochial duties to enter the religious state. For this, they need no special permission from the pope.
8. It is lawful and commendable to pass from one religious community or order to another if there are genuinely serious reasons to justify the change, and if the change is made in full observance of the pertinent laws of the Church.
9. One may lawfully urge or induce another to enter a religious community, provided there is no compulsion in the inducement, and no unholy circumstance, and no trickery.
10. A person who feels called to the religious life requires no great amount of discussion or seeking of advice. He must simply follow his vocation. With reference to which order he should enter, some consideration and counsel may be wise.