By Sister Genevieve Sarchse, OSB

In the past several columns I have been speaking about the specific vows which all religious take and it occurred to me that I possibly should have spoken first about what a vow is and why vows are taken in the first place.

Well, better late than never I suppose, but as I began reflecting upon what contemporary theologians are saying about vows as such, I was struck once again with the basic fact that a religious vocation is a mystery as is any specific relationship of man with God.

Any verbal attempt to express that mystery is inevitably inadequate if not incorrect. Problems have arisen in the past because of disputes over the way in which the concepts were stated and the implications that could be drawn from those statements.

What begins as an attempt to define, with at least minimal accuracy, the theological and philosophical basis for the vows of religion becomes once more for me a personal and awe-struck awareness of the beauty of a personal and loving God. He has called each of us – myself included – to a unique and individual relationship with Him in that mystery we have termed a “vocation” – be it to the marital, single or religious state.

A vow may be defined as a promise made to God to perform an act that is either good in itself or made so by the intent or circumstances in which it is performed. In religious life the vows are made in response to what have been called the “evangelical counsels,” as opposed to those basic tendencies in man which most often lead him to wrongdoing – greed, sexual excess and the lust for power.

Today the emphasis is less on man’s tendency towards evil and more on what we may do to develop our relationship with God, although both foci are valid. What is most important to me is that a vow made publicly to God within the liturgy of the church becomes, in virtue of its public nature, a liturgical act itself.

To attempt to discern and be obedient to the will of God in my life is a good thing; when this action takes place in the context of a life lived within a vow, that action becomes an act of worship.

Man as man is both an individual and a member of society. While we perform many acts as individuals, and those acts are unique to each individual as a person, we also are members of many different societies. The whole man also worships individually and as a member of society. By taking a vow, a public vow, to God, one transforms ones private actions to an act of worship within the church.

Every person must be obedient to those in authority over him; every person must be chaste within his state in life; every person has an obligation to use the goods of this world properly and with moderation.

However, when that obedience, that chastity, that detachment from concern for material things takes place under a vow, it becomes a liturgical act. It is an act of faith in the transcendent, professed publicly in the profession of vows and by the state of life that is professed.

Because of this, some religious communities take vows in addition to those of poverty, celibacy and obedience. As Benedictines we also take the vows of stability and conversion of life. These grew out of the historical context of Benedictinism.

In Benedict’s time there were no church laws regulating and protecting religious life; many so-called monks traveled from monastery to monastery living off the kindness of those who took them in. To prevent this abuse Benedict asked his monks to vow stability in order to build the communal prayer and spirit he considered essential to monastic life.

Today this vow has come to mean that Benedictines maintain small communities centered in autonomous motherhouses. This has the advantage of building a close family spirit and enabling the group to adapt itself more readily to the needs of the area.

The vow of conversion of life refers more to the concept stated above of consecrating an already good action by means of the public vow. Every Christian is obliged to strive towards the perfection of his talents and spiritual life

By taking a vow to do so, I not only deepen my responsibility to do so, but my daily struggles to become the person I believe God created me to become acts of worship. On those days when I’m terribly tired and frustrated that knowledge is a help.