Posted on 06/22/2003 3:33:44 PM PDT by PJ-Comix
Kathleen Mary Danes will awake this morning with the giddiness and expectations of the June bride that she is.
But when she approaches the altar at the Cathedral of St. Mary in Miami, there will be no groom -- at least not in the physical sense.
Instead, Danes will formally become a consecrated virgin, taking part in an obscure Catholic rite that will confer on her this title: bride of Christ.
The 62-year-old retired college administrator will become the first such woman consecrated by the Archdiocese of Miami, joining the small but growing ranks of U.S. women called to a vocation that dates back to the ancient days of the church.
And, like any virgin-bride, she confesses to be not a little bit nervous.
''I want to make sure everything goes exactly as planned, a perfect day for the Lord,'' said Danes, who will rise hours before dawn -- as she does every day -- to help prepare her church in Lighthouse Point for Mass, making sure the brass is polished and the linens pressed, the priests' robes ready for wearing.
Only then will she return home to prepare for the 10 a.m. ceremony at St. Mary's.
A niece has promised to do her makeup. And Danes will finally don the sky-blue dress -- the color chosen in honor of the Virgin Mary -- that she had custom-made for the day she would pledge her very private decision in a very public way.
''This is the most important step of my entire life,'' said Danes, who lives in Deerfield Beach. ``It's exciting. Even the rite itself is unusual.''
So unusual, in fact, that even devout Catholics have often never heard of it.
Danes -- who has attended daily Mass her entire life and was educated by nuns in upstate New York -- only chanced upon the term two years ago while reading a religious magazine.
CAREER CHOICE
Unlike nuns, who are also celibate, consecrated virgins can choose any career they wish. They are not tied to a specific religious order or mission and receive no compensation from the church.
''It's almost a radical act of free will,'' said the Rev. Frederick Brice, the pastor of Danes' church, St. Paul the Apostle in Lighthouse Point. Brice also served as her spiritual director throughout the rigorous preparations required before consecration.
About 100 known consecrated virgins live in the United States and 1,400 worldwide, according to the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins.
The rite dates back to the first century of the church, but fell out of use about 900 A.D. It wasn't until Pope Paul VI restored the rite in 1970, post-Vatican II, did consecrated virgins once again have their place in the Roman Catholic world.
It's a role that has attracted a wide range of celibate American women from 23 states.
''One is a physician, a forensic chemist, a Washington state trooper,'' said Loretta Matulich, 61, president of the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins and herself a retired English professor.
They even have a website: www.consecratedvirgins.org.
Danes said she ``spent all of my life loving the Lord.''
But it was her sister, not her, who thought of becoming a nun.
Her sister left the convent, eventually got married, and bore eight children.
''I guess she made up for me,'' Danes said.
SHARE OF TROUBLES
She has had her share of troubles, to be sure. But Danes, in the manner of a true spiritual optimist, sees blessings behind every burden.
When she was 16, she said, she was hospitalized by a mysterious illness that robbed her of her sight, hearing, and sense of taste.
She regained her senses after six frightening months. The doctors couldn't come up with a clear diagnosis. Danes says she still doesn't know what caused her affliction.
''In getting better, it made me want to spend the rest of my life helping people,'' Danes said. True to her vow, she cared for her mother, father and a beloved family friend in the days before their deaths.
Plagued by the cold winters in upstate New York, Danes decided to study at Florida Atlantic University after finishing two years at the Rochester Business Institute.
She eventually moved to Broward for good, and spent the next three decades as a personnel director at FAU, helping faculty and staff arrange for disability and retirement benefits.
Since her own retirement, she has kept busy.
Danes wakes at 4 a.m. and immediately logs onto her computer -- printing news from the Pope, daily meditations and the like from the Internet -- before heading to church.
The past two years have been busy as she has prepared for today's consecration.
She has had to submit a spiritual autobiography to church leaders, attend a spiritual retreat and meet frequently with Brice as well as with the Archdiocese' vicar of religious, the Rev. John Madigan.
She has been interviewed for an upcoming segment on the CBS radio program The Osgood Files, hosted by newsman Charles Osgood, and been mentioned in a New York Times article this year on renewed interest in the ancient rite.
Her own consecration will be filmed as part of the virgin association's educational campaign.
There were 15 U.S. consecrations in 2002 alone, and more than a dozen expected in the next few months.
It's not a decision women should make when they are first heading out into the world, the church cautions. Women younger than 30 are generally encouraged to wait.
RULES OF CHURCH
The ritual, called the Solemn Rite of the Consecration of Virgins Living in the World, is open to women who have never married or lived in open ''violation of chastity,'' according to church rules. This eliminates any women who have had sexual relations, except in the cases of rape or incest.
When Danes walks into St. Mary's today, she will be accompanied by two bridesmaids, consecrated virgins who act as her sponsors.
One of them, Judith Stegman, is a Michigan CPA. The other is Miami-Dade psychologist Magalis Aguilar, who received the rite in Puerto Rico and is the only other consecrated virgin living in the Archdiocese, which stretches from Broward to Monroe counties.
The ceremony, performed by Archbishop John C. Favalora, has elements of both an ordination and a wedding. Like a priest or nun taking a religious vow, Danes will lie prostrate on the floor of the church before the altar.
And like a bride, she will also accept a ring that she will wear on the fourth finger of her left hand.
''It's so wonderful to belong to Him,'' said Danes, her voice hushed. ``It's such a peaceful feeling.''
It's a pretty safe decision to make at the age of 62.
To me, this sort of thing sounds somewhat pagan, but I won't argue if it makes her happy.
Not if Clinton is in the room.
Or perhaps Butch Reno in this case.
Just as long as they say it loudly and often, to them it is irrefutable and settled forever or at least as long as it serves their purpose.
Being a Catholic with relatives "in the convents," I have to say, with all due respect, up yours heathen.
Don't read your Bible much, do you Annie?
1 Cor. 7.8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they so continue, even as I.
1 Cor. 7.25 Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful.
1 Cor. 7.34 And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord: that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world: how she may please her husband.
2 Cor. 11.2 For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
To me, this sort of thing sounds somewhat pagan, but I won't argue if it makes her happy.
Do you still want to call this pagan, LP?
I found this a bit odd.
Regardless, I think there are many more than only 100 consecrated virgins in the US. Regnum Christi is a movement which has many, many consecrated virgins.
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