I. Vows in General

What is a vow?
A Vow is a free and deliberate promise made to God of a possible and greater good with the intention of binding oneself under pain of sin. [Canon 1307].

 What is the nature of this promise?
 This promise creates a contract whose breach would constitute an injustice. It differs from an ordinary promise which expresses mere purpose or resolution, and whose obligation does not extend beyond the requirements of propriety.

What is this promise said to be deliberate? 
This promise is said to be "deliberate" because it must be made with the right understanding of what is promised, with full consent and entire liberty.

Why is this promise made to God?
This promise is made "to God" because the vow is an act of supreme worship which belongs to God alone. It is to God alone that we bind ourselves, and it is to Him alone that the vow, properly so called, is made. It follows from this fact that the performance of the thing promised becomes an act of the virtue of religion, and that the violation of the vow constitutes a sin against this same virtue.

Why do we say of a greater and possible good?
We say this promise made to God is of a "possible and greater good" because no one is obliged to do what is impossible; so that a thing ceases to be the object of a vow when it becomes impossible of fulfillment. We say it is of a "greater good" because the end of the vow being to give greater glory to God, that end would not be attained if the good promised were not a greater good. Thus, one may give up his wealth by vow, because the giving up of wealth is a greater good than the retaining of it, even were it for a laudable purpose.

To what extent to vows oblige? 
Since vows are voluntary and self-imposed, they bind to the extent that we wish to be bound; that is, under pain of mortal or venial sin, according to the will of the one taking the vows. Let us observe, however, that we cannot bind ourselves under pain of mortal sin when there is no grave matter; also, that the vows of religion must be taken according to the Constitutions of the congregation to which we belong. 

What precautions are necessary before taking any vows?
Certain precautions are necessary before taking any vows whatever. Ordinary prudence requires that we should pray much, reflect seriously on the act we contemplate, and above all, obtain the approval of our spiritual director. Without these precautions, vows are not likely to honour God and they may give rise to grave troubles of conscience.

Can one be legitimately released from a vow?
One can be legitimately released from a vow. Competent authority can, for just and serious reasons, grant a release, either temporary of final.

Do vows interfere with human liberty?
Vows do not interfere with human liberty; on the contrary, they perfect it as far as our fallen nature permits. The power of doing evil is not liberty; it is rather a lack or a decay of liberty, a lamentable infirmity of our limited and corrupt nature. Neither God nor the Blessed Virgin can sin; yet who would dare assert that they are not free?

According to St. Thomas, true liberty consists in the unimpeded power of doing good. Now, the vow strengthens and increases this power:
(1) By protecting man against his natural inconstancy, and against the blind tyranny of his passions.
(2) By fortifying man's will through the many acts which he performs from free choice.
(3) By fixing irrevocably man's will and judgment in the bounds of duty.

Therefore, instead of degrading man, vows ennoble him and raise him to the level of a perfect being; far from being opposed to true liberty, they set it aright and guide it; they center man's energies upon the better things, and impel him to do the greatest good within his power.

What are the different types of vows?
(1) The absolute vow, which depends on no conditions; thus, a vow to have twenty Masses offered for the Souls in Purgatory.
(2) The conditional vow, which binds under condition; thus, a vow to have twenty Masses offered for the Souls in Purgatory, if some special favour is obtained.
(3)The personal vow, which binds one's person, one's actions; thus , a vow to fast on certain days of the week.
(4) The real vow, (real, from the Latin res, a thing), the matter of which lies beyond one's person or actions; thus, a vow to leave one's income for the promotion of the Catholic faith.
(5) The private vow, made directly to God, without the medium of a Superior authorized to receive it.
(6) The public vow or vow of religion, which is taken conformable to the Constitutions of a religious congregation and accepted in the name of the Church, by the authorized Superior.


II. Vows of Religion

What vows are most excellent?
The most excellent vows are the vows of religion; that is, the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience taken in the religious state.

Why are these vows the most excellent?
(1) They enable us to surmount the most serious obstacles to the love of God in our hearts.
(2) They free us from the three great cares which hinder union with God.
(3) They constitute the most meritorious holocaust which we can make of ourselves to God.

Religious Profession

Religious profession, which establishes the novice in the religious state and incorporates him definitely in the Society, finds its official manifestation in the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. The vow is a deliberate promise made to God of a good thing that is better than its opposite, and comes under the virtue of religion, which is the first of the moral virtues. Unlike simple resolutions, which are inspired by fervor, the vow binds the conscience directly, and cannot be broken without sin, grievous or slight.

Three vows are essential to the religious state: poverty, chastity and obedience - and they are temporary or perpetual. These vows are, in the Society of the Immaculata, "simple" and not "solemn", since we are a religious congregation and not an Order.

Before analyzing the nature of each of the religious vows and establishing their numerous obligations, we must first make a preliminary and general study of the extent of their influence. The Society of the Immaculata, like the whole order of creation, both natural and supernatural - exists only for the glory of God. Subordinate to this supreme end are two immediate aims: the sanctity of its members and their apostolate. The aim of every religious life is the glory of God, by personal sanctification and dedication to the apostolate.

What Role do the Vows Play in Achieving this Aim?

The first of all the fruits of the religious life, is indubitably the particular and excellent glory given to God by every soul that undertakes it. In His Incarnation, Death and Resurrection, in the founding of His Church and the salvation of mankind, Jesus, "the first of God's religious" had no aim but the glory of His Father. This glory was His great passion; it inspired His labors and His sacrifices, it was the constant subject of His prayer and predication.

The religious seeks to imitate Jesus, so he too makes the glory of God the one aim of his existence. "Deus Solus!" and the first thing he owes his Master is to honour Him in all the actions of his life. This is what he does. Wherever he may be, and in all that he does, the consecrated soul is a host of praise "hostia laudis," the purest and most radiant reflection here below of the sanctity of the Trinity.

The religious state draws this power of glorification, principally from the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Like the virtue of religion from which they derive their essential object is to give special homage to the sovereignty of God. When we cut ourselves off from the world in order to consecrate ourselves to God by the vows of religion, we accomplish in fact and in spirit what the carnal Israelites only did in figure, when they  entered the Promised Land. Not only do we choose the Lord, but we choose Him so that He may be particularly our God.

This choice gives glory to God. For by virtue of this choice, we bear authentic testimony to God that He is God, and perfectly our God, to the exclusion of all else, our sole and unique God, since He deserves this total surrender, and to Him alone may we renounce ourselves to the point of sacrifice. A sacrifice can only be offered to God and by making the vows, we become the victim offered to God by ourselves. Also the religious soul alone can render to God this honour to the fullest extent possible on this earth and that is why the choice we make of God, gives Him so much glory.

It is by the painful daily practice of detachment, obedience and chastity that the religious becomes a holocaust. The most perfect spiritual sacrifice of all, second only to the Mass and martyrdom, and therefore, best able to give glory to God. Poverty bears magnificent testimony to the abundance of God. he who, of his own free will renounces all things created, and contents himself with the One, proclaims before the materialistic and sensual world, that God is the only Being Who is of consequence and Who is worthy to be sought after, that He is the pearl of great price, for the acquisition of which, one should be prepared to sacrifice all one's worldly goods, that nothing can equal the splendor and joy of poverty.

Another testimony to the Sanctity and Goodness of God is the vow of chastity. It is the revelation of an Infinite Purity whose predilection is for the innocent and the immaculate. To those who have ears to hear, the complete renunciation of all carnal pleasures, even the healthy joys of home life, recalls that nothing on earth can equal the immense and virginal happiness of loving the sovereign God, and Him alone. the human heart is a gulf that can only be filled by Beauty Itself, and Eternal Love.

Finally, by his vow of obedience, the religious pays homage to the universal dominion and supreme authority of the Creator. Amidst our modern materialistic and atheistic society, impatient of all control, revolutionary minded, admitting neither God nor master, it is well that there are believers to rise and protest against such blasphemous heresies, and to assert by a whole life of voluntary servitude, the imprescriptible rights of God over humanity. Along the centuries, what else have those millions of soldiers done, those volunteers in the service of the Conqueror of nations, all that army of slaves, chained by love, save acclaim the Kingship of Christ, which has now been solemnly proclaimed by the Church? By his vocation, the religious is the herald of God.

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