1Cor 7, 32-35 Anxious about the things of the Lord

(1Cor 7, 32-35) Anxious about the things of the Lord

[32] I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. [33] But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, [34] and he is divided. An unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. [35] I am telling you this for your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.

(CCC 506) Mary is a virgin because her virginity is the sign of her faith "unadulterated by any doubt", and of her undivided gift of herself to God's will (LG 63; cf. 1 Cor 7:34-35). It is her faith that enables her to become the mother of the Saviour: "Mary is more blessed because she embraces faith in Christ than because she conceives the flesh of Christ" (St. Augustine, De virg. 3: PL 40, 398). (CCC 507) At once virgin and mother, Mary is the symbol and the most perfect realization of the Church: "the Church indeed... by receiving the word of God in faith becomes herself a mother. By preaching and Baptism she brings forth sons, who are conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of God, to a new and immortal life. She herself is a virgin, who keeps in its entirety and purity the faith she pledged to her spouse" (LG 64; cf. 63). (CCC 923) "Virgins who, committed to the holy plan of following Christ more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to the approved liturgical rite, are betrothed mystically to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the service of the Church" (CIC, can. 604 § 1). By this solemn rite (Consecratio Virginum), the virgin is "constituted... a sacred person, a transcendent sign of the Church's love for Christ, and an eschatological image of this heavenly Bride of Christ and of the life to come" (Ordo Consecrationis Virginum, Praenotanda 1). (CCC 924) "As with other forms of consecrated life," the order of virgins establishes the woman living in the world (or the nun) in prayer, penance, service of her brethren, and apostolic activity, according to the state of life and spiritual gifts given to her (Cf. CIC, can. 604 § 1; OCV Praenotanda 2). Consecrated virgins can form themselves into associations to observe their commitment more faithfully (Cf. CIC, can. 604 § 2).