Vows

“ I made no vows, but vows
Were then made for me; bond unknown to me
Was given, that I should be, else sinning greatly,
A dedicated Spirit. ”

“ We have determined to consecrate to Thee for ever, solemnly and anew, this our house, ourselves, and all that belongs to us. Do Thou graciously look down upon us and accept our vows, that, sealed by Thy grace, they may ever remain firm and unchangeable. ”

“ I knew that on everyone's birthday his friends undertake vows for him whose birthday it is. I, however, since I love you as myself, wish to offer up on this day, which is your birthday, hearty prayers for myself. I call, therefore, with my vows to hear me each one of all the Gods, who anywhere in the world provide present and prompt help for men; who anywhere give their aid and shew their power in dreams or mysteries, or healing, or oracles ”

“ Our vows are heard betimes! and Heaven takes care
To grant, before we can conclude the prayer:
Preventing angels met it half the way,
And sent us back to praise, who came to pray. ”

“ That morning at 11 o'clock they renewed their baptismal vows, and in the afternoon they made the solemn consecration of their hearts to the Blessed Virgin, the tutelar patroness of this place.—May these pious sentiments which the true religion alone could inspire, be preserved amongst our dear children. ”

“ It is very common, and very commendable, when we are under the pressure of any affliction, or in the pursuit of any mercy, to make vows, and solemnly to speak them before the Lord, to bind ourselves out from sin and bind ourselves more closely to our duty; not as if this were an equivalent, or valuable consideration, for the favour of God, but a qualification for receiving the tokens of that favour. (2.) The vows which we made when we were in trouble must not be forgotten when the trouble is over, but be carefully performed, for better it is not to vow than to vow and not pay. ”

“ Vows (say the Jewish doctors) are the hedge of separation, that is, a fence to religion. He that vows is here said to bind his soul with a bond. It is a vow to God, who is a spirit, and to him the soul, with all its powers, must be bound. A promise to man is a bond upon the estate, but a promise to God is a bond upon the soul. Our sacramental vows, by which we are bound to no more than what was before our duty, and which neither father nor husband can disannul, are bonds upon the soul, and by them we must feel ourselves bound out from all sin and bound up to the whole will of God. ”

“ How happy are the Religious who, by means of their vows, have consecrated all to God, dedicating to Him their bodies, their hearts, and all that they possess; renouncing riches by the vow of poverty, pleasures by the vow of chastity, and their whole will by the vow of obedience! ”

“ For the vows of baptism seem to have been altogether cheapened by the too great practice, parade, dispensation, and redemption of these other vows. Let us put all our strength to the task, I say, and we shall find that we have vowed in baptism more than we are ever able to perform.
Some vows, including oaths, are made to men, others to God. Those made to men are admitted to be binding, so far and so long as he may desire, to whom the vow is made. ”

“ Do not vow except under the compulsion of stedfast resolves, and pay your vows even to your own hurt when once they are made. Do not anger God, or the angel of God who, as you believe, presides over the altar, with idle unreal talk and idle half-meant resolves, making vows of which you afterwards repent and do not keep, pleading that you made them in error or infirmity. ”

“ vows are his after sign!—
We prop the tree in its decline—
The ghosts that haunt a parting hour,
With all of grief, and nought of power;
A chain half sunder'd in the making,—
The plighted vow's already breaking. ”

“ ALMIGHTY and eternal God! I, Sister N.N., now renew and confirm with my whole heart the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, which I made at my profession. I implore Thee, O God of infinite goodness and mercy, by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and through the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, to grant me the grace to fulfil these vows perfectly. Amen.
Grace Before and After Meals.
BEFORE DINNER.
SUPERIOR- Let us praise the Lord. ”

“ The professed of three vows were formed of men who, for exceptional reasons, were admitted into the order without having passed through the inferior grades, and held a position similar to that of the spiritual coadjutors. ”

“ To dream that you are making or listening to vows, foretells complaint will be made against you of unfaithfulness in business, or some love contract. To take the vows of a church, denotes you will bear yourself with unswerving integrity through some difficulty. ”

“ Vows are the knots which tie us to heaven—they are the cords which bind the sacrifice to the horns of the altar,—and are therefore,—as I said before,—to be unloosed and discharged, unless our holy Mother Church shall pronounce the contrary. ”

“ Howsoever the making of vows be not obligatory as a necessary part of the religious life, yet, in all ages [542] and in all religions, a certain instinct of the heart has often led persons, either in order to procure something from God, or as a thank-offering for some special favour received, or else as a spontaneous expression of love to God, to "make a special vow." ”

“ Much more deservedly, and therefore more willingly and 424cheerfully, should the vows made to the Most High, to the true and living God, be paid or performed to him, and particularly the vows made in trouble. ”

“ Do not allow yourself to be misled by the example of some of the saints who made vows. Rarely is the desire to imitate certain extraordinary practices of theirs an inspiration of divine grace: rather is it a temptation from the devil inciting us to pride and temerity. ”

“ Our occasional vows concerning that which before was in our own power (Acts v. 4) , when they are made, are bonds upon the soul likewise. 2. The command given is that these vows be conscientiously performed: He shall not break his word, though afterwards he may change his mind, but he shall do according to what he has said. Margin, He shall not profane his word. Vowing is an ordinance of God; if we vow in hypocrisy we profane that ordinance: it is plainly determined, Better not vow than vow and not pay, Eccl. v. 5. Be not deceived, God is not mocked. ”

“ In ordinary conversation and dealings Christ will have no vows and oaths. Let men promise and perform, declare and stand to their word. He lifts even ordinary life to a higher plane.
With regard to women's vows, four cases are made the subject of enactment. First, there is the case of a young woman living in her father's house, under his authority. If she vow unto the Lord, and bind herself by a bond in the hearing of her father and he do not forbid, her vow shall stand. ”

“ Vows should either be abolished by a general edict, particularly such as are taken for life, and all men diligently recalled to the vows of baptism, or else everyone should be warned not to take a vow rashly, and no one encouraged to do so, nay, permission be given only with difficulty and reluctance. ”

“ II. Try well the matter of your vows, and venture not on them till you are sure that they are not things forbidden: things sinful or doubtful are not fit matter for a vow: in asserting, subscribing, and witnessing, you should take care, that you know assuredly that the matter be true, and venture not upon that which may prove false; much more should you take care that you venture not doubtingly in vows and oaths. ”

“ Nevertheless thy vows shall be offered up in righteousness on all days and at all times. But remember that on this the Lord's day, thou shalt offer thine oblations and thy sacraments unto the Most High, confessing thy sins unto thy brethren, and before the Lord. And on this day thou shalt do none other thing, only let thy food be prepared with singleness of heart that thy fasting may be perfect, or, in other words, that thy joy may be full. ”

“ I shall be protected under the covert of thy wings.
6 For thou, my God, hast heard my prayer: thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name.
7 Thou wilt add days to the days of the king: his years even to generation and generation.
8 He abideth for ever in the sight of God: his mercy and truth who shall search?
9 So will I sing a psalm to thy name for ever and ever: that I may pay my vows from day to day.
PSALM 61PSALM 61
Nonne Deo. ”

“ Each renovation of the vows strengthens our resolves, and clamps us more firmly to God. It often takes many a blow to drive in a nail and make it stick with firmness, so with our virtuous resolutions. ”

“ For we have vowed enough in baptism, nay, more than we can ever fulfil; if we give ourselves to the keeping of this one vow, we shall have all we can do. But now we compass earth and sea to make many proselytes [Matt. 23:15] ; we fill the world with priests, monks and nuns, and imprison them all in life-long vows. You will find those who argue and decide that a work done in fulfilment of a vow ranks higher than one done without a vow, and is to be rewarded with I know not what great rewards in heaven. ”

“ Further, to do is more than to promise. But religious who are under the power of their superiors can do certain things such as to say some psalms, or abstain from certain things. Much more therefore seemingly can they promise such things to God by means of vows. ”

“ And in order that our vows may be the more speedily and abundantly satisfied, join with Us, Venerable Brothers, in addressing to God fervent prayers, invoking also the patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary ever immaculate, and of her spouse, Joseph, as also of the blessed Apostles, Peter and Paul, in whose intercession we greatly confide. ”

“ A person might vow to bring such and such sacrifices at certain times, to give such and such a sum or such a proportion in alms, to forbear such meats and drinks which the law allowed, to fast and afflict the soul (which is specified v. 13) at other times besides the day of atonement. And many similar vows might be made in an extraordinary heat of holy zeal, in humiliation for some sin committed or for the prevention of sin, in the pursuit of some mercy desired or in gratitude for some mercy received. ”

“ But besides the observance of all these festivals, it has ever been a laudable custom for persons more especially consecrated to God, such as Religious, to choose one day in particular during the course of the year upon which to renew their vows, and by so doing to obey the great Apostle, who counsels us to confirm our vocation. ”

“ S—— preaches those saintly sermons to us about our baptismal vows, and the nobleness of an unworldly life, and calls on us to live for something purer and higher than we are living for, I confess that sometimes all my life seems to me a mere sham,—that I am going to church, and saying solemn words, and being wrought up by solemn music, and uttering most solemn vows and prayers, all to no purpose ”

“ Cicero, in his oration Pro Flacco, ch. xxviii., shows how troublesome and dangerous, even to the very highest persons, the Jews at Rome could be one hundred years earlier than Gallio's day.
[182] Jeremy Taylor, in his Holy Living, in his chapter on Prayer, has some wise remarks on vows. He includes them under the head of Prayer: "A vow to God is an act of prayer and a great degree and instance of opportunity, and an increase of duty by some new uncommanded instance, or some more eminent degree of duty or frequency of action, or earnestness of spirit in the same. ”

“ Her sweet communion, solemn vows,
Her hymns of love and praise.
4Father and Friend divine,
Our Saviour and our King,
Thy hand, from every snare and foe,
Shall great deliverance bring.
5Sure as thy truth shall last,
To Zion shall be given
The brightest glories earth can yield,
And brighter bliss of heaven.
658. C. M. S. F. Smith. Christian Fellowship.
1Planted in Christ, the living vine,
This day with one accord,
Ourselves, with humble faith and joy,
We yield to thee, O Lord.
2Joined in one body may we be:
One inward life partake;
One be our heart ”

“ Since, therefore, vows seem to tend nowadays only to the glorification of works and to pride, it is to be feared that there is nowhere less of faith and of the Church than among the priests, monks and bishops, and that these men are in truth heathen or hypocrites, who imagine themselves to be the Church or the heart of the Church, and "spiritual," and the Church's leaders, when they are everything else but that. ”

“ Monteagle had attached himself to an Italian girl, who might be nineteen years of age. Round and plump—with black amorous eyes and good teeth, she seemed to be all alive, and wholly made up of kindness and affection.
Her history was somewhat romantic, as Monteagle learned it from another of the inmates of the house. She was called Loretto, but whether a real or a feigned name was not known. She had taken the vows of a nun from the purest and most sincere motives, but after being two years in the convent, she found it impossible to fulfil her vows. ”

“ I wish you to preach my funeral sermon in the old R——n church—the church of my father and my mother, where first I listened to the glad tidings of salvation; preach it from the text, “In the way of righteousness is life; and in the pathway thereof there is no death”—Prov. xii., 28. Preach to the living—to the living—to the living! And I want the congregation to sing that delightful hymn, beginning,
‘God moves in a mysterious way—’ Good-bye.” ”