The vow of chastity – an invitation to surrender oneself

The vow of chastity is probably the vow that is most difficult to understand. It talks about God's love for us and also about our love for God. Nobody can understand let alone live the vow of chastity without a personal relationship with God.

To live „chaste“ means to hand oneself over, to move from self-centeredness to an inclusion of the other in my thoughts and in my life, not to take advantage of the other, not to use him for my own needs, to give myself freely. In this way chastity is also a virtue necessary in marriage.

When Religious vow to live a chaste life - and therefore decide not to marry nd not to have children, - they recognize that the love of God is bigger and deeper than all human love. Therefore for a person called to religious life nothing is more beautiful and nothing more fulfilling than to answer this Love of God with the whole strength and energy of one's body, one's soul and one's will. The renunciation of a lived sexuality is therefore an integral part of this delf-surrender.