“My Office is Prayer, a dream come true"

 Says newly Consecrated Virgin

By Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng

Martin Luther King Jnr. once noted that “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.” Indeed, for many Christians, prayer may seem a usual practice, but for the newly Consecrated Virgin (CV) for the Accra Archdiocese, Sr. Agatha Veronica Nah-Karley Thompson, prayer is her Office.

This means that her foremost duty as a Consecrated Virgin, who shares a spousal relationship with Christ, nourished by attentiveness to prayer, is to constantly pray for and with the Church at all times.

The insignia of her consecration are a Veil, a Ring, and the Book of the Liturgy of the Hours.

These were presented to Sr. Veronica during the solemn liturgical celebration by the Most Rev. Charles Palmer-Buckle, Metropolitan Archbishop of Accra, at the Holy Spirit Cathedral on September 8, 2010, the   feast of the nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

It is the solemn consecration that sets her apart as Sponsa Christi (Spouse of Christ), a Consecrated Virgin in union with the Church, for the rest of her life.

Srs. Genevieve, H.D.R. and Maria Josefa Petilla, (a Consecrated Virgin) were Sr. Veronica’s attendants at the Mass.

The Mass was concelebrated with Very Rev. Frs. Francis Adoboli, and Andrew Campbell, S.V.D., Vicar General of the Accra Archdiocese and Episcopal Vicar for the Religious respectively, as well as a 18 other Priests.

    

The Consecration thus bestows on her the onus to work in collaborative ministries, as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, Spiritual Director, organise prayer meetings, preside over Sunday Liturgies in areas without a Priest, Teach and work in any place designated by the Church, where her training and qualification fits in.

Sr. Veronica in an interview with The Catholic Standard Reporter Kwesi Yirenkyi Boateng, expressed great joy and fulfilment in being a Consecrated Virgin, in service of the Lord.

  

The Order of Virgins (ORDO VIRGINUM), according to Canon 604.1, is an ancient form of consecrated life in the Church. “Through their pledge to follow Christ more closely, virgins are consecrated to God, mystically espoused to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church, when the Diocesan Bishop consecrates them according to the approved liturgical rite.” 

Pope Benedict XVI teaches that “The Order of Virgins represents a particular form of consecrated life which has ancient roots that go back to the beginning of evangelical life when, in an unprecedented novelty, the hearts of certain women began to open to a desire to give one’s entire being to God, which had its first extraordinary fulfilment in the Virgin of Nazareth and her ‘Yes’”.

In the rite of consecration, the virgin embraces the evangelical counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience.  The Order of Virgins is an individual state of life lived in prayer and in service for and of the Church.

Among some early Consecrated Christian virgins were Ss. Agnes, Agatha, Lucy and Cecilia. The rite of consecration existed well before various Institutes of Religious Life and their related ceremonies of Profession of Vows.

Around the 6th Century, the Rite of Consecration for women living in the world was discontinued, but continued to be retained for Cloistered Nuns in Monasteries. The Rite is distinct from the Profession of Vows.

The Fathers   of Vatican Council II, overwhelmingly, voted to restore the Rite for women living in the world; thus paving way for its promulgation on May 31, 1970.

The life of a Consecrated Virgin is a witness to Christ, which, Pope John Paul II, in his 1996 Apostolic Exhortation, Vita Consecrata, described as “They constituting a special eschatological image of the heavenly bride and of the life to come when the Church will at last fully live her love for Christ, the bridegroom.”

Consecrated virginity, which is irrevocable, is a distinct form of Evangelical life in the Church; it is a vocation totally and completely on its own. While it is related to other forms of consecrated life, it is not identical to any of them; nor is it a stepping stone to these other forms of consecrated life. It is an individual state of life with its own particular character.

Referring to consecrated virgins, Pope John Paul II, who recognised the laity (married and dedicated single), the ordained, and the consecrated life in the Church, noted that it is a “source of joy to witness the new flowering of the ancient order of virgins, known ever since apostolic times.”

Presently, there are only two known CV’s in the country and both of them affirm bright prospects for the Order of Consecrated Virgins in Ghana.

Consecration is performed after the potential Candidate declares her intention to live as a consecrated virgin to the Diocesan Bishop. She then undergoes a period of preparation determined by the Bishop, and is usually guided during the preparatory period by the Episcopal Vicar for the Religious, in the Diocese and a Spiritual Director, either appointed by the Bishop or chosen by the Candidate.

After first professing her propositum to Archbishop Palmer-Buckle some two years ago, Sr. Veronica said Very Rev. Fr. Andrew Campbell, S.V.D., the Episcopal Vicar for the Religious in the Accra Archdiocese was very instrumental in her Spiritual preparation.

Born on 4th September, 1951, to Mr. Charles Q. Thompson, (the first Ghanaian Photo-Journalist to work at the Ministry of Information) and Mrs. Edna Abigail Thompson (A House Wife and an Entrepreneur), both deceased, Sr. Veronica is the fifth of nine Children.

Growing up in a family with a strong Christian (some being Catholics and Anglicans) background, and with a disciplined Mother, Sr. Veronica learned the Christian Values from her home.

Although she did not seem interested to enter the convent, even after many people had suggested that she should, she says “for whatever reason, I had a strong feeling that there is more to life than there seems to be, it is only that I did not feel called to live in a convent, even though I always had a strong urge and desire to getting a firm direction for an inner spiritual growth.  I knew I needed to be rooted.”

Sr. Veronica who is a Parishioner at the St. Thomas More Parish, Achimota, is a member of the Amalgamated group at the Parish.

Her hobbies include listening to good classical and sacred music, reading good books, and singing (before she lost her voice). She is a fine artist, who expresses her art through several mediums including gardening.

She is currently pursuing a Masters Programme in Pastoral Studies with the Catholic Theological Union (CTU) in Chicago, USA, and holds a Professional Graduate Certificate in Spiritual Formation from CTU and a Pontifical Certificate in Theology and Spirituality from the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy, Dublin, Ireland.

  

Most of her friends who described her as being religious, confirmed her selfless role in the Parish and her willingness to help people in need.

She urges young virgins who want to serve the Lord closely to aspire to enter the Order of Consecrated Virgins.  

This article appeared in the October 30, 2010, Edition of The Catholic Standard Weekly Newspaper