I
espouse thee to Jesus Christ, Son of the Supreme Father, who will
preserve thee from all ill. Accept, therefore, this ring of faith, a
symbol of the Holy Spirit, that thou mayst be called a spouse of God,
and be crowned for ever.
Before
the rings are bestowed they are heaped up on the altar and are
collectively blessed by the officiating priest. As the formula used
defines the character and quality of the ring more closely than do the
simple words of presentation, it is here given as follows, this
formula already appearing in the pontifical of Pierre, Bishop of
Senlis, 1350;69
Creator
and preserver of the himian race, grantor of spiritual grace and
bestower of bodily health, Ο God, send forth thy blessing upon these
rings that those who may wear them, shall possess celestial virtue,
perfect faith and true fidelity, shall maintain, as spouses of Christ,
their vow of virginity, and shall persevere in constant chastity. By
Christ Our Lord.
A
pretty usage was observed at the reception into the order of the
Augustinian nuns of Saint Thomas, at Villeneueve. On taking the vow, a
ring was placed on the nun's finger by a poor little girl, who said at
the same time: "Remember, dear sister, that you have become this day
the spouse of Jesus Christ and the servant of the poor." The sister,
after having respectfully accepted the gift made her by one who
represented the Lord, kisses the child who has reminded her of the poor
to whose service she is consecrated.70
69 Abbé
Barraud, " Des bagues à toutes les époques et en particulier de
l'anneau des évêques et des abbés," Bulletin Monumentale, vol. xxx, p.
32.
70 X.
Barbier de Montault, " Le costume et les usages ecclésiastiques selon
la tradition romaine," Paris, (1897), vol. i, p. 174, note.
