From the text of the canon one may draw particular elements of the theological nature of this distinct vocation to a consecrated life in the Church:

• Consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop according to a rite approved by the Church
• Betrothed mystically to Christ and dedicated to the service of the Church
• Public state of consecrated life in the Church
• Individual form of consecrated life, under direction of diocesan bishop

[See "Consecration to a Life of Virginity for Women Living in the World" in the Roman Pontifical and "The Consecrated Virgin Lives and Manifests the Wedded Love of the Church for Christ" by Fr. Ignazio Maria Calabuig, given in Rome, June 1995, and "Lex orandi, lex credendi" by Archbishop Raymond Leo Burke, given in Rome, May, 2008, both found in Information Packet, USACV, revised August 2009]