Amanda Schrauth is the only consecrated virgin in Montana and serves as the editor ofThe Lamp,the newsletter for the U.S. Association of Consecrated Virgins. She lives out her vocation of prayer for the Church just south of the Canadian border in the Diocese of Helena. She holds a B.A. in Theology from Marian University (WI) and a Masters in Catechetics and Evangelization from Franciscan University of Steubenville. (Here is a link to support her vocation.)
Genevieve: After the day of your consecration, you’re floating a bit and yet you go back to normal life. How is life different after that?
Amanda: I don’t even know how to explain it. Since I was the Lord’s, He had a plan and He was going to take care of everything.
This is definitely a gift. It’s not something that a virgin chooses. God nurtures that gift in the virgin’s heart and bestows that gift even as part of our consecration. We don’t make vows the way religious do. We don’t say that we promise to do things. We’re just asked, “Will you accept this gift?” It was the Lord Who decided from all eternity that He wanted me to be one of His brides, to be a consecrated virgin, to live for Him.
Genevieve: A common understanding in the Church is that, for everyone, Christ is the bridegroom of our souls. How would you express how you witness this particular reality of our faith?
Amanda: Our spirituality is very bridal, very merry. And we follow the example of the Blessed Mother who was the spouse of the Holy Spirit. We show others what life in heaven will be like, where there will be no marriage, where we will all be united fully to Christ.
Genevieve: In marriage we say that first year is the rockiest. Was your first year a challenge or was it just all joy?
Amanda: It was a little bit of everything. I was working in the public school system and the Lord was making it clear that he wanted me to work for the Church in some way. [Consecrated virgins are responsible for their own living expenses, ed.] The summer after my consecration, I got a job teaching religious education in the Diocese of Baker, in Oregon.
And it was a really good experience for me.
Genevieve: Is there anything that makes you distinct? I mean, you’ve got a wedding ring. Did you decide that you were going to dress in any particular way?
Amanda: I had always been more drawn towards skirts and dresses. I very rarely wore pants. There isn’t any sort of distinguishing clothing for consecrated virgins. Also I wear my crucifix and miraculous medal necklace at all times.
Genevieve: Do you keep in touch with other consecrated virgins? Do they have meetings?
Amanda: Yes, we have an annual convocation. A lot of us stay in contact with each other. We’ve made friendships with each other. We also have a prayer list and we have a bi-weekly email, where we can all keep up to date with each others’ lives. It’s a community too.
Genevieve: Isn’t that beautiful? And what is the age range among these women?
Amanda: Jenna Cooper was the youngest consecrated virgin at the age of 22 or 23. And we have women who are in their 90s!
Genevieve: So, it sounds like after a year in Oregon, you missed Montana and you went back? So what have you been doing ever since?
Amanda: I worked with the parish and the diocese in Montana for quite a while and then took a job opportunity in Rapid City, South Dakota for almost two years. I received a health diagnosis in Rapid City, and was struggling financially. It made the most sense for me to be closer to my parents then so that we could support each other as needed. So they helped me move. I am now in the Diocese of Helena, where my family had moved.
Genevieve: Tell me about your prayer life. You’ve received the Church into your heart. And you have a particular responsibility to pray for the needs of that Church. Tell me how you understand that.
Amanda: In our consecration, we’re asked to pray for the salvation of the world, and that’s a really big ask sometimes. I don’t know how best to pray for the whole world or for the whole Church or even for my little parish and priests. The Lord does, Our Lady does. And so I just try to always ask that they are given what they need.
Genevieve: I’m assuming that you do holy hours each week?
Amanda: I’m currently living in a very small rural town in Montana. We are about 80 miles from the next nearest church. Our priest actually travels miles to come to us for weekend Mass. We only have Mass on Sunday evenings and Monday mornings. Those are the only Mass options unless I am driving over an hour to church, which is not feasible for daily life for most people.
During Advent and Lent, we do a half hour to an hour of Adoration before at Mass on Sundays. So it’s very different than what I had been used to in other places.
Genevieve: Certainly, certainly. So you live in an apartment now?
Amanda: I rent a room from my parents in their house.
Genevieve: And where do you work?
Amanda: Most recently, I worked for a residential treatment center for teen girls who were going through mental health issues. I was working with people who didn’t want to be there. It’s still my job to do what I need to do with them while they’re there.
Genevieve: I’m thinking of those residents—they got more than they knew they were getting. I mean, they’re getting this woman who’s bringing them to the tabernacle and pouring out her heart and graces from Christ for them and their lives and their healing. Did you connect with any of the girls?
Amanda: Always with some of them. I always went in to show them they are loved. No matter what they’ve gone through, no matter what’s going on in their lives, they’re loved.
I was working night watch. So I would get there when they were going to bed and be there when they woke up in the morning. And I’d always say, “Good night. I love you. Sleep well. Good morning. I love you. I hope you have a good day.”
Genevieve: When I think of the great saints, many of them were martyrs. It’s not all a bed of roses. Can you tell me a little bit how you deal with the parts that are more difficult?
Amanda: Just stay close to the Lord in prayer. That’s all there is. My vocation isn’t very well known, even in Catholic circles. That can be part of that hardship, but it’s also understanding that life isn’t always great. We’re following the Lamb, the Lamb who was slain. We’re following the Divine Bridegroom who died on the cross for His love for the world.
Amanda Schrauth at her formal Consecration on the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, at the St. Ann’s Cathedral in Great Falls, Montana. (Photo: The Harvest)
Volume Three of My Secret is Mine newsletter includes essays and discussions on Mulieris Dignitatem, On the Dignity and Vocation of Women, an apostolic letter written by St. John Paul the Great in 1988.
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