Posted on 09/09/2007 7:39:28 PM PDT by Salvation
Priestly celibacy is a Catholic tradition which dates back to St. Paul, and which is mirrored in the similar practice of persons both lay and religious who consecrate themselves to God. Celibacy, by which a person voluntarily foregoes marriage, is a sign of commitment—of living exclusively for the Other in the service of His people.
The most succinct statement on celibacy we have comes from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, where ecclesiastical celibacy is briefly described. The celibacy entry in our Catholic dictionary gives further background.
The sexual revolution of the 1960's and beyond undermined the value of celibacy in the minds of many, and led to considerable misunderstanding and discontent, even among priests. For this reason, Pope Paul VI addressed the subject at length in his 1967 encyclical Sacerdotalis Caelibatus.
In early 2007, on the fortieth anniversary of Paul VI's encyclical, Claudio Cardinal Hummes offered a briefer contemporary reflection on the importance of the traditional practice of celibacy today.
If you only have time to look at three things, LOOK AT THESE.
See the Dictionary entry on Celibacy for a definition and the general background of this practice pertaining to both laymen and ecclesiastics.
The comments of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, a Franciscan priest and a psychologist, are also particularly apt on this subject: Priestly and Religious Celibacy: Is it Dead or Should it Be?
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70 Mt 19:12.
71 I Cor 7:32.
72 Cf. PO 16.
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English Translation of the Cathechism of the Catholic Church for the United States of America © 1997, United States Catholic Conference, Inc.
Welcome, thanks for stopping by. A thread on priesthood coming after this.
The state of being unmarried and, in Church usage, of one who has never been married. Catholicism distinguishes between lay and ecclesiastical celibacy, and in both cases a person freely chooses for religious reasons to remain celibate.
Lay celibacy was practiced already in the early Church. The men were called "the continent" (continentes) and women "virgins" (virgines). They were also known as ascetics who were encouraged to follow this form of life by St. Paul. According to the Apostle, "An unmarried man can devote himself to the Lord's affairs, all he need worry about is pleasing the Lord . . . In the same way an unmarried woman, like a young girl, can devote herself to the Lord's affairs; all she need worry about is being holy in body and spirit" (I Corinthians 7:32, 34). Throughout history the Church has fostered a celibate life in the lay state. Towering among the means of sanctity available to the laity, declared the Second Vatican Council, "is that precious gift of divine grace given to some by the Father to devote themselves to God alone more easily with an undivided heart in virginity or celibacy. This perfect continence for love of the kingdom of heaven has always been held in high esteem by the Church as a sign and stimulus of love, and as a singular source of spiritual fertility in the world" (Constitution on the Church, 42).
Ecclesiastical celibacy was a logical development of Christ's teaching about continence (Matthew 19:10-12). The first beginnings of religious life were seen in the self-imposed practice of celibacy among men and women who wished to devote themselves to a lifetime following Christ in the practice of the evangelical counsels. Celibacy was one of the features of the earliest hermits and a requirement of the first monastic foundations under St. Pachomius (c. 290-346). Over the centuries religious celibacy has been the subject of the Church's frequent legislation. The Second Vatican Council named chastity first among the evangelical counsels to be practiced by religious and said that "It is a special symbol of heavenly benefits, and for religious it is a most effective means of dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to the divine service and the works of the apostolate' (Decree on the Up-to-date Renewal of Religious Life, 12). (Etym. Latin caelibatus, single life, celibacy.)
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What You [Catholics] Need to Know: The Vatican (or Holy See) [Catholic-Orthodox Caucus]
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Marriage
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Eucharistic Mystery [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
What You [Catholics] Need to Know: Eucharist (Real Presence) [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
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Click on #2 and #3 above at your own leisure. Quite long to post here.
I’ll posot Father Groeschel’s article another day. Looks pretty good for a separate thread.
I’ll post Father Groeschel’s article another day. Looks pretty good for a separate thread.
Oops, hate those typos.
Ping to post #6. It’s exactly what we discussed today after Mass.
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