In his column on celibacy in the September 27 issue, Fr. Joseph Lennon asks : Does today’s mutual exclusiveness of matrimony and holy orders cripple the Church’s ability to love? A letter to the editor argues that it does. I propose that there is a complimentarity between marriage and celibacy which enables the Church to love fully.
Throughout the year I visit parishes and preach on the vocation to the priesthood. My message is simple and certainly not new: the priesthood is a beautiful, fulfilling life and we must work together as a Church to pray for and encourage vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
In my homily I address many aspects of the priestly life, but one issue that I always speak about is the gift of celibacy. Celibacy, I say, is not simply a way to live; celibacy is a way to love. Just as marriage and family life is a gift to the Church and builds the Church up, so too is celibacy a gift to the Church and enriches the Body of Christ. Just as marriage and family life reveal God’s Trinitarian love, so too does celibacy reveal the self-giving love of God.
I am often asked if I think priests should be married. Or, the more direct question: why does the Church insist on celibacy for her priests? I was recently asked this at a wedding reception. Although I could have given a textbook answer, my response was simple: the very fact that you’re asking me this question is one of the great reasons for celibacy. It is a signpost, a reminder that our true home is heaven. The very presence of committed celibates in the world — even at wedding receptions — can lead people to ask the deeper questions about life: what is my relationship with God? What is my relationship with the Church? What is the real meaning of life? What will happen when I die? How am I living now?
The truth is that in God’s divine plan he has created some men and women to love celibately. Without question, marriage reveals Trinitarian love and communion in a way that celibacy doesn’t. Marriage and family life are reflections of the inner life of the Blessed Trinity. But in a unique and particular way celibacy makes present the love of the Son of God who gave himself for us and for our salvation. We must not overlook this central point: Jesus Christ, the divine Son of God, revealed the depths of God’s love to us as a celibate. It is impossible to overlook the significance of this reality. Celibacy is an invitation from God to some men and women to follow Christ with an undivided heart. Celibacy, then, is a freely chosen response to God’s invitation to love as Christ loved in his body.
One has only to look at the heroic and saintly lives of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta or Pope John Paul II or the countless other celibate witnesses in history to understand the tremendous value and gift of celibate love in the world. By choosing to love celibately Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II certainly did not cripple the Church’s ability to love fully. They uniquely revealed God’s love to the world through their celibate love.
We should be grateful for the gift of marriage and family life. But we should be equally grateful for the gift of celibacy and for the dedicated witness of so many who have accepted Christ’s invitation to love celibately for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven.
