Some have assumed, usually those desirous of a change today in discipline, that priestly celibacy was only of later manufacture by the Church. Despite growing evidence to the contrary, they still resist the fact that it is of apostolic origin. Legislation in its favor appears in the fourth century; but, this merely confirmed or codified what was a practice and growing preference in ministry. Hebrew priests of the Old Covenant embraced a periodic celibacy or abstinence during the time of their service. Given that the office and service of New Covenant priests is permanent and perpetual, it would logically make sense that their celibate lifestyle should also never know compromise. This hints to a practice in biblical and patristic times that critics in our sexually addicted society might find unfathomable: that many if not most married Christian priests practiced perpetual continence. As they sought to be new Christs for their communities, they imitated the chaste (dare I say virginal) love of Joseph and Mary. Two themes permeate the Catholic appreciation of celibacy: first, that it is an eschatological sign for the sake of the kingdom (Matthew 19:22) and two, that it should allow us an undivided joyful heart (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).
I know well the biblical texts which speak of the bishop (1 Timothy 3:2), the priest (Titus 1:6) and the deacon (1 Timothy 3:12) as “the husband of one wife.” The Church grew quickly and leadership was desperately needed. It was vital that they were men of faith with a certain degree of stability. The Council of Carthage (390 AD) unanimously stressed that an absolute continence was a fitting discipline to honor the sacraments “so that what the apostles taught and antiquity itself maintained, we too may observe… It is pleasing to all that bishop, priest and deacon, the guardians of purity, abstain from marital relations with their wives so that the perfect purity may be safeguarded of those who serve the altar” (CCL 149, 13). It might seem peculiar to us today, but a man’s fidelity to a monogamous union was interpreted as evidence that he could be just as faithful to perfect continence after ordination.
Filed under: Catholic, Celibacy, Discipleship, Marriage, Priests, Sacraments, Sexuality | 1 Comment »
I was only a boy sitting in church when I started to think about the meaning of having a single or undivided heart (1 Corinthians 7:32-34). It puzzled me because my own love or at least my childish affections seemed so fractured or divided. My loves were alternately profound (from my love of God and my family) to profane (in loving sweets and low-brow television). As I got older I fell in “love” with every pretty girl I saw; although my shyness, prudishness and poverty as a young man often short-circuited any romantic inclinations. In any case, I seemed most satisfied with an internal dialogue and friendship with God that extended back into my personal history as far as I could remember. I am told that sickly children often turn to God, particularly when poor health excludes them from play with their peers. I knew that God loved me. But how much did I love God and his Church? The Church was good to us and yet the charity bothered me. Some return was required. If I did not have money, I would give something else. What to give? Reflecting upon this question and the notion of an undivided heart, I decided one day that I would offer God my very self. It was not a sure thing that God and his Church would want what I had to offer, and yet, I would offer it all the same.
There is always reciprocity in the sacraments and this is no less true in the priesthood. Christ loves us and as the great High Priest extends and shares his priesthood with men called to service. God gives the call and men in turn accept this call. The Church gives validation to a person’s calling and through formation assists in its acquisition. Jesus ministers to his people through his priests. The vocation of priesthood or holy orders comes within the context of living out our baptismal call as a priestly people. A child is baptized and then anointed as priest, prophet and king. The Holy Spirit anoints or consecrates the Church (the Mystical Body of Christ) as a prophetic, royal and priestly nation. The sacraments are for men and women, and they are offered as such, but always in the name of Jesus Christ.
Dissenters, arguing for priestesses (women priests), will contend that their exclusion is a violation of justice and that qualified women deserve and must demand ordination. Besides such inclusion being deemed impossible by the late Pope John Paul II, neither men nor women “deserve” to be ordained. It is not an item on a social justice or equality agenda that anyone can merit. It is a divine gift. The Church discerns as genuine or false the vocations to which people feel called. The priesthood is given to a few but in terms of service, the whole Church benefits. Jesus chose men to be his apostles and in turn they ordained bishops, priests and deacons to follow them. The Church follows the pattern of Christ and never felt directed or free to ordain women. However, while no women are called to priestly service, very few men are given this gift from God. The priest is sacramentally “another Christ” and he is an icon of Christ the bridegroom to his bride the Church at Mass. Our most precious sacraments and gifts of salvation come from the mediation of priests. A number of our Anglican or Episcopalian brothers and sisters are coming to Catholicism because they are sick of seeing vocations demeaned to purely human terms. A radical feminism led to women Episcopal priests and bishops. Now a radical homosexual movement forces gay and lesbian clergy into their ranks. Error builds upon error. The reality of the sacraments is forfeited. Human whim and fancy replaces Scripture and a living tradition. I am reminded of the reprimand that our Lord gave poor Peter, and immediately after his great profession of Christ’s identity no less. Unable to understand Jesus’ reference to his coming passion, our Lord says to him, “Get out of my sight, you Satan, you are not judging by God’s standards but by man’s” (Matthew 16:23).
Special to the Standard
The vocation of priesthood is not like other occupations. Many people have jobs to put food on the table and a roof over their heads, but their employment does not define them. The priestly ministry, on the other hand, quantifies the man called to holy orders. It is for this reason that I always thought the current practice of having pastors retire was rather peculiar. One does not quit from priestly work. Even the infirmed clergyman in a hospital bed prays for the Church and may offer private Mass for the salvation of souls. Retired priests often still live in rectories and work in parishes. The priest literally works until he drops. The Church assures us that the mark or character distinguishing a man as a priest is also taken into the life to come. He is a priest, forever.
Given the new pastoral provision for Anglicans who desire to join the Catholic Church, there is a revised focus upon the question of priesthood and celibacy. Episcopalian priests will be ordained (absolutely, if not conditionally) and this will include those who are married men. While bishops must be celibate, some of the married priests (former Episcopalian bishops) will be given authority much like that given abbots of religious houses. Further, while future aspirants from their ranks would be asked to embrace celibacy; it has been assured that the Pope could make exceptions for their seminarians on an individual basis and that he would be generous in doing so. Okay, there is the rub. It seems to some conservative critics, that an accommodation is being given these “new” Catholics which continues to be denied to those with long-standing and family ties to Roman Catholicism. Intellectually, many of us are pleased and excited that there is this reciprocal motion: their movement in faith toward Catholic unity and the Church’s willingness to take them into the fold. Of course, we are not merely creatures of intellect; but, like all people, in possession of emotions and passion. That is one of the reasons that few dioceses, if any, would ever assign a celibate priest to live in the same household with a married clergyman and his family. Celibacy is a sacrifice where a man can know joy and a single-hearted love of God. Nevertheless, the sacrifice is real and like the Cross, it can be painful at times. Many good men have had their heart-strings pulled and yet they remained faithful to their promises. They made distance when necessary and cried their tears in silence. As we make room in the Western Church for married priests, we must be mindful of these wounded celibate men. I would not say that we should feel sorry for them, although I am often tempted to feel such for married men who suffer with the tension between their family needs and ministerial commitments. I suppose in that sense we could say that married priests are also wounded healers. How could any man be “another Christ” to his people if he has not embraced our Lord’s Cross? There is a mystery here: the man commissioned to heal and to bring Christ’s mercy to others must himself be like a bread broken and a cup poured out.
Vatican II is often made a scapegoat for the many problems facing the Church. Certain traditionalists will deride priests ordained after the liturgical changes and condemn them as a class— of incompetence, heresy and a lack of fidelity. While such charges are quite unfair, as the original Modernists were ordained before the changes and celebrated the Tridentine Mass, it must be said that Satan and a secular modernity has targeted the priesthood, today. Concurring with the assessment of Pope Benedict XVI, we lament the scandals and the many ways that the desired fruits of Vatican II failed to materialize. There is hope in the new crop of vocations. The grace of God is manifesting itself, after years of turmoil. Truth is returning where a nebulous spirit of the council was often allowed to supplant what was intended by the council fathers. Those who would argue that both the tree and the fruit were rotten must face the fact of corrective truths espoused by Vatican II and imbedded in many conciliar and post-conciliar documents. Oddly they are sometimes ignored by both revisionists and traditionalists. Regarding the priesthood and its importance, we read: “The Council is fully aware that the desired renewal of the Church depends in great part upon a priestly ministry animated by the spirit of Christ” (Optatam Totius 1). This was true then, before and now. Our ministry is not our own. Christ must be alive, present and active in his ministers.
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