Folks, a propos of this thread taking place in the Free Republic Religion Discussion Board:
Celibacy will always seem ridiculous to those who lack the grace of practicing it, whether they have taken vows or not to live a celibate lifestyle. The former are dissolute, the latter are ignorant.
Celibacy is a sign of the Kingdom that is both here and yet to come. Those given the grace to practice it live in the world as an eschatological sign. The Protestant secularizing drive is part of today's multifaceted problems and confusions regarding sex, contraception and abortion, and not its solution. Protestant apologetic to the contrary, it was this obsession to destroy the sacrality of sex that has ended us where we are today.
Celibacy, like the one Jesus embraced and extolled and Paul imitated, stands as a sign of contradiction today as it did then. The devil, the flesh, and the world have never understood the gift of celibacy hence their relentless effort at its distortion and ridicule, even in God's own name, other than to destroy celibacy as a sign of the Kingdom and through it, the Kingdom itself.
As to for what purpose those who count themselves as "Christian" want to destroy elected chastity, I can no longer tell.
Finally, celibacy is not measured by those who promised to abide by it and then failed, but by those who didn't fail. These are the one's who set and continue to set the standard, starting by the Master himself, whose example we ought to follow as perfectly as possible. May His Name be blessed now and forever more, and may He lift the mist of ignorance and prejudice that has befallen many of those who count themselves among the number of His elect, I pray, in His Name.
I thought I would share my thoughts with you too. (I also corrected some misspellings that appeared on the original message)
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4 comments:
Hello, Teófilo,
I always enjoy reading your comments, and I agree that celibacy can be a powerful grace and, above all, a sign of the life to come; it is so true that only God can completely satisfy our deepest desires.
However, we must remember a few things: (a) Our beloved Catholics who belong to the Eastern or Coptic rites which maintain the older tradition of allowing married men to be ordained. You may mention the matter of Eastern/Coptic bishops being celibate, and that is true but it is because they are considered married to their eparchies. (b) The Latin Rite had married clergy for hundreds of years, and still does in those who are former Protestant clergy. (c) Celibacy is not an intrinsic element of Holy Orders, but rather a discipline. (d) Catholicism does not hold that celibacy is superior to marriage.
All of the above you already know, and we both agree on the value of celibacy, so why do I post? Having had experience in the Orthodox community, you will most certainly appreciate my desire to stand up for the ancient and worthy practice of our Eastern/Coptic Rite Catholics.
I wish you a joyful journey to the great Feast of the Incarnation.
PS I've posted this as a reply on the website you listed so feel free to take me to task :)
I think that I would only add that to me "failure" with regards to celibacy/chastity means giving up on the attempt to live it, rather than a specific occasion of sin.
Greetings, Alban: No objection to you standing up for the Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholics, absolutely none. My comments, as you can see from the link to the original source, are aimed to Protestant apologists who are not interested and care less to understand the numerous ways in which the vocations to celibate and marital chastity are lived in the Church. They seem to be opposed in principle to any notion of a special consecrated life along the terms of celibate chastity. Their objection was in general terms and so was mine.
The author of the original tract is a fellow Hispanic. Celibacy is a huge issue down there. People think that celibate chastity is absolutely necessary for ministry and resent the fact that the Church doesn't ordain them priests because they don't have a vocation for chastity. So they attack the entire theology of the teaching without reflecting upon where their attack would logically lead. They're ignorant to the Nth power.
-Theo
Alban:A small off-topic quibble if I may.
Is not the Feast of the Incarnation in March?
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