The Beauty Behind Celibacy
Introduction
In the 1973 book, of Karl Rahner, The Priesthood, he discusses his interpretation of the awesome mission of the priest.
"In a sense, he (a priest) is always on duty," said Karl Rahner. "In the light of this sociological aspect of his life, the priest must clearly understand that he belongs body and soul, with all that he is, to the church, to her task, to her mission, her work, her destiny, and he can never disassociate himself from these things." (Rahner, p. 101.)[1]
While A.W. Richard Sipe suggests that there is no clear definition of celibacy, yet he mentioned:
"Celibacy is a freely chosen dynamic state, usually vowed, that involves an honest and sustained attempt to live without direct sexual gratification in order to serve others productively for a spiritual motive." (p. 58.)[2]
Thus, priestly celibacy implies a chaste continence, for it entails not only foregoing the venereal pleasures proper to the married state but also enduring the affective solitude that is the inescapable concomitant of living alone. The “brotherhood of holy pastors,” to borrow a phrase from Cardinal Newman, can ease this circumstance in some reasonable measure. Pope John Paul II provides a more challenging answer: “The ability to handle a healthy solitude is indispensable for caring for one’s interior life. Here we are speaking of a solitude filled with the presence of the Lord who puts us in contact with the Father, in the light of the Spirit.[3]
As to be explained below, this rich tradition of priestly celibacy is a value and beauty in itself and a venerable one; and this paper would dwell specifically on the views of my respondents about their understanding about priestly celibacy.
A Commitment to Love and Follow Christ
( Rev. Fr. Reynaldo Capili, SSS- religious priest)
Q: What is your understanding about celibacy? Chastity in the celibate state/
Fr. Rey, SSS:
As a Roman Catholic priest, I am bound to become celibate; it means that I am not free to marry; unless I will apply for laicization. It is a commitment to be free and be under the beck and call of God by virtue of my life response to be Christ’s priest.
Chastity in the celibate state demands that I am more than not married. Chastity is not only for priests but also for all states of life. Married couples are expected/ invited to be chaste in their intimacy with one another and single blessed also. As a religious priest, my rule of life demands that I must take chastity in the celibate life in my thoughts, words and actions.
Q: Would you consider priestly celibacy a help or a hindrance in your ministerial life?
Fr. Rey, SSS:
Celibacy does not per se help me in my ministry. I can be like the eastern orthodox priest and still effective in my priestly ministry or I can fulfill the call to diakonia even if I am married. Celibacy helps my commitment to love and follow Christ unreservedly. I committed my self to love God above all because of my perpetual vows and then freely take the canonical provision not to marry.
A Response to God’s Love
(Br. Rey Acabado, SSS – religious brother)
Celibacy is to be chaste and pure in spirit. As a religious from the moment of my perpetual profession is a total submission of love (physically / sexually) to the great lover, Jesus Christ. It is a total and radical following of Christ.
As a religious brother, it is a great challenge to embrace celibacy in the celibate state, why? First, I am not an ordained minister, I am still a lay person yet consecrated to follow and love God above all things and pleasures. And secondly, it is an immense commitment and witnessing to the world; really, our world today needs people who will become witnesses to every individual with faith and holiness by example even not a priest or ordained ministers. This state of life is a gift. It is a response to the calling of God in a special way. It is a vocation of love.
In the Heart of a Faithful
( Tony Cotorno – active parish volunteer)
Celibacy is intended for the priests and religious people. Chastity is for all who are willing to follow Christ in whatever state of life we are in. I am 52 years old yet I opted to remain single for the fact that I want to express my gratitude to God in all that he had done in my life. If celibacy/ chastity will not anymore be practiced in the Church by the ordained ministers, I will still choose to be single and will exert effort to be chaste. In these form of life I am, it is now the more time I will freely love and give service to others. I think that is the reason why the Church would not allow priest or religious to be married.
It is a Training of Interior Dedication
To live in the life of a religious community is a process of death and breaking. Our formation push as to die to ourselves and be raised with Christ to be the banner we proclaim. It’s sounds to be mystical yet I experienced the process. Concrete ways are given to us to embrace the three theological vows (the vows of Chastity, Poverty and Obedience) that we profess annually. It is a breaking from our former patterns of our lives. There are processing, (psychological, intellectual, physical and social) to make us fit and able to response to the need of the world and able to proclaim the charism we have.
Our formation and training starts on how we deal with simple things ( a renew our characters) always looking at our thoughts, words and actions and every now and then put these good or wrong things we experience in our prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the moments of our communal adorations and meditations. It is an internalization of what we should do and must do.
No comments:
Post a Comment