What about Celibacy

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What about Celibacy

 

Definition of Terms:

Celibacy: The state of being unmarried, specifically for the sake of giving oneself full time to build the Kingdom of God. This is a gift from God, to which a man must be called. Presently, to be called to the priesthood in the Latin Roman Catholic Church is also a call to celibacy.

 

Chastity: “The successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual person and thus inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being.” (CCC#2337) Chastity is the virtue that moderates the desire for sexual pleasure according to the principles of faith and right reason. Priests, Sisters, married persons, and single persons are called by God to chastity, to use their sexuality according to God’s plan in their specific state in life.

 

Are some of these your questions in regards to celibacy?

• “I really like girls!”
• “I have not always lived a chaste life. Can I still be considered for the seminary?”
• “I struggle with purity, so I’m not sure I possess the holiness that is required for a commitment to celibacy.”
• “Celibacy seems like a life of loneliness…will I be happy alone?”
• “I think I still want to be a father?”

“The requirement of celibacy is certainly one of the greatest sources of anxiety and fear in a man who is discerning priesthood. This is especially true in a sex-saturated society and culture. The message we receive from the media and culture is very clear: no person can be happy and fulfilled unless they are having a lot of sex. But this is simply not true.”

 

“The good news is that God’s grace can accomplish all things! With the power of Jesus’ cross, a man can overcome sexual lust and live his life peacefully in his respective vocation. It can be done. It is possible. There is much evidence. For example, there are approximately four hundred thousand Catholic priests worldwide. The huge majority of these men at one time said these or similar words, “I can never become a priest because I like girls too much.” Well, all four hundred thousand of them are priests now. God will never send us where His grace cannot sustain us.”

 

 Excerpts taken from: To Save a Thousand Souls: A Guide for Discerning a Vocation to the Diocesan Priesthood by Fr. Brett Brannen (Pgs. 216-219)

 

For additional reading on Celibacy:

Virginity by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Sacerdotalis Caelibatus (Priestly Celibacy) by Pope Paul VI

The Courage to be Chaste by Fr. Benedict Groeschel

Celibacy by Fr. Raymond Gunzel, sP

Discerning Vocations to Marriage, Celibacy and Singlehood by Marie Theresa  Coombs and Francis Kelly Nemeck

When God Asks for an Undivided Heart by Fr. Andrew Apostoli

To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Brett Brannen