Celibacy and Religious

Life
Religious Education12: Theology of the Body and Media Ethics
Celibacy
 Is
a special vocation (“divine calling”) to
which God calls some people to live as their
way to holiness.
 “Celibacy for the kingdom” is much more
than simply not having sexual relations.
 Itis a call to live as a gift, uniting oneself
completely to God in a way that
foreshadows the heavenly marriage to
come between Christ and the Church
Celibacy for the kingdom is all about
total self-donation to God and
neighbor, showing the world what it
means to love God with all your
heart, mind, soul and strength.
Celibacy reveals that the fulfillment
of all human longing is the marriage
of heaven, not only the marriage of
earth
Everyone on earth is called to marriage
When a priest is ordained, he chooses
to marry the Church as his bride.
When the woman enters the
consecrated life, she is being espoused
by Christ Himself.
Heaven will be an eternal wedding
celebration between God and His
bride, the Church
The sign of marriage on earth is
fulfilled only in heaven: our total
union with God.
When a person chooses to be celibate
for the sake of the kingdom instead of
the sacrament (the sign), and in a very
real way, living the eternal reality to
which the sacrament pointed:
undivided union with God.
Who are we? How do we live?
We are sons and daughters of God
made in His image and likeness.
This image is inscribed upon the
vey bodies of Adam and Eve (and
therefore, upon our bodies also) to
love and image the communion of
love in the Holy Trinity
Who are we? How do we live?
A way of loving communion through
the vocation of marriage to a human
spouse.
A way that is marriage to Christ and
the Church through celibacy
John Paul II said, celibacy must be
freely chosen if it is to correspond to
Christ’s invitation.
 Celibacy is a free choice to renounce
marital communion with a spouse in
order to serve God and the Church more
fully.
 The Church forces no one to be celibate.
 In the case of priesthood, the Church
chooses her priests from among those
men who have discerned and freely
chosen celibacy as their life’s vocation
(see CCC 1579)
*

Nuptial meaning of
the body, means that
all persons are created
to be a “gift” for
another.
Matthew 19:10-12
The disciples *said to Him, “If
10 

the relationship of the man with

his wife is like this, it is better
not to marry.” 11 But He said to
them, “Not all men can accept
this statement, but only those to
whom it has been given.
 For there are eunuchs who were
12 

born that way from their mother’s

womb; and there are eunuchs who
were made eunuchs by men; and
there are also eunuchs who made
themselves eunuchs for the sake of
the kingdom of heaven. He who is
able to accept this, let him
accept it.”
Celibacy does not reject Sexuality

Celibacy as
something a person
is not doing with
their sexuality
Celibacy does not reject Sexuality
Those who enter the religious
life, are a foreshadowing of
how all of us will live the
heavenly kingdom
Celibacy is a witness to the
fact that there is a greater joy
– heaven – than the joys of this
world
Celibacy does not reject Sexuality

Celibates do not reject their

sexuality
They are showing us the
ultimate purpose and
meaning of sexuality, the
giving of ourselves to God
Celibacy does not reject Sexuality
in their decision to renounce
marriage or earth, celibates
embrace their sexuality and
channel that energy toward full
communion with God, reflecting
in a unique way the meaning of
sexuality and self donation
Celibacy Points to Heaven

Through their total

dedication to Christ, the
religious life points us to
the ultimate purpose of
our lives: union with God
Celibacy Points to Heaven

They also show us

how to get there by
making a sincere gift
of ourselves in love
Celibacy Points to Heaven

Nuptial meaning of the

body– we learn that our
bodies reveal our calling
to make a total gift of
ourselves in love
Celibacy Points to Heaven

It is obvious how a
married couple makes a
gift of themselves, but
what about a celibate
man or woman?
Celibacy Points to Heaven

They totally dedicate

their lives to the service
of God and humanity
and offer themselves at
our service.
Celibacy is not Repression
If we think of marriage as an
outlet for lust or sexual tension,
we’re bound to think of a religious
life as sexual repression.
When people are in control of
their sexuality, only then are they
capable of making a gift of
themselves.
Celibacy is not Repression

This gift can be

given to a spouse, or
it can be offered as a
sacrifice through
celibacy.
Isn’t celibacy abnormal?

No! celibacy is not

abnormal. But it is
abnormal in the sense
that it is “not the
norm.”
Isn’t celibacy abnormal?

Marriage is a noble
way of life and
remains the calling
for most people on
earth
celibacy as “an
exceptional
vocation”
Priesthood for reasons

The ministers
of the Eucharist
Why is the priesthood reserved only to
men?
The reason has nothing to do with any
kind of mean-spirited or sexist
discrimination.
Priests act in persona Christi (in the
person of Christ), as they provide us
with the sacraments and other
ecclesial services (CCC 1548)
Why is the priesthood reserved only to
men?
The Church is the Bride of Christ (Eph.
5:23-32)
Since God created marriage to be a
union between a man and a woman,
only a man can act the person of
Christ– as a groom – meant to His
bride, the Church.
Why is the priesthood reserved only to
men?

Jesus purposely chose

twelve men (the
apostles) and no-
women, not even Mary,
to be his first priests
Why is the priesthood reserved only to
men?

The Church does not have the

authority to change it.
The Catholic Church is not the
pope’s church, or your church,
or our church.
It’s God’s Church
Therefore, we do not have
the right to change a
defined teaching simply
because our culture is
demanding it.
Why can’t priests be married
Catholic priests have been married
in the past, but in the Latin rite of
the Church, priests have been
chosen from among celibate men
for more than 1,000 years.
Such a practice is referred to as a
Church discipline
Why can’t priests be married
One of the main reasons is
that if a priest acts in
persona Christi and marries
the Bride of Christ, the
Church, he should give
himself completely to her
Wouldn’t celibate men and women be
happier if they could marry?

The celibates, “freely chooses

to remain in the ache of
solitude in this life in order to
devote all of his longings to
the union that alone can
satisfy.”
Wouldn’t celibate men and women be
happier if they could marry?

“Earthly continence (celibacy)

for the kingdom of heaven is
undoubtly a sign … that the
body, whose end is not the
grave, is directed to
glorification.”