St. Anthony the Abbot Catholic Church

Corinth was a busy and prosperous Greek city, a hub of trade and cultural exchange between the western and eastern Mediterranean. As in all such places, vice of every kind flourished there. And so these first Corinthian Christians found themselves fighting valiantly to live Christian lives in the midst of a corrupt society. Sound familiar? Some of these newly baptized Christians thought it might be easier to avoid being corrupted if they simply abandoned their family, work, and social relations to take on a monastic life style.  We should remember that most of these Christians were adult converts - they didn't grow up in the Church.

In Chapter 7 of his First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul encourages them not to abandon their normal lives, but to continue in the same state of life that they were in when they became believers. Christ's grace changes us from within, strengthening us to live truly Christian lives even in the middle of a pagan society. But in the context of the discussion, Paul goes on to give his opinion about an issue that was controversial back then and is still controversial today: celibacy for the sake of Christ's Kingdom.

Contrary to the claim of some popular modern novels, Jesus never married. The Church was His spouse, and He gave His entire life wholly to its service. Paul was following in Christ's footsteps, and he recommends that the unmarried Christians in Corinth consider doing the same thing. And so, from the very beginning of Christianity, we see consecrated virginity and celibacy put forth as a beautiful vocation in the Church.

Is that how we look at it? Or do we perhaps see it as an unnatural burden, an oppressive rule, as so many of our non-Catholic contemporaries do? In light of Paul's exhortation, let's look at four reasons why this God-given vocation is such a wonderful gift to the Church.

First, there is what theologians call the Christological reason. The point here is that consecrated celibacy and virginity actually help reveal and remind everyone who Christ really is. A woman who responds to God's personal call in her life by giving herself body and soul to Christ reminds the world that Jesus is a real person, not just a mythic ideal. Jesus is someone who loves and who can be loved.  St Catherine of Siena, for example, perceived her call when she was only six years old, and fought through innumerable obstacles and difficulties to follow it. After years of faithfulness through painful suffering, the Lord appeared to her in all His heavenly splendor, with the Blessed Virgin Mary at His side. Mary took Catherine's hand and gave it to Jesus, who placed a wedding ring on her finger, visible to Catherine for the rest of her life. Jesus is a real person, who really loves us and really desires our love - the vocation of consecrated virginity reminds us of this.

A man who receives and accepts the grace to be a celibate priest is showing the world another side of Christ's love, His pastoral, fatherly side. Through the ordained priest, Christ Himself pastures His flock, feeding them with the Eucharist, interceding for them through the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours, healing them with the sacraments of anointing and confession.

This Christological reason is closely related to a second reason, what theologians call the "eschatological" reason behind consecrated virginity and celibacy. Eschatology has to do with the last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell. Christ tells us in scripture that there will be no marriage in heaven. The indescribable happiness and fulfillment that comes from living in perfect communion with God will make marriage obsolete. The celibate priesthood, like the perfect chastity vowed by members of religious orders, is a constant reminder of this. It is a constant reminder that even the greatest pleasure and meaning that this world has to offer - that which comes from the intimacy of marriage and family life - will come to an end. It is a reminder that this world is not all there is.    The celibate priesthood and the consecrated life are, in short, a billboard for heaven.

Second, there is what is called the ecclesiological reason. "Ecclesiology" means "having to do with the Church." The woman who consecrates herself to Christ is a living image of what the Church really is: the Bride of Christ, the passionately loved spouse of God Himself. And a man who receives and accepts a call to celibacy, since he has no wife and family of his own, can be more available to serve the Church. He can dedicate all his time, attention, energy, and love to the demands of his ministry. It's not impossible for a married priest to be faithful and dedicated to his community, but objectively speaking, celibacy provides greater internal freedom and external flexibility.

Third, the faithful practice of consecrated virginity and celibacy reminds us of the true dignity and beauty of marriage. Some people misunderstand the Church's esteem for celibacy. They think it is a subtle criticism of marriage, as if marriage were something to be looked down on. True, there have been some heresies through the centuries that viewed marriage as dirty and ignoble, because it involves sexual intimacy. But that has never been the Church's stance, because it wasn't Christ's stance.

After all, God was the one who invented marriage in the first place. The Church has always taught that marriage is one of the seven sacraments instituted by Christ, just as valid as the sacrament of holy orders. In the Gospels, Jesus' first public miracle takes place at a wedding feast. And in His parables about the Kingdom, Christ's favorite image for what heaven will be like is a wedding banquet. Among the Church's thousands of canonized saints, there are many men and women who faithfully lived their vocation to consecrated virginity or celibacy, but there are also many men and women who faithfully lived their vocation to marriage. Far from denigrating marriage, the Church's esteem for celibacy actually helps reveal its dignity.

God doesn't call all of us to lifelong celibacy or consecrated virginity, as St. Paul makes clear in his Letter to the Corinthians. But by calling some of His children in every generation to follow Him in this way, He gives a beautiful gift to the entire Church, and to the entire world. A gift that reminds us of His personal love for each one of us (the Christological reason), that encourages us on our difficult journey to eternal happiness in heaven (the eschatological reason), that reminds us of the deep, sacramental meaning of marriage, and that puts into our lives men and women who are always ready to guide and pray for us in Christ's name (ecclesiastical reason). Let us thank Jesus for this gift, and let's pray that everyone whom Christ calls down this path will be courageous and generous enough to follow Him.