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Information
about
Celibacy
found in:
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1
Cor 7:32-35
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I
should like you to be free of anxieties.
An unmarried man is anxious about the things of
the Lord, how he may please the Lord.
But a married man is anxious about the things of
the world, how he may please his wife, and he is
divided. An
unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things
of the Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and
spirit. A
married woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the
things of the world, how she may please her husband.
I am telling you this for your own benefit, not
to impose a restraint upon you, but for the sake of
propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
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Mt
19:12
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Some
are incapable of marriage because they were born so;
some, because they were made so by others; some, because
they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom
of heaven. Whoever
can accept this ought to accept it.
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1
Cor 7:8-9
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Now to the unmarried and to widows, I say: it is a good
thing for them to remain as they are, as I do, but if
they cannot exercise self-control they should marry, for
it is better to marry than to be on fire.
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2
Tim 2:3-4
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Bear your share of hardship along with me like a good
soldier of Christ Jesus.
To satisfy the one who recruited him, a soldier
does not become entangled in the business affairs of
life.
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1
Tim 5:9-12
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Let a widow be enrolled if she is not less than sixty
years old, married only once, with a reputation for good
works, namely, that she has raised children, practiced
hospitality, washed the feet of the holy ones, helped
those in distress, involved herself in every good work.
But exclude younger widows, for when their
sensuality estranges them from Christ, they want to
marry and will incur condemnation for breaking their
first pledge.
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*1
Tim 4:1-3
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Now the Spirit explicitly says that in the last times
some will turn away from the faith by paying attention
to deceitful spirits and demonic instructions through
the hypocrisy of liars with branded consciences.
They forbid marriage and require abstinence from
food that God created to be received with thanksgiving
by those who believe and know the truth.
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*1
Tim 3:2, 4 |
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Therefore, a bishop must be
irreproachable, married only once…He must manage his
own household well, keeping his children under control
with perfect dignity; for if a man does not know how
to manage his own household, how can he take care of
the church of God? |
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*
Scripture verses used to refute the Catholic position. |
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Scripture texts are taken from
the New American Bible with Revised New Testament,©
1986, Confraternity of Christian Doctrine.
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Catechism of the Catholic Church
915.
"Christ proposes the evangelical counsels, in their great
variety, to every disciple. The perfection of charity, to which
all the faithful are called, entails for those who freely follow
the call to consecrated life the obligation of practicing
chastity in celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, poverty and
obedience. It is the profession of these counsels, within a
permanent state of life recognized by the Church, that
characterizes the life consecrated to God.
1580 In the Eastern Churches a
different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while
bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can
be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been
considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful
ministry within their communities. Moreover, priestly celibacy
is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests
have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the
East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament
of Holy Orders can no longer marry.
1599 In the Latin Church the
sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally
conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy
freely and who publicly manifest their intention of staying
celibate for the love of God's kingdom and the service of men.
2337 Chastity means the successful
integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner
unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality, in
which man's belonging to the bodily and biological world is
expressed, becomes personal and truly human when it is
integrated into the relationship of one person to another, in
the complete and lifelong mutual gift of a man and a woman.
The virtue of chastity therefore involves the integrity of the
person and the integrality of the gift.
2349 "People should cultivate [chastity] in the way
that is suited to their state of life. Some profess virginity or
consecrated celibacy which enables them to give themselves to
God alone with an undivided heart in a remarkable manner. Others
live in the way prescribed for all by the moral law, whether
they are married or single." Married people are called to
live conjugal chastity; others practice chastity in continence:
There are three forms of the virtue of chastity: the first is
that of spouses, the second that of widows, and the third that
of virgins. We do not praise any one of them to the exclusion of
the others.... This is what makes for the richness of the
discipline of the Church.
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Church Fathers
St. Jerome
“Tell me how Jesus entered through closed doors…and I
will explain how Saint Mary can be both Mother and Virgin. A Mother before she married, she remained a Virgin after
bearing her Son. Therefore,
as I started to say, the Virgin Christ and the Virgin Mary have
dedicated in themselves the principles of virginity for both
sexes. The Apostles
were either virgins or remained continent after their marriages.
Those persons chosen to be bishops, presbyters, or
deacons are either virgins or widowers; or certainly, having
once received the priesthood, they remain forever chaste” (Letter
of Jerome to Pammachius 48:21 [A.D. 392]).
St. John Chrysostom
“That virginity is good I do agree.
But that it is even better than marriage, this I do
confess. And if you
wish, I will add that it is as much better than marriage as
heaven is better than earth, as much better as the angels are
better than men. And
if there were any other way in which I could say it even more
emphatically, I would do so” (Virginity 10 [A.D. 392]).
St. Ambrose of Milan
“They pretend to honor marriage; but what praise can be
given marriage if there is no glory in virginity? Neither do we deny that marriage has been sanctified by
Christ, since the divine word ways: ‘The two shall become one
flesh’ and one spirit. But we are born before we are brought
to our goal, and the mystery of the divine operation is much
more excellent than the remedy for human weakness.
It is quire right that a good wife be praised, but even
better that a pious virgin be preferred” (Letters 42:3
[A.D. 389]).
St. Augustine of Hippo
“If modesty is preserved in the marriage bond, certainly
damnation is not to be feared.
But in virginal continence and in that of widowhood the
excellence of a more ample offering is longed for.
When this has been sought and chosen and consecrated in
the obligation of a vow it is damnable not only to enter upon a
marriage but, although one does not actually marry, even to
desire to marry” (Advantages of Widowhood 12:15 [A.D.
414]).
St. John Damascene
“Virginity, the conduct of the angels, is the property of
all incorporeal nature. We
do not say this as speaking ill of marriage, perish the thought! For we know that the Lord blessed marriage by His presence,
and we know the saying, ‘Marriage is honorable and its bed
undefiled.’ But
we say this by way of recognizing that however good marriage may
be, virginity is better” (The Source of Knowledge 3:4:24
[A.D. 743]).
Origen
“Certain ones among the Christians, from a desire of
excelling in chastity, and in order to worship God in greater
purity, refrain even from such physical pleasures as are in
accord with the law” (Against Celsus [A.D. 248]).
St. Cyril of Jerusalem
“While you maintain perfect chastity, do not be puffed up
in vain conceit against those who walk a humbler path in
matrimony. As the
Apostle says, ‘Let marriage be held in honor, and let the
marriage bed be undefiled.’ And you who keep your chastity: were you not born of those
who had married? Because
you have a possession of gold do not on that account hold the
silver in contempt. Let
those also be of good cheer who are married and use their
marriage properly” (Catechetical Lectures 4:17 [A.D.
350]).
St. Clement of Alexandria
“He, however, who is without a family, for the most part
escapes temptation. Caring,
then, for himself alone, he is surpassed by one who is inferior
to him in what pertains to his own salvation, but is superior to
him in the conduct of life” (Stromateis 7:12:70:4
[A.D. 202]).
The Council of Elvira
“It is determined that bishops, presbyters, and
deacons, or all clerics stationed in the ministry, are to
retrain themselves completely and are to keep themselves away
from their wives and are not to beget children.
Anyone who does beget children is to be expelled from the
honor of the clerical estate” (Canon 33 [A.D. 300]).
The First Council of Arles
“If a presbyter has married a wife, let him be removed
from the ranks. But
if he has fornicated or has committed adultery, let him be
thrust out completely and let him subject himself to penance”
(Canon 1 [A.D. 314/325]).
St. Leo I
“The law of continence is the same for ministers of the altar
as it is for bishops and priests, who when they were laymen or
lectors, could lawfully marry and beget offspring. But when they reached the ministerial ranks what before was
lawful ceased to be such” (Letter of Pope Leo I to Rusticus,
Bishop of Narbonne 167:4:3 [A.D. 458]).
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