LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE: “I am willing to die for my people.” (Fr Mathai SDB, later bishop of Diphu, when asked his taking risks to bring peace between two warring tribes in N. East India.)
A DIFFERENT INTIMACY: “For me, to be celibate is not to be lonely, but to be intimate with our Lord, and through that intimacy, as a man with a capacity for love, to give myself to the church and the world.” (Fr Paul Anthony McGavin)
TO BELONG TO GOD COMPLETELY: “I know that marriage and sex are good things. God will not love me any less if I choose a different path. But I want to belong to God in every corner of my being.” (Martina, a Catholic Sister from the West who worked in India)
A GIFT: “The most important thing about the celibate life is this: Celibacy is a gift…I am grateful for the gift of it all.” (Fr Keith Clark, a US Capuchin)
EMPTY FOR GOD: “To be celibate means to be empty for God, to be free and open for his presence, to be available for his service.” (Fr Henri Nouwen)
SERVICE FOR A SPIRITUAL PURPOSE: “Celibacy is the 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 purpose.” (Richard Sipe, former Catholic priest, who wrote much on celibacy)
MAKES SENSE IF…: “Celibacy makes sense only if God is real.” (Patrick Connolly)
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