Here are questions people inside and outside the Church ask about celibacy today.
- What are the essential elements of a celibate life?
Three, basically: (1) A focus on the life and teachings of Jesus, with a sincere interest to live as He taught, and hence a genuine cultivation of one’s inner life; (2) Simplicity of life, by which one is more interested in service and sharing one’s life than in going after comforts, power and money; (3) a free and joyful decision not to marry and not to have sexual partners.
- What are the signs of a heathy celibate life?
Fr Peter Brocardo SDB, a highly respected formator of international students in Rome, told us the difference between the vows of poverty and celibacy. Poverty, he told us, can be seen directly: People can see how I dress and travel, what I eat, what I have in my room, and how I spend money. Celibacy, instead, is seen indirectly, he told us. It is seen in a life of love and joy. That is, just as a good marriage is seen in a happy and loving family, celibacy is palpable if we life joyful lives of love. If a community is not happy and loving, it is simply a group of spinsters or bachelors living under the same roof. It is not celibacy. Why waste one’s life on that?
- Is celibacy higher and better than married life?
There are no higher or lower calls in the church. In fact, the Synod we are preparing for insists that the highest dignity is that given by Baptism. Becoming a celibate religious or priest does not make a person higher or closer to God.
Fr Joe Mannath SDB
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