Is Marriage Inferior To Religious Life

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I think we can all agree that Heaven is the most blessed state. And yet there, there is no marriage. I think what St. Paul says in 1 Cor. 7:31-35 is instructive. In context, he speaks of those things which are part of the world that does not last forever and those whose attention is less focused on them. Marriage is one of those things. The things of the world are good and can be used toward one’s salvation, but Heaven is higher and better. Those who forgo marriage for the kingdom essentially skip a step on the way up. They are objectively in a state more like that of Heaven where there is no marriage. That state anticipates Heaven in a more direct way.

It is the same as when Jesus said Martha chose the “better part” or when the Apostles appointed deacons to distribute goods to the widows saying it was not fitting that they should wait tables–rather they had the higher calling of the ministry of the word.

In general, embracing the evangelical counsels is better, but not required, which is why Jesus and the Apostles emphasized them and the Church has continued to do so ever since.

As a practical note, the Church used to emphasize this pretty strongly. Not so much anymore (even though it is still on the books, so to say). I wonder if it has any effect on vocations?

At the end of the day, we have the definitive judgment from the Church (at Trent) and the entire testimony of Tradition, along with the scriptures, to help ease any doubt we might have about this truth.
 
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Then, if it’s better, or superior, shouldn’t everyone do it? And if they did…wouldn’t the human race be in big trouble?
 
I think we need to appreciate that the teaching on this has changed dramatically over time. Women remaining celibate was actually condemned in the first 2 or 3 centuries, because it enabled women to be free from the authority of a man (father or husband). This was eventually changed because Christian women insisted upon remaining unmarried as a way of serving Christ–but, then, only if they did so under patristic authority.

Three important scholarly analyses of this are JoAnn K. McNamara, A New Song: Celibate Women in the First Three Christian Centuries; Susanna Elm, Virgins of God: The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity; and Peter Brown, The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity.
 
sealabeag said:
Not my words, words of the Church.
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True enough. Which means that, logically, the vast majority of Church members - 98%? 99%? - live lives in an “inferior “ state, and are both less “blessed” and less honorable than celibate clergy and vowed religious. Again, using the Church’s own words as documented in this thread. Viewed through that lens, that’s an interesting way to characterize the body of believers.
 
Psalm30 said:
Then, if it’s better, or superior, shouldn’t everyone do it? And if they did…wouldn’t the human race be in big trouble?
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God’s Will takes care of that so that’s why it is important to discern.
 
JanR said:
If some feel called to virginity or celibacy, that’s fine. But don’t make distinctions between the “holiness” of one divine calling over another. God calls us all to different vocations in life, marriage being only one of them.

i don’t like terms such as “inferior” vs “superior”. They don’t apply, here, and those terms, in any event, are judgmental.
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The Church’s dogma which must be believed under pain of being a heretic is that marriage is good but virginity for the sake of the Kingdom is better. That has nothing to do with the personal holiness of people within those states. Indeed, nobody is equal, not even the angels, as places in heaven are determined by the degree of Charity which the soul or spirit possesses.

Even in the consecrated state, some lifestyles are “superior” to others. E.g. I am a Bride of Christ. However, the state of those who are both a Bride of Christ and a religious is more perfect than mine because they profess the evangelical counsels whereas I am merely obliged to maintain virginity for the Sake of the Kingdom. Does that bother me? No. We are not equal. We are different and have different roles in the Body of Christ, the Church.
Mother Therese, OCV, JCL
Specializing in theology and law of consecrated life.
This communication does not establish a canon lawyer-client relationship.
 
Depends on the type of replies. If the reply denies dogma [deliberately, obstinately], yes. If it expresses something else, then no.
One pertinent Dogma: That virginity for the sake of the kingdom is superior to marriage.
Mother Therese, OCV, JCL
Specializing in theology and law of consecrated life.
This communication does not establish a canon lawyer-client relationship.
 
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Obviously the Church is clear on this, but would it fall into the category of “dogma”? Not saying it doesn’t I just don’t know.
 
Reposting…

Is it a dogma? Yes. And I don’t make the claim lightly. It’s not my “personal opinion”, it is an objective fact. One of the first heresies in the early Church denied the superiority of virginity over marriage and was roundly condemned. The Council of Trent made a dogmatic statement to refute the Protestant heresies who were teaching that virginity was not superior to marriage.

The Popes also upheld the constant teaching of the Church in this regard. Dogma and doctrine are unchangeable whereas many disciplines are changeable.

Pope Pius XII in his papal encyclical Sacra Virginitas:
  1. This doctrine of the excellence of virginity and of celibacy and of their superiority over the married state was, as We have already said, revealed by our Divine Redeemer and by the Apostle of the Gentiles; so too, it was solemnly defined as a dogma of divine faith by the holy council of Trent,[57] and explained in the same way by all the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Finally, We and Our Predecessors have often expounded it and earnestly advocated it whenever occasion offered. But recent attacks on this traditional doctrine of the Church, the danger they constitute, and the harm they do to the souls of the faithful lead Us, in fulfillment of the duties of Our charge, to take up the matter once again in this Encyclical Letter, and to reprove these errors which are so often propounded under a specious appearance of truth.
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Pope John Paul II in Vita Consecrata:

18…This is why Christian tradition has always spoken of the objective superiority of the consecrated life .Nor can it be denied that the practice of the evangelical counsels is also a particularly profound and fruitful way of sharing in Christ’s mission, in imitation of the example of Mary of Nazareth, the first disciple, who willingly put herself at the service of God’s plan by the total gift of self. Every mission begins with the attitude expressed by Mary at the Annunciation: “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be done to me according to your word” ( Lk 1:38).
Mother Therese, OCV, JCL
Specializing in theology and law of consecrated life.
This communication does not establish a canon lawyer-client relationship.
 
One of my concern with some of the responses here is “What on earth does superior mean?”…better in what way and what circumstance? Circumstances are quite different now than during the council of Trent when the Catholic Church was pushing back against Martin Luther…over 40 years before Jamestown was even founded.

I don’t like the way the word “superior” is used. It is misinterpreted to mean that all Catholics should strive for celibacy. This is not what is in the Catechism.

St. Paul gave his personal opinion on celibacy, and St. Paul’s opinion is distinctly different from Catholic teaching.

I liked what Catholic Answers put out on the subject…
Celibacy and marriage are not two competing vocations but are dependent upon and elevate one another.
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In addition, celibacy is not the superior state for all people. Aquinas states, ” Though virginity is better than conjugal continence, a married person may be better than a virgin for two reasons. First, on the part of chastity itself; if to wit, the married person is more prepared in mind to observe virginity, if it should be expedient, than the one who is actually a virgin. Secondly, because perhaps the person who is not a virgin has some more excellent virtue” ( Summa Theologiae I:152:4). Augustine admonishes virgins to say, “I am no better than Abraham, although the chastity of celibacy is better than the chastity of marriage” ( On the Good of Matrimony 7). Augustine also states, “Whence does a virgin know the things that belong to the Lord, however solicitous she be about them, if perchance on account of some mental fault she be not yet ripe for martyrdom, whereas this woman to whom she delighted in preferring herself is already able to drink the cup of the Lord?” These statements underscore the fact that celibacy is a gift. This is not something one can take upon one’s self for reasons of pride or human respect.
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There is a difference between an objective state and a subjective call. The state of virginity for the sake of the Kingdom is higher than the state of marriage. That is dogma. Doesn’t change no matter the century. The subjective, individual call will differ from person to person and individuals will be judged not on their state in life but level of charity. Thus a married person might be more holy than a virgin, because he has more charity in his soul. Nevertheless the state of marriage is objectively not as good as the state of virginity for the sake of the Kingdom.​

Mother Therese, OCV, JCL
Specializing in theology and law of consecrated life.
This communication does not establish a canon lawyer-client relationship.
 
Whilst celibacy is a higher calling, not all are called to it. We are called to different vocations in life, marriage is one of these vocations and it is a very holy sacrament. Marriage symbolises the love of Christ for His Church, the marriage between Christ and His Church and God’s love which cannot be contained and lead to creation - symbolised by procreation (please correct me if I am wrong). A faithfully married Christian can be as devoted to God as a celibate priest.
 
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