What state of life are you referring to here?
Why the Church no longer teaches the superiority of celibacy over marriage
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That implies that our choices determine the timetable of God. That’s just wrong. God doesn’t change his mind in such a manner.
The Church doesn’t “beg God” for the end of the world. I think you misunderstand a few things.
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The Church teaches that “consecrated celibacy” (Priest/religious) is an “objectively superior way of life” to marriage as it mirrors the life of Christ.
People take offense to this for some reason. But the Lord calls us all to different things. I’m a married man yet I can recognise that those living the life of celibacy are living the Christian life in a superior mode to myself. This is simply a fact. The catch is, married life is “easier” to live because it is not a “supernatural” vocation. It is a natural thing, made holy by the sacrament.
God calls us all to different things. I tried religious life at one point, it wasn’t for me. I am happy to be married and to have the freedom to serve God in various ways. My friends in religious life have given up their freedom to the order. Their whole life belongs to God. That must be acknowledged as superior.
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Mboo
Guest
This is St. Augustine’s opinion, he knew very well what he was saying
“Thy kingdom come” is also a request concerning the reign of glory to come.
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Mboo
Guest
The single person has the opportunity to consecrate his chastity to God perpetually even if he is a layman. Those who are single are not aware that by privately devoting their chastity to God they make a better choice than marriage.
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Mboo
Guest
Consecrated celibacy does not only concern priests or religious, anyone can make that choice if he wants to. Thank you Pie 12 for recalling this truth yet easy to recognize.
Tis_Bearself
Patron
There was a religion called Shakers who followed the view that everybody should be celibate. All that happened was that they died out.
St. Augustine was a great teacher in many ways, but I would file this idea of his alongside his teaching that babies in the womb were not humans until a few months after conception.
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Joshua_M
Guest
Celibacy should not be preferred to marriage in all cases. God gives us a special vocation that we will feel an attraction to. So if you’re called to celibacy then that’s your vocation from God and there can be no greater.
Some like to say that consecrated life is objectively a higher calling than marriage. This is true, but not in the sense that most believe. Consecrated life and marriage have the same value.
One may be harder than the other, but it would be in the same vein as predestination to suppose that God would call certain people to be less holy through the sacrament of marriage.
Religious life is higher than marriage because it is a call to God to a deeper union with God. Marriage calls us to bring our spouse and to a certain extent, children, and the whole world to heaven.
Some like to say that consecrated life is objectively a higher calling than marriage. This is true, but not in the sense that most believe. Consecrated life and marriage have the same value.
One may be harder than the other, but it would be in the same vein as predestination to suppose that God would call certain people to be less holy through the sacrament of marriage.
Religious life is higher than marriage because it is a call to God to a deeper union with God. Marriage calls us to bring our spouse and to a certain extent, children, and the whole world to heaven.
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TechieGuy
Guest
Well, here’s my slightly cynical take on the question - it could be that those who would be emphasizing this teaching believe that doing so would cause more married people to leave, and thus The Church would not likely have their children and grandchildren either.
Whereas not emphasizing that teaching is not likely to drive away the unmarried laity.
The cost-benefit analysis does not favor emphasizing that teaching.
Whereas not emphasizing that teaching is not likely to drive away the unmarried laity.
The cost-benefit analysis does not favor emphasizing that teaching.
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Mboo
Guest
If the human population were in danger of extinction, this could be an objective and acceptable reason for the need to marry.
Decide to found a private family without objective necessity while the resources used to found and maintain this family could be used to save a part, a very small part of the billions of humans languishing in a spiritual misery, material, corporal, moral is not a fair choice in my opinion.
Since, objectively, in order to love with love of charity one’s prochan and God one does not need to marry, only a weakness of the intellect which does not believe or which does not understand the superiority of celibacy, or a Weak willpower that is unable to sacrifice the joys of marriage out of love for God can justify the marriage now. So in either case it’s an expression of imperfection
Decide to found a private family without objective necessity while the resources used to found and maintain this family could be used to save a part, a very small part of the billions of humans languishing in a spiritual misery, material, corporal, moral is not a fair choice in my opinion.
Since, objectively, in order to love with love of charity one’s prochan and God one does not need to marry, only a weakness of the intellect which does not believe or which does not understand the superiority of celibacy, or a Weak willpower that is unable to sacrifice the joys of marriage out of love for God can justify the marriage now. So in either case it’s an expression of imperfection
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Reuben_J
Guest
Priesthood is a vocation and therefore is a calling. Not everybody is called to the priesthood. But those whom are called to this vocation and answer it, they will become priests.
It is not always associated with being better or holy, just a different vocation. Anyone can serve GOD and be holy. We see that in the Bible.
Celibacy for priests is a discipline, perhaps began around the ninth century. There were many factors as to why but chief among them was to solve the problem of inheritance. Those days the Church held much power and property. Today this probably is less prominent.
There may be a time perhaps when priesthood reverts back as in the old days where priests were allowed to get married. Many of them do today but not from the Roman rite.
So is celibacy better? I would agree that it is a higher calling. St. Paul seemed to imply it is.
Whether it is better does not arise as marriage and being celibate are two different states of life. In ancient time, the priesthood belong to the tribe of Levi. It does not mean that they were better than the other tribes.
It is not always associated with being better or holy, just a different vocation. Anyone can serve GOD and be holy. We see that in the Bible.
Celibacy for priests is a discipline, perhaps began around the ninth century. There were many factors as to why but chief among them was to solve the problem of inheritance. Those days the Church held much power and property. Today this probably is less prominent.
There may be a time perhaps when priesthood reverts back as in the old days where priests were allowed to get married. Many of them do today but not from the Roman rite.
So is celibacy better? I would agree that it is a higher calling. St. Paul seemed to imply it is.
Whether it is better does not arise as marriage and being celibate are two different states of life. In ancient time, the priesthood belong to the tribe of Levi. It does not mean that they were better than the other tribes.
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Mboo
Guest
It’s really hard to make people understand. Sacred celibacy It IS NOT BEING A PRIEST NOR BEING A RELIGIOUS.
It is because the Church no longer teaches the whole truth about chastity that there is this widespread confusion …
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Mboo
Guest
I do not think that God calls us to his service through our passions, or only through what pleases us and attracts us, but through the light of Faith and reason.
Usually, it is the passion (marriage of love) or the interest that is at the base of today’s marriages.
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Reuben_J
Guest
I don’t know about your parish but where I live, the Church does teach about chastity. Some of our priests are very strict that they would not say a matrimony mass you if you are not chaste or living together before marriage.Reuben_J:
It’s really hard to make people understand. Sacred celibacy It IS NOT BEING A PRIEST NOR BEING A RELIGIOUS.
It is because the Church no longer teaches the whole truth about chastity that there is this widespread confusion …
Is that what you want?
Celibacy over marriage? Then in this case, celibacy has a purpose - like being priests, religious or single people consecrated to the Lord. There are also occasion where married couples decide to be celibate.
But why teaches celibacy being superior to marriage? They are two different things. St. Paul seems to imply celibacy is better in 1 Cor 7:38 but that was in context of a man who has already in control of himself.
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Joshua_M
Guest
You’re looking at attraction through the wrong lens. God gives us vocations that we are drawn to through His calling. So in a sense, what we desire and are attracted to is God and His plan. We might not always like His plan, but if we desire to love Him, then that will translate over to a desire for vocation.
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TechieGuy
Guest
Hey Mboo, if you want to stay single and celibate and go around feeling that you are closer to God than I am because I married a woman I am passionately in love with, that’s totally okay by me.
Heck, you might even be right - it could be the case that my marriage and the physical and emotional pleasures my wife and I share are indeed expressions of our imperfection compared to those such as yourself who understand the superiority of celibacy and are able to be guided by correct intellect.
But I’m okay with that. Especially when the night temperature gets down past freezing and into ‘snuggle weather’.
K
Kei
Guest
The anointing of the sick was for those who were on the verge of death.
It is a good sacrament meant to lead one to a good state to enter the afterlife.
It is very good.
It is not sacramentally giving you an illness, like marriage is sacramentally bringing you in marriage. Not everyone is called to the brotherhood or the priesthood or a celibate life, but many are called to marriage. Naturally, this is needed for the propagation of the human race to be done licitly.
The sex act is an act in which one imitates God to a great degree. One gives their all to another and in doing so creates life.
When I speak of the Will of God in this sense, I mean for each individual person.
It is a good sacrament meant to lead one to a good state to enter the afterlife.
It is very good.
It is not sacramentally giving you an illness, like marriage is sacramentally bringing you in marriage. Not everyone is called to the brotherhood or the priesthood or a celibate life, but many are called to marriage. Naturally, this is needed for the propagation of the human race to be done licitly.
The sex act is an act in which one imitates God to a great degree. One gives their all to another and in doing so creates life.
When I speak of the Will of God in this sense, I mean for each individual person.
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Tis_Bearself
Patron
I personally think that any teaching that emphasizes the “superiority” of one group of human people over some other group of human people is straying into the sin of pride, which is actually considered the worst sin of all.
The only people we should be seeing as “superior” are Jesus and possibly Mary. And they would be the absolute last ones to lord their superiority over humanity. On the contrary, they focus on giving great love to inferior humans.
We constantly hear about how the “little ones” and the “least ones” of God are the most loved and are what we should aspire to be. If you are called to dedicate yourself to God and be celibate as part of that, and your motivation is that you don’t want anything interfering with such dedication or concentration on God, then that’s an admirable motivation. If, on the other hand, you do such a thing because you think it’s “superior” to the loving husband and wife who enjoy their marital relations with each other, then you’re way off base. This may also be why the Church doesn’t go around harping on the hierarchy of callings or vocations or whatever.
The only people we should be seeing as “superior” are Jesus and possibly Mary. And they would be the absolute last ones to lord their superiority over humanity. On the contrary, they focus on giving great love to inferior humans.
We constantly hear about how the “little ones” and the “least ones” of God are the most loved and are what we should aspire to be. If you are called to dedicate yourself to God and be celibate as part of that, and your motivation is that you don’t want anything interfering with such dedication or concentration on God, then that’s an admirable motivation. If, on the other hand, you do such a thing because you think it’s “superior” to the loving husband and wife who enjoy their marital relations with each other, then you’re way off base. This may also be why the Church doesn’t go around harping on the hierarchy of callings or vocations or whatever.
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twf
Guest
Yes you were. Trent infallibly taught the inherent superiority of celibacy. Marriage is holy. It is a sacrament. But celibacy is a higher vocation.
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Mboo
Guest
In sacred celibacy we offer our chastity to God, we offer both our whole heart and our whole body to God, it has nothing to do with the priesthood. In marriage we offer our body to our wife and we also offer our heart
It is obvious that offering your heart totally to God and devoting your body to it is more excellent than doing it to a human, because it is as if we were marrying God (in Ap 14-4 God himself says that those who have abstained from a woman for his love will be the only ones who will live in her privacy)
Yes, sacred celibacy has a purpose, it is that of loving God with all one’s heart, that of marrying God in some way
It is obvious that offering your heart totally to God and devoting your body to it is more excellent than doing it to a human, because it is as if we were marrying God (in Ap 14-4 God himself says that those who have abstained from a woman for his love will be the only ones who will live in her privacy)
Yes, sacred celibacy has a purpose, it is that of loving God with all one’s heart, that of marrying God in some way
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