Friday August 18, 2017
Few issues have made more headlines among Church-related matters than the issue of priestly celibacy. Jesus makes it clear: some are called to live their life in celibate sexuality. It is love that draws those who can accept it to do so. And they do so for the sake of the Kingdom. Theologian Max Thurian writes:
Celibacy relates to the resurrection of the dead; it is a sign of eternity, of incorruptibility, of life. For marriage has as its natural end the procreation of children, it assures the continuance of the human race and the creation of new beings, since human beings are fated to die and need to leave successors. But at the resurrection of the dead, those who have been accounted worthy will no more see death . . . . In the other world, since they are immortal, there is no further need for them to make sure that they have descendants. Besides, in the kingdom of God, there is one sole Father, since all, like the angels, are called sons of God. The celibate state . . . is a sign of the world to come . . .: in the ministry of the gospel, in contemplative prayer at the feet of the Lord, in proclaiming the coming kingdom of God, and in offering the sacrifice of the Eucharist, which sums up [one’s] entire priesthood.
