Our Lady of Lourdes
  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact
2621 Colonial Blvd.
Violet, LA 70092

O: (504) 682-7070
F: (504) 605-2064
​E: (504) 356-1737
​oll@arch-no.org

Archive of
Fr. Bryan's Pastor's Blog

Celibacy for the Kingdom

4/13/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
Celibacy for the Kingdom

    In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus Christ speaks of those who choose to be celibate for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. The practice of celibacy has endured in the Roman Church and in the Greek Churches to this day; however, there has always been debate about it. There are those who wish to end clerical celibacy, or at least to make it optional, but I fear they don't understand what they wish to do away with. The question is not whether it is useful or not, Christ himself recommended it (Mt. 19:12), the question is why.

    In the seminary, we were often told that priests are "in the world, but not of the world." Priests live in the world, in the midst of the secular culture, the media, and the everyday lives of normal people, but we are not of the world. We live in the world as those who are about the business of God the Father. Celibacy is one of the main ways that we live this reality, as well as detachment from material possessions and obedience.

    The Catechism of the Catholic Churchsays, "Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God (CCC 1579)." This statement gives the main reason for the practice of priestly celibacy in the Roman Catholic Church: complete dedication to the Lord.

    The life of celibacy allows the priest to be completely devoted to the service of God and of His Church, and to the service of the people entrusted to His care. It allows us to order our lives to God instead of to the world. Instead of worrying about raising a family and all of the concerns that go with it, we focus on prayer, the sacraments, and the care of souls.

    Although the practice of priestly celibacy is primarily a theological concern, there are also practical benefits from it. Priest are payed by and taken care of by the Church, because being a priest is a full time job. If priests had families, we would need a much bigger salary because, as you know, children are very expensive, or we would need to be part time, but then our parishioners would suffer. However, this is a minor reason, the Eastern Orthodox Churches have married priests and they make out just fine.

    This reminds me of another reason that some people want to allow priests to marry. They say that more people would want to become priests if they could also get married. However, the Eastern Orthodox Churches show that this is false. They allow priests to choose marriage or celibacy and most of them have a shortage of priests just like we do. This shows us that the priesthood is not chosen by people, but that priests are called by God; our job is to respond to that call.

    An important part of Catholic culture is sacrifice. We fast during Lent to prepare ourselves for the Resurrection of the Lord, we fast out of sorrow for our sins, and we fast to increase our desire for God by denying ourselves. Priestly celibacy is also a fast, or a sacrifice; it is abstaining from marriage. When we fast from anything, we choose something that is good, that we like, to fast from. We don't fast from bad or evil things, because we're supposed to avoid those anyway. Fasting from something good is our way to saying that God is better than that thing, than chocolate, or television, or meat. Priestly celibacy is not forced on the priest, it is something that we choose; it is a sacrifice that the priest makes because he puts God first in His life, above everything else, even above having a wife and children. 
​
    In this way it is also a sign of the Kingdom of Heaven. We give up marriage because we are not living just for this world and the things of this world (res mundi); we are living for God and the things of God (res Dei). We are living in the expectation of the Kingdom of God, of the second coming of Christ, and of the resurrection of the dead. More than just a sacrifice, celibacy is a witness that reminds everyone that God is with us, that He loves us, and that we are called to love Him "with our whole heart, our whole soul, our whole mind, and our whole strength."

0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Fr. Bryan was pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes from July 3, 2017 to June 2022.

    Categories

    All
    10 Commandments
    Beatitudes
    Bible
    Blog Article
    Bulletin Article
    Equipped Series
    Fr. Bryan Recommends
    Homilies
    Liturgy
    Philosophy
    Q&A
    Saints
    Symbolism
    The Seven Sacraments

    Archives

    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018

    RSS Feed

Mission Statement

We, members of Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church, are committed to establish a safe haven for believers in our community. Having Christ as the center of our worship and being impelled by his teachings:
• We continually grow in ministries that address the needs and concerns of our community.
• We strive to be a vibrant “Christ Centered” spiritual family and experience His love and presence in the celebration of the Eucharist.

  • Home
  • Mass Schedule
  • News
  • Pastor's Blog
  • Information
    • History
      • Past Priests
    • Sacraments
    • Meet Us
    • Ministries
    • Church Groups
    • Parish School of Religion
    • RCIA
  • Oyster Festival
  • Bulletins
  • Resources
    • Forms
    • Links
    • Resources for Prayer
      • Divine Mercy Novena
    • Hall Rental
  • Donations
  • Photos
  • Contact