Embracing Celibacy
Beautiful article to clear up misconceptions about those who become clergy
I think most people would be surprised to know how many men in the seminary are in love. And, I don’t mean with Jesus; I mean with a woman.
Are you shocked? You shouldn’t be. Seminarians are men, too. Men with emotions, passions, and desires—they fall in love. Being a seminarian and training for the priesthood, or even being an ordained priest, doesn’t change these natural human conditions.
Every man who becomes a priest must at some point make a conscious decision to choose celibacy.…I don’t mean that they simply acquiesce to celibacy, but they embrace it with their whole heart. I am not simply referring to men who think to themselves, “Golly, marriage would be good. Women are beautiful. Sex sounds nice. But, oh well.” I’m speaking of men who have stared into the eyes of a woman with the passionate desire to sweep her off of her feet, profess his love and fidelity to her at the altar, make sweet, sweet love to her, and have a huge Catholic family; men who have looked straight in the eyes of an individual, particular, woman with whom he is in love—and who is in love with him—and said, “I choose Jesus. I choose priesthood. I choose celibacy.”
That’s heroic! And it’s not easy. But it’s what we who are pursuing the priesthood are called to do. It’s what we are all called to do: to seek and follow God’s plan for our life—even if it is contrary to our every human desire!
8 ‘til 18.
Kudos to the Sixers for their resiliency. They have a bright future. What can you ask for this Sixers-Celtics series: a Game 7 with a Rondo triple-double and Ray coming back to life.
Celtics-Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. This is not only a series. IT’S A WAR.
LET’S GO CELTICS!
Sex
Via We're More Than Flesh and BoneSex is good, it’s very good. But I want to propose a question. Who values sex more? Catholics? Or Society?
I was hanging out with some good friends of mine earlier today. I’ve known them for a long time and they know how deep in my faith I am. Every now and then the topic of sex would come up and it was the typical guy talk. But towards the end of the night one of my friends said “I want to have sex before I’m twenty-one, or before I’m married”.
I didn’t know how to respond. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends and in no way am I trying to put them down. But upon thinking about it, I realized that for many people, sex is an accomplishment. It’s become something to check off your list of things to do before you die. It’s become something that gives you social status (if you’re a virgin or not).
Sex has become a selfish experience.
The Church teaches that sex is supposed to be intimate. Sex is sacrifice; it’s supposed to be the husband giving himself fully and totally to his wife, and the wife giving herself fully and totally in return. It’s meant to physically show a love so intense that it brings about new life. That kind of love should be saved for only one person, and it should be solidified through Marriage.
Doesn’t that sound more romantic than just checking it off your list?
Sex is supposed to be a gift of yourself, so wait and find that special person who you’ll be willing to give yourself to forever…
