I have a confession to make:
I am in Love.
Over the centuries as well as in recent days, there have been many questioning the long-standing discipline of priestly celibacy. Some claim it to be impossible. Others claim it to be unnatural.
But what does Jesus say?
Let’s take a look at Matthew 22:30, where Jesus speaks of marriage from the perspective of heaven:
“At the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven”
Further, let’s not forget St. Paul in his address to in 1 Corinthians 7:32-34:
“I should like you to be free of anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and he is divided”
I think it is precisely the issue of celibacy which illustrates the divide between the life of the Spirit and the life of the flesh and the world. For those with an eye toward heaven, there is a realization that there is only one true Wedding Feast – that of the Lamb (Christ) and the Bride (the Church) (see Rev. 19). For those who experience Christian marriage, there is a foretaste of the one Wedding Feast through the love exchanged between spouses. For those living a life of celibacy, this foretaste is forgone in order to experience the reality of total communion with Christ here and now. As marriage is a foretaste of what is to come, celibacy is an icon of that eternal Wedding Feast now.
For those called to a life of celibacy, it is truly a wonderful gift. While it, like marriage, is not an end in itself, it is certainly an avenue to participating in the eternal love of God in a unique and unmediated way.
In other words, as I write this now, I can tell you unashamedly, that I am in Love.
No, I’m not talking about some affective state. I am talking about a Person – Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the God, who is love, made incarnate. Through the gift of my baptism, confirmation, and sharing in His flesh in the eucharist, I have a life which is sacramentally united totally Him. In fact, every time I go to Mass, I re-enter into that one, eternal Wedding Feast of the Lamb.
Through ordination to the priesthood, the priest shares in the one priesthood of Christ, the Lamb who was slain and the divine Bridegroom. To put it another way, the priest is configured in a particular way to be the living and incarnate image of Christ wedded to His Bride – the Church.
So, why do I want to live priestly celibacy?
Because I am in love with Love Himself and have heard that His Bride is prepared to welcome Him (Rev. 19:7).
In short, I believe in heaven.
And I want to see you at the Wedding.
A Voice in the Wilderness 