B. Isenbarger Chastity, priesthood, Reflection

In Defense of Celibacy

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. 

B. Isenbarger Catholicism, Discernment, Jesus Christ, priesthood

Why I still want to be a priest

A group of seminarians from Fort Wayne-South Bend who formally declared their intent to pursue Holy Orders

As 2018 came to an end, and we begin 2019, it was not a glamorous year for the priesthood. In fact, it was one of the most devastating, humiliating, and repulsive years for priests. Through the heinous and unconscionable actions of some clerics, simply wearing a Roman collar in public often gets stares as if I were an accomplice to a network of monstrous criminals. 

And in spite of it all – no, because of it all – I stillwant to be a priest. 

At its core, my vocation is singly centered on one thing – a friendship with Christ. Despite my weakness, sinfulness, and unworthiness, Christ reached down and chose me for His own in the waters of baptism. He has nourished me daily in the Eucharist, strengthened me with His Spirit in Confirmation, healed me with His anointing, and continues to bind up my wounds in the sacrament of penance. 

Friendship, at its deepest roots, changes everything. The experience of friendship is one of the most marvelous experiences of life. I would argue that it often goes beyond human expression. Just take a second and try to explain your best friendship to someone else. It’s pretty difficult, isn’t it? Yet – I do think we can say a few things about friendship.

First, friendship is a real experience borne out of an encounter. When we meet some one who becomes a friend, there is something remarkably different about that encounter. In the highest forms of friendship, the friend sees the other as more important than himself. A perfect example of this is the sacrificial nature of a husband and wife. At some point, both bride and groom recognize that the other was worth laying down their entire life. So, too, did the divine Bridegroom do for me. In spite of my infidelity and sinfulness, Christ still chose to befriend me – at the cost of His own life. 

Secondly, friendship is built upon trust and belief in the other. Once I knew the friendship of Christ, I started to take seriously His promises. While I could do anything with my life, it is hard for me not to be moved by Christ’s words in John 6:53: “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.” If this is true, and because of my friendship with Christ I believe it is, it seems that the fullness of life is inseparable from Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist. In other words, without a priest, there is no Eucharist. And without the Eucharist, there is no life. 

This brings me to the final point of friendship – it is life-giving and inviting. Friends, rather than becoming isolated from others, display a certain joy that is full of life and inviting. So, too, with Christ. His friendship has called me out of the darkness of my sin, filled me with the warmth of His love, and given me a desire to share that divine joy with others.

In short, I cannot deny my own lived experience and encounter with Christ. I am a sinner. I am unworthy. Whether in spite of it, or precisely in order to draw me out of it – Christ chose to befriend me. He has given me a new life, brought me abiding joy, and promises me eternal life – and I trust him. Thus, it only seems reasonable to continue to live in this friendship and to invite others to it. For it is only in the friendship that one person becomes like the other. For the priest, this means becoming like the Great High Priest and Savior – Jesus Christ. And only by abiding in this friendship will the face of the priesthood be properly restored. 

So, why do I still want to be a priest? 

Honestly, I’m doing it for a Friend.