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81. Celibacy for the Kingdom Affirms
Marriage
By Pope John Paul II
1. In
answering the Pharisees' questions about marriage and its indissolubility,
Christ referred to the beginning, that is, to its original institution on the
part of the Creator. Since those with whom he was speaking recalled the law of
Moses, which provided for the possibility of the so-called "decree of divorce,"
he answered, "Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses permitted you to
divorce your wives, but it was not so from the beginning" (Mt 19:8). 2. Christ's
words undoubtedly allude to a conscious and voluntary renunciation of marriage.
This renunciation is possible only when one admits an authentic knowledge of
that value that is constituted by the nuptial disposition of masculinity and
femininity to marriage. In order for man to be fully aware of what he is
choosing (continence for the sake of the kingdom), he must also be fully aware
of what he is renouncing. (It is a question here of the knowledge of the value
in an ideal sense; nevertheless this knowledge is after all realistic.) In this
way, Christ certainly demands a mature choice. The form in which the call to
continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is expressed proves this
without a doubt. 3. But a
renunciation made with full awareness of the above-mentioned value is not
enough. In the light of Christ's words, and also in the light of the whole
authentic Christian Tradition, it is possible to deduce that this renunciation
is at the same time a particular form of affirming that value from which the
unmarried person consistently abstains, following the evangelical counsel. This
can seem paradoxical. Nevertheless, it is known that many statements in the
Gospel are paradoxical, and those are often the most eloquent and profound.
Accepting such a meaning of the call to continence for the sake of the kingdom
of heaven, we draw a correct conclusion, holding that the realization of this
call serves also—and in a particular way—to confirm the nuptial meaning of the
human body in its masculinity and femininity. The renunciation of marriage for
the kingdom of God at the same time highlights that meaning in all its interior
truth and personal beauty. We can say that this renunciation on the part of
individual persons, men and women, in a certain sense is indispensable. This is
so that the nuptial meaning of the body can be more easily recognized in all the
ethos of human life and above all in the ethos of conjugal and family life. 4. So,
therefore, although continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (virginity,
celibacy) orients the life of persons who freely choose it toward the exclusion
of the common way of conjugal and family life, nevertheless it is not without
significance for this life, for its style, its value and its evangelical
authenticity. Let us not forget that the only key to understanding the
sacramentality of marriage is the spousal love of Christ for the Church (cf. Eph
5:22-23): Christ, the Son of the Virgin, who was himself a virgin, that is, a
"eunuch for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," in the most perfect meaning of
the term. It will be convenient for us to take up this point again at a later
time. 6. Remaining
within the sphere of Christ's words according to Matthew (19:11-12), we must
conclude our reflections with the following affirmation. First, if continence
for the sake of the kingdom of heaven undoubtedly signifies a renunciation, this
renunciation is at the same time an affirmation: an affirmation that arises from
the discovery of the gift, that is, at the same time from the discovery of a new
perspective of the personal realization of oneself "through a sincere gift of
oneself" (Gaudium et Spes 24). This discovery still lies in a profound
interior harmony with the significance of the nuptial meaning of the body, bound
"from the beginning" to the masculinity or femininity of man as a personal
subject. Second, although continence for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is
identified with the renunciation of marriage, which in the life of a man and
woman gives rise to the family, in no way can one see in this a denial of the
essential value of marriage. On the contrary, continence serves indirectly to
highlight what is most lasting and most profoundly personal in the vocation to
marriage. It highlights that which in the dimensions of temporality (and at the
same time in the perspective of the other world) corresponds to the dignity of
the personal gift, bound to the nuptial meaning of the body in its masculinity
or femininity. 7. In this way, Christ's call to continence "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven," rightly associated to the reference to the future resurrection (cf. Mt 21:24-30; Mk 12:18-27; Lk 20:27-40), has a capital significance not only for Christian ethos and spirituality, but also for anthropology and for the whole theology of the body, which we discover at its foundation. We remember that Christ, referring to the resurrection of the body in the other world, said, according to the version of the three synoptic Gospels, "When they rise from the dead...they will neither marry nor be given in marriage..." (Mk 12:25). These words, already analyzed, form part of our overall considerations on the theology of the body and contribute to building up this theology. Source: L'Osservatore Romano 82. Voluntary Continence Derives From a Counsel, Not From a Command - 6.23.1982 |
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