Celibacy and Chastity
Matthew 4:19-22 : 19 And he saith to them: Come ye after me, and I will make you to be fishers of men. 20 And they immediately leaving their nets, followed him. 21 And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets: and he called them. 22 And they forthwith left their nets and father, and followed him.
In these verses and the ones selected below, we can see that when called by Jesus, the disciples left whatever they were doing to follow Jesus. Reading in the context of the whole New Testament of the Bible, we know that Jesus went from cities to cities to preach the Gospel. Those who followed Him had to make a choice of leaving everything behind to follow Jesus. It was not possible to follow Jesus (from cities to cities) and go home every evening to take care of one's own family and children.
Matthew 8:14 : And when Jesus was come into Peter's house, he saw his wife's mother lying, and sick of a fever;
This verse informs us that Peter had a mother-in-law so Peter had a spouse. When Peter was called, he left everything and followed Jesus. Now, Jesus does not call all of us to leave our spouses and children and run away from our parental responsibilities. If we are parents, our vocation are most probably to be parents, striving to be good parents.
Matthew 9:9 : And when Jesus passed on from thence, he saw a man sitting in the custom house, named Matthew; and he saith to him: Follow me. And he arose up and followed him.
Matthew, the tax collector, gave up his position to follow Jesus.
Matthew 10:37-38 : 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more than me, is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me.
As children, we are to love our parents. If we are parents, we are to love our children. But if our love for our parents and children causes us to disobey Jesus's teaching, then Jesus tells us that we are making a mistake. We need to obey Jesus first.
Mark 1:17-18 : 17 And Jesus said to them: Come after me; and I will make you to become fishers of men. 18 And immediately leaving their nets, they followed him.
Leaving their nets, that was like asking them to give up something that brought bread and food home to their families and children. These verses teach us that following Jesus has a cost, a very high cost.
Mark 10:28-31 : 28 And Peter began to say unto him: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. 29 Jesus answering said: Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 Who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time: houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions: and in the world to come life everlasting. 31 But many that are first shall be last: and the last, first.
These verses confirm what we have read earlier. Peter said that the apostles and disciples have left all thingd and followed Jesus. Should we have any doubt, Jesus confirm that we should follow Christ and obey Him under any circumstance, if He called us to leave everything.
Luke 5:11 : And having brought their ships to land, leaving all things, they followed him.
Again here, we see that following Jesus requires some people to leave all things.
Luke 9:59-62 : 59 But he said to another: Follow me. And he said: Lord, suffer me first to go and to bury my father. 60 And Jesus said to him: Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God. 61 And another said: I will follow thee, Lord; but let me first take my leave of them that are at my house. 62 Jesus said to him: No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God.
For people who are called to a life of celibacy and chastity, they are called to give up everything and dedicate themselves to the kingdom of God. For folks who are called to be parents, that could mean to put their children first, and their personal leisures and activities last.
Luke 14:33 : So likewise every one of you that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be my disciple.
Jesus didn't water down his requirements.
Luke 18:28-30 : 28 Then Peter said: Behold, we have left all things and have followed thee. 29 Who said to them: Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left home or parents or brethren or wife or children, for the kingdom of God's sake, 30 Who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting.
The message is clear!
Acts 18:5 : And when Silas and Timothy were come from Macedonia, Paul was earnest in preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ.
Modern English translations would help to better understand this verse:
NAB: When Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began to occupy himself totally with preaching the word, testifying to the Jews that the Messiah was Jesus.
NASB: But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.
We see here that St. Paul totally devoted himself to the preaching of the word of God. This total commitment was better served when he remained a celibate person.
Romans 1:1 : Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God.
NASB: Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,
RSV-2CE: 1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God
"Set apart for the gospel of God" shows St. Paul's dedicated life to serve something higher than himself.
1 Corinthians 7:1-2 : 1 Now concerning the things whereof you wrote to me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 But for fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife: and let every woman have her own husband.
In other words, it's better for one to remain celibate and dedicate one's life to the kingdom of God. But if one is not called to celibacy, one should marry.
1 Corinthians 7:7-8 : 7 For I would that all men were even as myself. But every one hath his proper gift from God: one after this manner, and another after that. 8 But I say to the unmarried and to the widows: It is good for them if they so continue, even as I.
St Paul was making his point clear.
I have no comments for the verses below as I believe they speak clearly by themselves.
1 Corinthians 7:25-27 : 25 Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord: but I give counsel, as having obtained mercy of the Lord, to be faithful. 26 I think therefore that this is good for the present necessity: that it is good for a man so to be. 27 Art thou bound to a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a wife.
1 Corinthians 7:29 : This therefore I say, brethren: The time is short. It remaineth, that they also who have wives be as if they had none:
1 Corinthians 7:32-35 : 32 But I would have you to be without solicitude. He that is without a wife is solicitous for the things that belong to the Lord: how he may please God. 33 But he that is with a wife is solicitous for the things of the world: how he may please his wife. And he is divided. 34 And the unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord: that she may be holy both in body and in spirit. But she that is married thinketh on the things of the world: how she may please her husband. 35 And this I speak for your profit, not to cast a snare upon you, but for that which is decent and which may give you power to attend upon the Lord, without impediment.
1 Corinthians 7:39-40 : 39 A woman is bound by the law as long as her husband liveth: but if her husband die, she is at liberty. Let her marry to whom she will: only in the Lord. 40 But more blessed shall she be, if she so remain, according to my counsel. And I think that I also have the spirit of God.
1 Peter 2:11 : Dearly beloved, I beseech you, as strangers and pilgrims, to refrain yourselves from carnal desires which war against the soul,
As we can see from the above texts, celibacy and chastity are biblical. This is an invitation from Jesus to us to give up everything to follow Him. This is exactly what Catholic priests/monks and religious nuns/sisters do when they make the vows of chastity, obedience and poverty. Parents, husbands, wives ... are also invited to give up their personal interests to serve their children, spouses and society.
The above list of quotes of the Sacred Scripture is by no means exhaustive. I have selected only the texts that I believe are so obvious.
Unless otherwise indicated, all biblical texts are quoted from the Douay-Rheims Bible.
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