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Culture

Truth and Truthfulness

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

December 1, 2020 3:17 am December 1, 2020

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“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said…

“For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” (Jn. 18:37-38)

This snippet of dialogue comes from part of a conversation between Pontius Pilate and Jesus on Good Friday. After asking Jesus “What is truth?” Pilate walked away from him. He didn’t wait to hear the answer. Was he not interested in an answer? Or, cynically, did he believe there wasn’t one? Perhaps Pilate didn’t think that truth exists at all.

What he didn’t say is “There is not truth.” That would, of course, be false. And yet many people make that claim today. That very statement is self-contradictory and self-refuting. The reason? If it is correct, then it would be true. But, then, nothing can be true, and therefore, “There is no truth” cannot be true. The reasonable and logical outcome, then, is that “There is truth” must be correct.

Context

Since truth exists, then, what is it? There are multiple ways of explaining it, all of which are related to one another. Additionally, what one means by “truth” has to be properly understood. Since the meaning of truth can be a bit complicated, it is worth looking at how we should understand it in a normal, everyday context, and then how a person’s relationship to truth plays out in his life and actions.

Perhaps the best way to start is to focus on the truth as it is normally understood in conversation and interaction: that is, the truth about the things around us. When an object is perceived, if it is perceived correctly, then it is said to be known “truly.” For example, if a woman sees a dog but calls it a banana, another person will correct her and say,“No, that is a dog, not a banana.” Her initial assignment of the category “banana” to that particular canine was erroneous and, therefore, she did not identify the truth about what it was.

Notice that this fundamental way of perceiving and naming nature presupposes that nature is something that can be known and understood. It also presupposes the normal, innate human capacity to perceive and rightly judge what things are in the world. Both of these are reasonable starting positions. This means that, unless a person is somehow impaired, that person can know the truth about things. As a starting definition, then, one could say with Thomas Aquinas that truth is “the equation of the thought and the thing.” In that statement, the word “equation” means that the perception of the object matches up to what the object is in itself.

Drawing conclusions

From this very basic ability to perceive reality for what it is, all sorts of other truths come to light. People begin to reason about reality. That means that they are able to draw conclusions about more and more of what can be known. This is where areas of learning, like philosophy, art, science, literature, math, grammar, etc. begin to develop. Over the centuries and millennia of human existence, this body of knowledge has grown as the human race has grown. Truth, then, has to do with the intelligibility of the world and human capacity to know it. The adjective “true” describes the accurate perception of reality and also the logical reasoning based upon that perception.

Yet, there is even more to truth than this objective and rather dry description. Truth is also something that people desire and expect from one another. How does one person give truth to another? The Catechism of the Catholic Church reads: “Truth as uprightness in human action and speech is called truthfulness, sincerity, or candor. Truth or truthfulness is the virtue which consists in showing oneself true in deeds and truthful in words, and in guarding against duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy” (No. 2468).

Another way of saying this is that the truth living in a person is the virtue of truthfulness. Truth becomes a part of one’s identity and of one’s way of interacting with other people in the world. Without the virtue of truthfulness, individuals fracture interiorly (that is the meaning of the “duplicity, dissimulation, and hypocrisy” in the quote above) and society consequently degenerates. Thomas Aquinas said it this way: “Men could not live with one another if there were not mutual confidence that they were being truthful to one another.” Living in falsehood and then perpetuating those lies does have serious consequences — at the very least, there will be a lack of personal integrity and a negative impact upon community and society as a whole.

Witness

There is an alternative to that rather dismal picture. No one person alone can make a society truthful. Each person can only decide how he or she will bear witness to truth personally. The mechanism that was mentioned above, namely, accurate perception and then proper naming of that perception, can be applied to human speech, action and interaction.

Through choices to speak and act in truth, a person becomes truthful and virtuous. That, in turn, has an effect on society. The transformation of the community, however, only happens through the transformation of its members. The building up one one’s personal integrity through truthfulness happens one choice at a time. The solidifying and reintegration of society occurs through the same process happening in multiple persons over generations. The ability to identify and speak truth, and be truthful, is a chief characteristic of a society wanting unity and peace.

Sister Anna Mare McGuan is a Religious Sister of Mercy of Alma, Michigan. She serves the Diocese of Knoxville, Tennessee, as the director of the Office of Christian Formation.

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5 min read

Satan

The Occult Disposes Us to Satan

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

October 25, 2020 1:46 pm October 25, 2020

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What is occultism, and why is it becoming such a popular topic today? Is it the same as black magic? Is it astrology? Is it all of the above, or…

What is occultism, and why is it becoming such a popular topic today? Is it the same as black magic? Is it astrology? Is it all of the above, or a mixture of these elements and others, perhaps darker and more dangerous?

The word “occult” comes from Latin, and the root meaning is to conceal or to cover over (occultare). The idea behind occultism is that there is secret knowledge that gives the owner of that knowledge magical power over elements which are otherwise beyond man’s control. Usually, this secret knowledge is obtained through some sort of communication with demonic powers or the souls of the dead.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church is clear on the matter: “All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one’s service and have a supernatural power over others — even if this were for the sake of restoring their health — are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons” (No. 2117, emphasis added). Notice that this section condemns what we would call both white magic and black magic. Magic and sorcery are sins against the First Commandment.

What about astrology? Is it the same thing? Astrology is an occult science that determines the influence of the stars and planets upon the fate of man. The sky at the time of a person’s birth is said to predict different aspects of an individual’s life, like friends and enemies, spouse and children, inheritance and longevity, etc. In ancient times, astrology and divination were considered very important sciences. For the modern Christian, what harm are they? Again, here is what the Catechism has to say: “All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to ‘unveil’ the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone” (No. 2116, emphasis in original). Once again, we find here sins against the First Commandment.

The rise in interest in things occult, whether astrology, magic, or Ouija boards (Yes, I said Ouija boards. If you have one in your house, get rid of it!) is symptomatic of the loss of faith in God. When people stop believing in God, whether at a highly intellectual level or on a practical level, their innate spiritual desires do not disappear. Instead, those desires become distorted. People have a natural desire to be in touch with the supernatural, as odd as that sounds. If we shut out the one, true God, then that natural desire for God will simply turn its gaze on something else. This can be pleasures of various sorts, like honor, or power, or sense. Sometimes, simple curiosity can lead a person to inquire about the occult. Other times, people are led there precisely by a desire to control or a desire for power.

The problem, of course, is that of our own nature we cannot manipulate spiritual powers to affect anything, yet that is what practitioners of the occult think they are doing. In reality, they are the ones being manipulated, and the powers manipulating them are invariably demonic. It makes sense that those who practice occultism are deceived. This is what Jesus says about Satan: “He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn 8:44, RSV).

Besides the loss of faith in God in our time, there is an equally disturbing misunderstanding about the nature of evil and the devil. Some don’t believe that Satan exists, nor other demons. The truth is Satan exists. He and the other demons are in reality fallen angels, spiritual beings that refused to accept God’s reign. All the demons, Satan included, were created naturally good, and became evil by their own choosing. They are at work in the world all the time, working out of their hatred for God and for us. Read “The Screwtape Letters” by C.S. Lewis to get a sense of what this looks like.

The curiosity of some gets piqued when the subject of demons comes up. This is also attributable to a misunderstanding of the nature of the demonic. It is nothing to be curious about. Demons use humanity’s curiosity to their own advantage, tempting men, women, and young people to try one little palm-reading or one visit to a tarot card reader. “What harm could a Ouija board do?” This thought comes from we don’t know where. Then, we open ourselves to the influence of the evil spirit.

There is good reason that the Church warns against meddling in the occult. To do so disposes a person to the influence of Satan and other demonic powers, and Satan hates God and humankind. He seeks only to destroy us.

Sister Anna Marie McGuan is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma, Michigan.

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Scripture

Bible 101: A Brief Introduction to the Pentateuch

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

September 10, 2020 6:54 am September 10, 2020

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The Books of Moses, also known as the Pentateuch or the Torah, are the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These texts are…

The Books of Moses, also known as the Pentateuch or the Torah, are the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These texts are sacred in both the Jewish and the Christian traditions and hold a preeminent place in the Old Testament because of their teachings and stories, as well as the personages they feature. The Torah also helped shape morality, religious observance, culture, and art across centuries and empires. Each book of the Torah has unique features and contributes distinctively to this first section of the Bible.

The first book, Genesis, takes its name from the Greek word for generation or origin. In Hebrew it is called bĕrēʾšît, which means “in the beginning” — the first words of the book. The first 11 chapters focus on teaching the truth about human persons and the world as created by God. They also detail the entrance of sin into the world and the effects it has on human beings, their relationship to God, and their relationship to one another. In Chapter 12, “salvation history” truly begins, as God calls Abraham to go to a land that he does not know. Abraham responds in faith, and God promises to make Abraham a great nation, blessing all the peoples of the earth in him. The rest of Genesis moves through the story of Abraham, then his son, Isaac, followed by Isaac’s two sons, Jacob and Esau. The story of Joseph and his brothers finishes the book of Genesis. In this memorable saga, Joseph saves Egypt and the surrounding lands from famine and, in so doing, saves his family in Canaan from starvation and destruction. The entire family moves down to Egypt and dwells there.

The book of Exodus picks up generations later. The pharaoh of Egypt does not know Joseph and his story, even though the Hebrews have become quite numerous. Fearing an insurrection, the pharaoh reduces them to slave labor. Moses is then sent by God to converse with Pharaoh and secure the people’s liberation from slavery. Their deliverance happens after a dramatic 10-plague duel which can be understood as divine warfare. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob does battle with the gods of the Egyptians, represented by various natural elements and animals. One by one, the Lord defeats the gods of Egypt. Finally, Pharaoh sends the people away, but then changes his mind, causing the famous scene of the crossing of the Red Sea. The waters miraculously opened up, allowing the Hebrews to pass through, but then collapsed upon the Egyptian forces to their utter ruin and destruction.

In their new found freedom, the descendants of Abraham, under the guidance of Moses, go to Mount Sinai, where the covenant between God and the Israelites was formally established. From this covenant we still have the Ten Commandments and the foundation of morality. The rest of the book of Exodus includes details about the covenant, the building of the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. There is also an episode that describes the defection of the Israelites from the covenant where Moses intercedes for the people and God reestablishes their bond with him.

The book of Leviticus is at the center of the Torah. This emphasizes its importance — the center of a section or of a book is a sign of its value. This makes sense, because Leviticus explains the laws of sacrifice, along with the distinctions between what is profane and what is holy. “Profane” does not mean “bad” — it only means that such an object cannot mediate God’s presence and holiness. Leviticus provides the framework for the people to live the covenant, with all of its proper sacrifices, in order to truly become God’s holy people.

The book of Numbers describes the journeying of the Hebrew people in the wilderness, as they move from Mount Sinai to the edge of the land of Canaan, and then have to journey in the desert for another 40 years. This time of purification often has been interpreted as an analogy of the spiritual life. Each person must go through life as a preparation and a purification, a journey of faith, hope and love.

The last book of the Pentateuch is Deuteronomy, a name which means “second law,” and it presents a series of discourses given by Moses to the people of Israel on the plains of Moab. At this point, they have finished the 40 years’ journey and are preparing to enter into the land of Canaan. Moses prepares the people by recalling for them their history up to this point in time; he also reminds them of their obligations and God’s blessings upon them. He warns them, too, about the consequences of infidelity. Thus, the Pentateuch closes with a sense of foreboding: God is always faithful … but will the people be so as well?

Sister Anna Marie McGuan, R.S.M., is Director of Christian Formation in the Diocese of Knoxville. Read more from the Bible 101 series here.

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7 min read

Evil

Can the Existence of Evil Disprove God’s existence?

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

September 6, 2020 12:08 pm September 6, 2020

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The existence of evil is a common objection to the existence of God, or at least to a personal God who is all-knowing and all-good. How is it possible to…

The existence of evil is a common objection to the existence of God, or at least to a personal God who is all-knowing and all-good. How is it possible to reconcile belief in God with the clear evidence of evil and its manifold manifestations? This is a good question, and one that people have been asking for thousands of years (just read through the book of Job in the Old Testament). To answer the question, two related, yet distinct ideas must be examined.

The meaning of evil

Firstly, it is necessary to establish what exactly is meant by “evil.” When speaking of evil, it is easy to see it as a force that drives nature or people toward destruction. However, evil does not exist per se, meaning in and of itself. It only exists in things as a lack of something that should be present. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote: “…every being, as such, is good; …evil can exist only in good as in its subject” (STh., Q. 49, a. 3). For example, blindness is not something added to the eye; it is the lack of a power that should be there. The eye suffers the deprivation of the good of sight, which is an evil. Sickness is not the addition of a new perfection; it is the lack of health in a body. Hence, a physician works precisely to restore someone to health, the good state the body should be in.

This understanding of evil is important because it immediately rules out the idea that the material world is evil and must be overcome in order for human persons to be happy. That dualistic perception of the world and its origins is at the heart of the Manichean heresy, which lies within the Gnostic tradition. Essentially, the two eternal principles of “good” and “evil” are at war, and all matter is seen as evil. This, of course, is in direct opposition to the biblical tradition which precedes it, in which all creation is declared “good,” even “very good,” in Genesis 1. Matter is definitely not evil in the biblical vision.

What about when bad things happen? Physical or natural evil that people experience is the playing out of the laws of the universe, like the earthquake that causes the tsunami that causes the destruction of an island and all the plants and creatures living on it. One the one hand, it is seen as a tragedy. On the other hand, however, how it happened is perfectly logical and can be traced back through the laws of nature. This type of evil can also be quite relative. For example, the lion eats the antelope. Good for the lion, evil for the antelope. As St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, “Now, the order of the universe requires…that there should be some things that can, and do sometimes, fail” (STh., Q. 49, a. 2).

The existence of evil

Secondly, once evil is understood as the privation of a good and not a principle of existence, the idea free will in rational creatures must be addressed. Moral evil is more nuanced than physical evil, and it is really at the heart of the above-stated question about God. Moral evil refers to the choice by a rational creature to do what he knows is not good, either for himself or for others. In this case, the privation of the good that ought to be there is caused by the choice of the creature. For example, the thief lacks the virtue of justice. The good that ought to be present, namely, the ready disposition to give to each what is due, is lacking. Instead, the thief has an inordinate desire to possessions and violates justice in order to satisfy that desire. A famous line from Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn summarizes this perfectly: “Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes … right through every human heart — and through all human hearts.” Man, each and every man, chooses to commit moral evil or not. God is not the cause of this type of evil, but he does allow it to exist.

If God is all good — why doesn’t He stop people from doing bad things? This is the conundrum, right? The answer lies in the great value and the goodness of freedom, even when it has gone wrong. Make no mistake — God has explained what freedom is for: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might” (Dt 6:5). Or, as St. Paul wrote: “The commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not kill, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this sentence, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law” (Rm 3:9-10).

Each person has an innate understanding that what St. Paul says is true, and freedom’s true purpose is clear. Yet, if someone makes a bad or a vicious choice, God still permits the choice. The power of goodness and love, latent within the human will, is so great and good, that God will not thwart man’s use of it. He wants humans to choose to love freely — to love him freely, to love the self freely, and to love others freely. He could have created puppets who automatically loved him and could not do otherwise. He did not. As such, there are adverse consequences to human freedom: sin and the effects of sin.

Sin and evil

That is really the crux of the problem. It can be explained metaphysically and in a satisfactory way that evil exists, but God’s seeming absence from the scene right when we need him fails to satisfy. But, is he absent? St. Augustine said: “For the Almighty God, who, as even the heathen acknowledge, has supreme power over all things, being Himself supremely good, would never permit the existence of anything evil among His works, if He were not so omnipotent and good that He can bring good even out of evil.”

St. Augustine’s argument here is actually the only solution. The existence of evil cannot disprove the existence of God, because evil exists only in something good as in a subject (blindness in the eye, illness in the body) or as part of the lawful order of the universe. Yet, God’s allowance of evil, especially evil freely chosen on the part of human persons, cannot but bring us to the question of why? To begin to understand this, the nature of human freedom must be appreciated and understood. Freedom is a power for good, not for evil, but it can be misused. God allows this because this is how he created rational human beings — for the good, capable of evil. He will not go back on his creation. At the same time, the evil that God permits, will, in his time and purposes, be an avenue from which he brings good.

Sister Anna Marie McGuan is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma, Michigan.

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4 min read

Morality

Why Do People Do Good?

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

September 4, 2020 1:00 pm September 4, 2020

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4 min read

Humans always act for a purpose. Voluntary acts are by definition purposeful. Involuntary acts, which we don’t choose – such as breathing – are not something to which we can…

Humans always act for a purpose. Voluntary acts are by definition purposeful. Involuntary acts, which we don’t choose – such as breathing – are not something to which we can ascribe to a goal or purpose. We pursue goals to achieve results we believe are good, or we may pursue a goal to possess or enjoy something. We enjoy things that are good, not things that are bad.

One way to look at love is when humans strive to enjoy and possess the good. This is how human beings are made, but not just human beings. Animals, plants and, in fact, all matter is made this way. Everything acts for a purpose in a way that is proper to that thing. For example, animals live, move and reproduce by instinct. Plants grow, nourish themselves and also reproduce. Animals and plants have a kind of love proper to them. They attain to these things because they are fulfilling their purpose — they’re doing what they were made to do. However, they don’t perform any voluntary acts. They don’t get to choose their purpose — it’s simply written into their DNA.

Human beings also have DNA, which determines certain things about them (brown hair, black hair; brown eyes, blue eyes; male, female; etc.). DNA, however, cannot tell us everything about why we do what we do. This becomes, then, an important distinction. What makes me different from an acorn is certainly my DNA, but also my freely chosen purpose. Irrational nature (plants and animals) just naturally fulfills its purpose without making any choice to do so. Rational nature (humans) has a purpose, too, but it must be chosen.

Morality has at its root one basic question: What is my ultimate goal? Another way of putting it is: What do I love? Or you could ask: What will definitively satisfy me?

At first, we may think there are lots of things that could provide satisfaction. But like plants and animals, our purpose is achieved by living in accord with what we were made for. What one thing, if I love it, will make me complete? What am I made to love? That is what really satisfies me — that’s what will really define me.

But is my ultimate good the same as yours? In other words, is there an objective good worth pursuing for everybody? The simple answer is, “Yes, absolutely.”

Consult your own experience and name the happiest people you know. Without fail, the people who are good are also the happiest people. This doesn’t mean that you don’t face difficult situations, that you don’t occasionally have fits of anger or experience deep sadness. It does mean that your fundamental outlook is one of virtue. In a given situation, you know what to do and how to do it in a way that upholds your dignity and the dignity of those around you. Your interior disposition is one of looking for and naturally, peacefully pursuing whatever is good to do in a given situation. So, if you are at work, you work diligently, without giving into distraction or procrastination. If you are married, you love your wife and children without hesitation and without selfishness. Your outlook is one of desiring the true good for each person, yourself first, and then those around you. And, if we don’t know what the true good is for ourselves, we will have a hard time doing good for anyone else. You know what is right and will actually be happier doing what you know is right. You do that through your choices.

All this does not mean that rules aren’t important; they are, but they are not the most important part of the moral life. It is much more important to pursue and love what is truly good so that you can be happy. To do this, the help of grace and the interior promptings of the Holy Spirit are needed, which can be followed with the help of wisdom, knowledge, understanding, counsel, fortitude, piety and fear of the Lord. These gifts of the Holy Spirit push me (interiorly) to freely believe, hope in and love the good. If we can follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit within us to grow in faith, hope and love of God, we will be truly happy.

So, the moral life comes down to fulfilling what will really satisfy your deepest longing for happiness. Let’s return to our original question: “Why do people do good?” The answer is that doing good makes us happy and fulfilled. If you open up to God and begin to act for the good with his help, you will be authentically human, truly happy and truly good.

Sister Anna Marie McGuan is with the Religious Sisters of Mercy in Alma, Michigan.

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6 min read

Religious Life

Why Celibacy?

Sister Anna Marie McGuan

August 31, 2020 7:16 am August 31, 2020

6 min read

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6 min read

Recently, I was asked about priestly celibacy by a person interested in becoming Catholic. The practice of priestly celibacy is viewed with suspicion, he explained, because Protestants are unfamiliar with it and it seems unnatural. Besides that, his is a timely question given that some people have pointed to celibacy as having a direct causal link to the abuse crisis in the Church.

Celibacy, or chastity, seems like a stumbling block for people. What is celibacy, exactly? According to the glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, celibacy is “the state or condition of those who have chosen to remain unmarried.”

But why would a man choose that life, or why is this the standard discipline for priests in the Roman (Latin-rite) Catholic Church?

First, the nature of the priesthood has to be understood. Simply put, each man who becomes a priest becomes a minister of Jesus Christ’s own priesthood. Jesus’ priesthood is made visible and present through these ordained ministers. They participate in Jesus’ life and priesthood in a specific way. Therefore, a look at Scripture and how Jesus himself lived is helpful to see the foundations on which priest’s life is modeled.

Jesus did not marry. He also spoke positively about those who remain celibate “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 19:12). Indeed, Jesus chose, from among his followers, certain men to be with him and become “fishers of men” (Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17). His invitation to them was to leave everything behind for the sake of the kingdom of God. Therefore, this practice of total dedication to God in and through Christ goes back to the very beginning of discipleship. Today as well, men are chosen by God to “to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord” (CCC, No. 1579).

Jesus is not the only person in the Bible, however, to have lived a single life with the intention of being consecrated for God’s purposes. The prophet Jeremiah, for example, appears to have remained celibate. He was called from his youth (see Jer 1:6-7) and never mentions a wife or family like some of the other prophets. Another example, closer to the time of Jesus, is John the Baptist. The last in the long line of biblical prophets, John’s entire life was lived as a sign that pointed to Jesus, even from his time in the womb (Lk 1:41-44). Everything about him pointed to the transcendent realm, including his choice to forego a wife and children. While it is true that celibacy was not a common practice at the time of Christ, it was not unheard of. In fact, there are examples from Qumran, a desert community in existence around the time of Jesus, of a type of celibacy lived in community.

Additionally, priests are not the only celibates in the Catholic Church. The consecrated life in its various forms entails some type of commitment to chastity, either a promise, private vow, public vow or some other sacred bond.

Getting back to the definition of celibacy mentioned above, it related only to the state of being unmarried. Any discussion on celibacy must relate back to chastity, which is the virtue by which a person integrates his or her sexuality in a healthy way appropriate to his or her state in life. The goal of chastity is the wholeness and integrity of the person in his bodily and spiritual being. This is true for married persons as well as celibate persons. However, chastity in the context of consecrated life entails refraining from any behaviors in the realm of sexuality that belong properly to marriage, as well as avoiding any offenses against chastity such as masturbation, pornography or fornication. Religious chastity is also a gift to those called by God to lead a life totally dedicated to him.

Is it “unnatural” to lead a celibate life and, therefore, practice continence within chastity? In one sense, yes, and in another, no. The proper path of sexual expression for most people is that of marriage, in which two persons give each other their bodies as “a sign and pledge of spiritual communion” (CCC, No. 2360). This is a great good, and marriage, while not easy, is the natural path that most people take to live the vocation to love God and neighbor to which we are all called.

There are some, however, as Jesus points out in the Gospels, who renounce marriage and the goods of marriage (holiness together as husband and wife, welcoming and educating children) for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Not only that, the fact that some people do this is a very good thing.

Living out chastity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven means to live one’s life as a sign that points to God all the time. The married state is good and beautiful, and at the same time God is more beautiful and better. He is so good, in fact, that it is legitimate to offer everything to him and live for him alone. A consecrated person, whether priest or religious, witnesses to that by the very way he or she lives. The highest form of love is not the love between husband and love, it is the love of God, charity. This charity can and should inform all other relationships of love. This means that they are rooted in a person’s relationship with God and lead to a further and deeper love of God.

In addition, Jesus tells us that there will be no marriage in heaven. Rather, he says, in “the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like the angels in heaven” (Mt 22:30). For this reason, the consecrated life or the celibate life is an eschatological signpost that points to heaven. Essentially, the message is: Remember where you ultimately want to be headed. Remember your end. Do what it takes to get there.

Returning to an earlier question, living chastity for the kingdom of heaven is not “unnatural” — it is supernatural. It is to live as God’s messenger, all day, every day. Like all vocations, that takes faith, hope and charity. It also takes prayer, asceticism, more prayer and fidelity to the age-old practices that help form the interior spiritual life. Good, holy friendships are also a wonderful aid to chastity, no matter what a person’s vocation is.

The goal in each vocation is to love God with all one’s heart, mind, soul and strength, and to love one’s neighbor like one’s self. To each person, God will give the graces necessary to grow in holiness if and when we cooperate with him.

Sister Anna Marie McGuan, R.S.M., is Director of Christian Formation in the Diocese of Knoxville.

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Byline: Sister Anna Marie McGuan

Truth and Truthfulness

Context

Drawing conclusions

Witness

The Occult Disposes Us to Satan

Bible 101: A Brief Introduction to the Pentateuch

Can the Existence of Evil Disprove God’s existence?

The meaning of evil

The existence of evil

Sin and evil

Why Do People Do Good?

Why Celibacy?

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