Religious Chastity
- May 22, 2015
- 3 min read
THE VOW OF CHASTITY
The following is a talk given at our most recent vocations weekend. If you are interested in attending a similar event, please Contact us
What is chastity? Certainly not something commonly known and understood. It could be defined as: the right use of, and attitude to, the sexual body; a respect for its purity and integrity both in regard to oneself and in relation to others; for Christians, also in regard to God and his laws.
Everybody is bound to live chastity: the married, the single, the gay, priests and religious. Each group has its own manner, or practice, of chastity; it is one thing for the married, another for the vowed religious.
The religious vow therefore, should more accurately be called the Vow of Celibacy: a religious man or woman vows celibate chastity; in other words, vows not to marry. The practice of celibacy, vowed for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, is virtually a Catholic phenomenon. Buddhists have monks (+ nuns?), likewise the Orthodox; the Anglicans a few – but I know of no others. It is a way of life approved by Christ, who made it clear that it is a gift of God to some and not to all. “There are some”, he said, “who are born eunuchs. Some who are made so by men, and some who make themselves so for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven”. Not everyone can accept what he says, but “only those to whom it is granted”. The man in the Gospels who had many devils driven out of him, begged to be allowed to follow Jesus. Jesus refused him and told him to go home and spread the news of what had been done for him. Religious life, the celibate life in imitation of Christ, is a call, an invitation from Christ himself, asking for friendship and help, co-operation in the work of the Kingdom.
The practice of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven, has always and probably always will, arouse criticism. Saint Thomas Aquinas, in his dealing with the subject, puts forward two common objections to the practice of celibacy. The first, God’s command in Genesis: “Be fruitful, multiply and fill the earth”. The second the fact that virtue, by definition, finds a mean between excess and deficiency. He quotes Aristotle, “he who revels in every pleasure and abstains from not even one, is intemperate; but he who refrains from all is loutish and insensible”.
A third, very contemporary criticism, refers to God’s words in Genesis, “It is not good for man to be alone”.
Before replying to each of the above, Saint Thomas reminds us that “right reason” should be the distinguishing mark of human behaviour; and right reason demands “that things directed to an end (or specific purpose) should be used in a measure proportionate to that purpose.”
The life of the soul (mind and will/intellect and love) are what characterise us as human animals and serve our greatest happiness. Therefore, the external good things in life (riches, friends) should serve the good things of the body and the body should serve the good of the soul. The soul is ultimately and finally for the enjoyment of God, both in this life and in the life to come. Therefore, it is very much a matter of right reason to be prepared to forego good things of possession or body for the sake of greater space and freedom for growing in the knowledge and love of God.
St Thomas answers the criticisms.
The duty of the procreation, Saint Thomas points out, regards the whole human race, and as long as some marry and produce children the requirement is met. The spiritual good of the race must also be provided for.
Regarding the due measure of a virtue: Saint Thomas says, that to refrain from venereal pleasure is not to refrain from all pleasure, but to exercise right reason in measuring the value of bodily pleasure against the final purpose of human life.
In response to the third objection to celibacy, the Catechism of the Church points out how Baptism introduces us into the company of God’s Saints, or holy ones, into the Mystical body of His son, Jesus Christ. In place of Eve, we become the ‘helpmates’ of the ‘second Adam’ – even his ‘brides’ invited to true physical intimacy through the Sacrament of His body and blood, where we meet Him in Person, body, blood, soul and divinity. Finally, we are invited to Heaven, where we shall live with him, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, for ever! The consecration of celibacy by, for example, usually making daily Mass possible, gives a person greater spiritual help, space and freedom for growth in divine friendship and readiness for its fulfilment.
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