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Virgins / Virginity
Also See:
Why Priestly Celibacy?
Warning: May contain some graphic
language
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"Therefore
the Lord himself will give you this sign: the virgin shall be with
child, and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel." (Isa.
7:14)
"And
in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a
city of Galilee, called Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man
whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's
name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail,
full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among
women. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought
with herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the
angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with
God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth
a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and
shall be called the Son of the most High; and the Lord God shall
give unto him the throne of David his father; and he shall reign
in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be
no end. And Mary said to the angel: How shall this be done,
because I know not man? And the angel answering, said to her: The
Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High
shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God. And behold thy cousin
Elizabeth, she also hath conceived a son in her old age; and this
is the sixth month with her that is called barren: Because no word
shall be impossible with God. And Mary said: Behold the handmaid
of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word. And the angel
departed from her." (Lk. 1:26-38)
"[Jesus] said to them, 'Amen,
I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or wife or
brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God
who will not receive (back) an overabundant return in this present
age and eternal life in the age to come.'" (Lk. 18:29-30)
"Now
in regard to virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord, but I
give my opinion as one who by the Lord's mercy is trustworthy. So
this is what I think best because of the present distress: that it
is a good thing for a person to remain as he is. Are you bound to
a wife? Do not seek a separation. Are you free of a wife? Then do
not look for a wife... 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. An
unmarried woman or a virgin is anxious about the things of the
Lord, so that she may be holy in both body and spirit. A married
woman, on the other hand, is anxious about the things of the
world, how she may please her husband. I am telling you this for
your own benefit, not to impose a restraint upon you, but for the
sake of propriety and adherence to the Lord without distraction.
If anyone thinks he is behaving improperly toward his virgin, and
if a critical moment has come and so it has to be, let him do as
he wishes. He is committing no sin; let them get married. The one
who stands firm in his resolve, however, who is not under
compulsion but has power over his own will, and has made up his
mind to keep his virgin, will be doing well. So then, the one who
marries his virgin does well; the one who does not marry her will
do better. A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But
if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whomever she
wishes, provided that it be in the Lord. She is more blessed,
though, in my opinion, if she remains as she is, and I think that
I too have the Spirit of God." (St. Paul, 1 Cor.
7:25-27,32-40)
"Then
I looked and there was the Lamb standing on Mount Zion, and with
him a hundred and forty-four thousand who had his name and his
Father's name written on their foreheads. I heard a sound from
heaven like the sound of rushing water or a loud peal of thunder.
The sound I heard was like that of harpists playing their harps.
They were singing (what seemed to be) a new hymn before the
throne, before the four living creatures and the elders. No one
could learn this hymn except the hundred and forty-four thousand
who had been ransomed from the earth. These are they who were not
defiled with women; they are virgins and these are the ones who
follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been ransomed as the
firstfruits of the human race for God and the Lamb. On their
lips no deceit has been found; they are unblemished." (Rv.
14:1-5)
"[T]he life of virginity is the image of the
blessedness that awaits us in the life to come." (St.
Gregory of Nyssa)
"[V]irginity
should be esteemed as something more perfect than marriage"
(Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"Virginity
has a special reward hereafter." (St. Augustine, Doctor of
the Church, 5th century
A.D.)
"Virginity
can be lost even by a thought." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the
Church, 5th century
A.D.)
"Virginity
is natural and marriage came after the fall." (St. Jerome,
Doctor of the Church,
5th century A.D.)
"It
is quite right that a good wife be praised, but even better that
pious virgin be preferred." (St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of
the Church, c. 389
A.D.)
"To
sow the seeds of perfect purity and to arouse a desire for
virginity has always belonged to the function of the
priesthood." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"[T]he
Holy Savior who came dome from heaven...deigned to fashion our
salvation in a virginal workshop" (St. Epiphanius of Salamis,
c. 374 A.D.)
"For
virginity is not praiseworthy because it is found in martyrs, but
because itself makes martyrs." (St. Ambrose, Doctor of the
Church)
"Not
because it is virginity is it held in honor, but because it is
consecrated to God." (St. Augustine, Doctor of the Church, 5th century A.D.)
"I
will say it boldly, though God can do all things, He cannot raise
a virgin up after she has fallen." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the
Church, 5th century
A.D.)
"Christ
is holiness... Christ is chastity... Christ is integrity... Christ is
born of a Virgin" (St. Ambrose of Milan, Doctor of the
Church, c. 378
A.D.)
"The Church flourishes, crowned as it is with
so many virgins; and chastity and modesty retain their noble
attraction." (St.
Cyprian of Carthage, 251 A.D.)
"Hold
fast, O virgins! Hold fast what you have begun to be; hold fast
what you shall be. A great reward awaits you, a great recompense
of virtue, the immense advantage of chastity." (St. Cyprian)
"Both
solid reason and the authority of Holy Writ show that neither is
marriage sinful, nor is it to be equaled to the good of virginal
continence or even to that of widowhood." (St.
Augustine, Doctor of the Church)
"[V]irginity
alone is accounted a virtue above chastity, even as magnificence
is reckoned above liberality." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of
the Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"Can anyone esteem any beauty greater
than a virgin's, since she is beloved of her King, approved by her
Judge, dedicated to her Lord, consecrated to her God?" (St.
Ambrose, Doctor of the Church)
"What
a glory it is for the Catholic Church, that she alone has the gift
of this holy state of virginity, which is the source of every
other sacrifice, because nothing but the love of God could inspire
a human heart to vow virginity!" (Gueranger)
"If
any one saith that the marriage state is to be placed above the
state of virginity or of celibacy, and that it is not better and
more blessed to remain in virginity or in celibacy than to be
united in matrimony; let him be anathema." (Council of Trent)
"We address ourselves
now to the virgins. Sublime is their glory, but no less exalted is
their vocation. They are a flower of the Church's sowing, the
pride and ornament of spiritual grace, the most honored portion of
Christ's flock." (St. Cyprian)
"Holy
virginity and that perfect chastity which is consecrated to the
service of God is without doubt among the most precious treasures
which the Founder of the Church has left in heritage to the
society which He established." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra
Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"By
the disciple whom Jesus loved, the Evangelist means himself; not
that the others were not loved, but he was loved more intimately
on account of his estate of chastity; for a Virgin our Lord called
him, and a Virgin he ever remained." (St. Bede the Venerable,
Doctor of the Church)
"In
other sciences men have devised certain practical methods for
cultivating the particular subject; and so, I take it, virginity
is the practical method in the science of the divine life,
furnishing men with the power of assimilating themselves with
spiritual natures." (St. Gregory of Nyssa, 4th century A.D.)
"If
our Redeemer so loved the flower of unimpaired modesty that not
only was He born from a virginal womb, but was also cared for by a
virgin nurse even when He was still an infant crying in the
cradle, by whom, I ask, does He wish his Body to be handled now
that He reigns immense, in heaven?" (St. Peter Damian, Doctor
of the Church)
"That
virginity is good I do agree. But that it is even better than
marriage, this I do confess. And if you wish, I will add that it
is as much better than marriage as heaven is better than earth, as
much better than the angels are better than men. And if there were
any other way in which I could say it even more emphatically, I
would do so." (St. John Chrysostom, Doctor of the Church, c. 391 A.D.)
"'If,
however, you have married a wife, you have not sinned.' It is one
thing not to sin, quite another to do well. 'And if a virgin has
married, she has not sinned.' Not that virgin, however, who has
once and for all dedicated herself to the worship of God; for if
one of these has married she will have damnation because she has
nullified her first faith." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the
Church, c. 393 A.D.)
"[T]he
Virgin Christ and the Virgin Mary have dedicated in themselves the
principles of virginity for both sexes. The Apostles were either
virgins or remained continent after their marriages. Those persons
chosen to be bishops, presbyters, or deacons are either virgins or
widowers; or certainly, having once received the priesthood, they
remain forever chaste." (St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, c.
392 A.D.)
"Students
ought rightly to acknowledge the duties and dignity of Christian
matrimony, which is a sign of the love between Christ and the
Church. Let them recognize, however, the surpassing excellence of
virginity consecrated to Christ, so that with a maturely
deliberate and generous choice they may consecrate themselves to
the Lord by a complete gift of body and soul." (Second
Vatican Council)
"Virginity,
the conduct of the angels, is the property of all incorporeal
nature. We do not say this as speaking ill of marriage, perish the
thought! For we know that the Lord blessed marriage by His
presence, and we know the saying, 'Marriage is honorable and its
bed undefiled.' But we say this by way of recognizing that however
good marriage may be, virginity is better." (St. John of
Damascene, Doctor of the Church, c. 8th century A.D.)
"Men
have from their birth that which is material in virginity, namely
integrity of the flesh and freedom from venereal experience. But
they have not that which is formal in virginity, namely the
purpose of safeguarding this integrity for God's sake, which
purpose gives virginity its character of virtue." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the
Church")
"The
fruit of virginity is not only in these external works, to which
it allows one to devote oneself more easily and fully, but also in
the earnest prayer offered for others and the trials willingly and
generously endured for their sake, which are other very perfect
forms of charity toward one's neighbor. To such also the servants
and spouses of Christ, especially those who live within the
convent or monastery walls, have consecrated their whole
lives." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954
A.D.)
"Can.
604 §1 Similar to these forms of consecrated life is the order of
virgins who, expressing the holy resolution of following Christ
more closely, are consecrated to God by the diocesan bishop
according to the approved liturgical rite, are mystically
betrothed to Christ, the Son of God, and are dedicated to the
service of the Church. §2 Virgins can be associated together to
fulfil their pledge more faithfully, and to assist each other to
serve the Church in a way that befits their state." (1983
Code of Canon Law)
"This
then is the primary purpose, this the central idea of Christian
virginity: to aim only at the divine, to turn thereto the whole
mind and soul; to want to please God in everything, to think of
Him continually, to consecrate body and soul completely to Him.
This is the way the Fathers of the Church have always interpreted
the words of Jesus Christ and the teaching of the Apostle of the
Gentiles; for from the very earliest days of the Church they have
considered virginity a consecration of body and soul offered to
God." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954
A.D.)
"Holy
virginity is a very special gift. Nevertheless, the whole
present-day Church, solemnly and universally represented by the
pastors responsible for her welfare (with due respect, as We have
said, for the discipline of the Eastern Churches), manifested her
absolute faith 'in the Holy Spirit that the grace of leading a
celibate life, so desirable in the priesthood of the New
Testament, will be readily granted by God the Father if those who
by ordination share the priesthood of Christ humbly and earnestly
ask it together with the whole Church.'" (Pope Paul VI, 1967
A.D.)
"Further,
the Fathers of the Church, such as Cyprian, Athanasius, Ambrose,
John Chrysostom, Jerome, Augustine, and many others, have sung the
praises of virginity. And this doctrine of the Fathers, augmented
through the course of centuries by the Doctors of the Church and
the masters of asceticism, helps greatly either to inspire in the
faithful of both sexes the firm resolution of dedicating
themselves to God by the practice of perfect chastity and of
persevering thus till death, or to strengthen them in the
resolution already taken." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra
Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"How
important Christian humility is for the protection of virginity,
no one perhaps has taught more clearly than Augustine. 'Because
perpetual continence, and virginity above all, is a great good in
the saints of God, extreme vigilance must be exercised lest it be
corrupted by pride... The more clearly I see the greatness of this
gift, the more truly do I fear lest it be plundered by thieving
pride. No one therefore protects virginity, but God Himself Who
bestowed it: and 'God is charity.' The guardian therefore of
virginity is charity; the habitat of this guardian is
humility.'" (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas",
1954 A.D.)
"Finally,
virginity consecrated to Christ is in itself such an evidence of
faith in the kingdom of heaven, such a proof of love for our
Divine Redeemer, that there is little wonder if it bears abundant
fruits of sanctity. Innumerable are the virgins and apostles vowed
to perfect chastity who
are the honor of the Church by the lofty sanctity of their lives.
In truth, virginity gives souls a force of spirit capable of
leading them even to martyrdom, if needs be: such is the clear
lesson of history which proposes a whole host of virgins to our
admiration, from Agnes of Rome to Maria Goretti." (Pope Pius
XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"Are
not consecrated virgins, who dedicate their lives to the service
of the poor and the sick, without making any distinction as to
race, social rank, or religion, are not these virgins united
intimately with their miseries and sorrows, and affectionately
drawn to them, as though they were their mothers? And does not the
priest likewise, moved by the example of his Divine Master,
perform the function of a good shepherd, who knows his flock and
calls them by name? Indeed it is from that perfect chastity which
they cultivate that priests and religious men and women find the
motive for giving themselves to all, and love all men with the
love of Christ." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas",
1954 A.D.)
"Augustine
says (De Sancta Virginitate viii) that 'virginity is continence
whereby integrity of the flesh is vowed, consecrated and observed
in honor of the Creator of both soul and flesh.'... Virginity takes
its name apparently from viror [freshness], and just as a thing is
described as fresh and retaining its freshness, so long as it is
not parched by excessive heat, so too, virginity denotes that the
person possessed thereof is unseared by the heat of concupiscence
which is experienced in achieving the greatest bodily pleasure
which is that of [intimate marital relations]. Hence, Ambrose says (De
Sancta Virginitate i,5) that 'virginal chastity is integrity free
of pollution.'" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and
"greatest theologian in the history of the Church")
"The
greatest glory of virgins is undoubtedly to be the living images
of the perfect integrity of the union between the Church and her
divine Spouse. For this society founded by Christ it is a profound
joy that virgins should be the marvelous sign of its sanctity and
fecundity, as St. Cyprian so well expressed it: 'They are the
flower of the Church, the beauty and ornament of spiritual grace,
a subject of joy, a perfect and unsullied homage of praise and
honor, the image of God corresponding to the sanctity of the Lord,
the most illustrious portion of Christ's flock. In them the
glorious fecundity of our mother, the Church, finds expression and
she rejoices; the more the number of virgins increases, the
greater is this mother's joy.'" (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra
Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"[H]oly
virginity surpasses marriage in excellence. Our Divine Redeemer
had already given it to His disciples as a counsel for a more
perfect life. St. Paul, after having said that the father who
gives his daughter in marriage 'does well,' adds immediately 'and
he that gives her not, does better.' Several times in the course
of his comparison between marriage and virginity the Apostle
reveals his mind, and especially in these words: 'for I would that
all men were even as myself... But I say to the unmarried and to
widows: it is good for them if they so continue, even as I.'
Virginity is preferable to marriage then, as We have said, above
all else because it has a higher aim: that is to say, it is a very
efficacious means for devoting oneself wholly to the service of
God, while the heart of married persons will remain more or less
'divided.'" (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas",
1954 A.D.)
"There
is yet another reason why souls desirous of a total consecration
to the service of God and neighbor embrace the state of virginity.
It is, as the holy Fathers have abundantly illustrated, the
numerous advantages for advancement in spiritual life which derive
from a complete renouncement of all sexual pleasure. It is not to
be thought that such pleasure, when it arises from lawful
marriage, is reprehensible in itself; on the contrary, the chaste
use of marriage is ennobled and sanctified by a special sacrament,
as the Fathers themselves have clearly remarked. Nevertheless, it
must be equally admitted that as a consequence of the fall of Adam
the lower faculties of human nature are no longer obedient to
right reason, and may involve man in dishonorable actions. As the
Angelic Doctor has it, the use of marriage 'keeps the soul from
full abandon to the service of God.'" (Pope Pius XII,
"Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"Virginity
fully deserves the name of angelic virtue, which St. Cyprian
writing to virgins affirms: 'What we are to be, you have already
commenced to be. You already possess in this world the glory of
the resurrection; you pass through the world without suffering its
contagion. In preserving virgin chastity, you are the equals of
the angels of God.' To souls, restless for a purer life or
inflamed with the desire to possess the kingdom of heaven,
virginity offers itself as 'a pearl of great price,' for which one
'sells all that he has, and buys it.' Married people and even
those who are captives of vice, at the contact of virgin souls,
often admire the splendor of their transparent purity, and feel
themselves moved to rise above the pleasures of sense. When St.
Thomas states 'that to virginity is awarded the tribute of the
highest beauty,' it is because its example is captivating; and,
besides, by their perfect chastity do not all these men and women
give a striking proof that the mastery of the spirit over the body
is the result of a divine assistance and the sign of proven
virtue?" (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954
A.D.)
"For
virginity is a difficult virtue; that one be able to embrace it
there is needed not only a strong and declared determination of
completely and perpetually abstaining from those legitimate
pleasures derived from marriage; but also a constant vigilance and
struggle to contain and dominate rebellious movements of body and
soul, a flight from the importunings of this world, a struggle to
conquer the wiles of Satan. How true is that saying of Chrysostom:
'the root, and the flower, too, of virginity is a crucified life.'
For virginity, according to Ambrose, is as a sacrificial offering,
and the virgin 'an oblation of modesty, a victim of chastity.'
Indeed, St. Methodius, Bishop of Olympus, compares virgins to
martyrs, and St. Gregory the Great teaches that perfect chastity
substitutes for martyrdom: 'Now, though the era of persecution is
gone, yet our peace has its martyrdom, because though we bend not
the neck to the sword, yet with a spiritual weapon we slay fleshly
desires in our hearts.' Hence a chastity dedicated to God demands
strong and noble souls, souls ready to do battle and conquer 'for
the sake of the kingdom of heaven.'" (Pope Pius XII,
"Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"According
to Jerome (Adversus Jovinianum i) the error of Jovinian consisted
in holding virginity not to be preferable to marriage. This error
is refuted above all by the example of Christ Who both chose a
virgin for His mother, and remained Himself a virgin, and by the
teaching of the Apostle who (1 Cor. 7) counsels virginity
as the greater good. It is also refuted by reason, both because a
Divine good takes precedence of a human good, and because the good
of the soul is preferable to the good of the body, and again
because the good of the contemplative life is better than that of
the active life. Now virginity is directed to the good of the soul
in respect of the contemplative life, which consists in thinking
'on the things of the Lord', whereas marriage is directed to the
good of the body, namely the bodily increase of the human race,
and belongs to the active life, since the man and woman who
embrace the married life have to think 'on the things of the
world,' as the Apostle says (1 Cor. 7:34). Without doubt
therefore virginity is preferable to conjugal continence."
(St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the Church and "greatest theologian
in the history of the Church")
"Virginity
brings us nearer to God. It seeks for a model in God Himself, says
St. Ambrose, for the eternal Father is virgin and Father. God,
also wishing to become Incarnate, willed that He should be born of
a virgin. God has also an extraordinary love and tenderness for
pure souls; it is to these, in particular, that He confers or
reveals His secrets, or on whom He deigns to bestow His favors.
Jesus Christ bestowed many graces on Peter on account of his zeal;
but it was the virgin St. John who was permitted to lean on the
breast and heart of Jesus; it was he who had the privilege of
entering His divine sanctuary, and it was he from whom He hid none
of His most important secrets. Confessors, martyrs, and apostles
have great privileges; but it appears that to virgins only He has
entrusted the privilege of following the Lamb (Rv. 14:4)...
Virginity is that precious treasure to guard which so many
generous souls have sacrificed their lives. The preservation of
this treasure is difficult, but the loss of it is irreparable; one
may recover grace when lost by sin, but virginity once lost can
never be restored. Nevertheless, nothing is more easy to lose, and
we so readily expose ourselves to lose this treasure, nay, it
seems to me that we seek to lose it, and we even make a merit of
losing that which ought to be a subject of the most poignant
grief." (St. Astere)
"For
the same reason the Fathers exhort virgins to love their Divine
Spouse more ardently than they would love a husband had they
married, and always in their thoughts and actions to fulfill His
will. Augustine writes to virgins: 'Love with all your hearts Him
Who is the most beautiful of the sons of men: you are free, your
hearts are not fettered by conjugal bonds...if, then, you would
owe your husbands great love, how great is the love you owe Him
because of Whom you have willed to have not husbands? Let Him Who
was fastened to the cross be securely fastened to your hearts.'
And this in other respects too is in harmony with the sentiments
and resolutions which the Church herself requires of virgins on
the day they are solemnly consecrated to God by inviting them to
recite these words: 'The kingdom of this earth and all worldly
trappings I have valued as worthless for love of Our Lord Jesus
Christ, Whom I have seen, loved, believed, and preferred above all
else.' It is nothing else but love of Him that sweetly constrains
the virgin to consecrate her body and soul entirely to her Divine
Redeemer; thus St. Methodius, Bishop of Olympus, places these
beautiful words on her lips: 'You yourself, O Christ, are my all.
For you I keep myself chaste, and holding aloft my shining lamp I
run to meet you, my Spouse.' Certainly it is the love of Christ
that urges a virgin to retire behind convent walls and remain
there all her life, in order to contemplate and love the heavenly
Spouse more easily and without hindrance; certainly it is the same
love that strongly inspires her to spend her life and strength in
works of mercy for the sake of her neighbor." (Pope Pius XII,
"Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"As
for those men 'who were not defiled with women, being virgins,'
the Apostle John asserts that, 'they follow the Lamb wherever he
goes.' Let us meditate, then, on the exhortation Augustine gives
to all men of this class: 'You follow the Lamb because the body of
the Lamb is indeed virginal... Rightly do you follow Him in
virginity of heart and body wherever He goes. For what does
following mean but imitation? Christ has suffered for us, leaving
us an example, as the Apostle Peter says 'that we should follow in
his footsteps'.' Hence all these disciples and spouses of Christ
embraced the state of virginity, as St. Bonaventure says, 'in
order to become like unto Christ the spouse, for that state makes
virgins like unto Him.' It would hardly satisfy their burning love
for Christ to be united with Him by the bonds of affection, but
this love had perforce to express itself by the imitation of His
virtues, and especially by conformity to His way of life, which
was lived completely for the benefit and salvation of the human
race. If priests, religious men and women, and others who in any
way have vowed themselves to the divine service, cultivate perfect
chastity, it is certainly for the reason that their Divine Master
remained all His life a virgin. St. Fulgentius exclaims: 'This is
the only-begotten Son of God, the only-begotten Son of a virgin
also, the only spouse of all holy virgins, the fruit, the glory,
the gift of holy virginity, whom holy virginity brought forth
physically, to whom holy virginity is wedded spiritually, by whom
holy virginity is made fruitful and kept inviolate, by whom she is
adorned, to remain ever beautiful, by whom she is crowned, to
reign forever glorious.'" (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra
Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"To
all of these beloved sons and daughters who in any way have
consecrated their bodies and souls to God, We address Ourselves,
and exhort them earnestly to strengthen their holy resolution and
be faithful to it. However, since there are some who, straying
from the right path in this matter, so exalt marriage as to rank
it ahead of virginity and thus depreciate chastity consecrated to
God and clerical celibacy, Our apostolic duty demands that We now
in a particular manner declare and uphold the Church's teaching on
the sublime state of virginity, and so defend Catholic truth
against these errors. First of all, We think it should be noted
that the Church has taken what is capital in her teaching on
virginity from the very lips of her Divine Spouse. For when the
disciples thought that the obligations and burdens of marriage,
which their Master's discourse had made clear, seemed extremely
heavy, they said to Him: 'If the case stands so between man and
wife, it is better not to marry at all.' Jesus Christ replied that
His ideal is not understood by everybody but only by those who
have received the gift; for some are hindered from marriage
because of some defect of nature, others because of the violence
and malice of men, while still others freely abstain of their own
will, and this 'for the kingdom of heaven.' And He concludes with
these words, 'He that can take it, let him take it.' By these
words the divine Master is speaking not of bodily impediments to
marriage, but of a resolution freely made to abstain all one's
life from marriage and [intimate] pleasure. For in likening those who
of their own free will have determined to renounce these pleasures
to those who by nature or the violence of men are forced to do so,
is not the Divine Redeemer teaching us that chastity to be really
perfect must be perpetual?" (Pope
Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"We
feel the deepest joy at the thought of the innumerable army of
virgins and apostles who, from the first centuries of the Church
up to our own day, have given up marriage to devote themselves
more easily and fully to the salvation of their neighbor for the
love of Christ, and have thus been enabled to undertake and carry
through admirable works of religion and charity. We by no means
wish to detract from the merits and apostolic fruits of the active
members of Catholic Action: by their zealous efforts they can
often touch souls that priests and religious cannot gain.
Nevertheless, works of charity are for the most part the field of
action of consecrated persons. These generous souls are to be
found laboring among men of every age and condition, and when they
fall worn out or sick, they bequeath their sacred mission to
others who take their place. Hence it often happens that a child,
immediately after birth, is placed in the care of consecrated
persons, who supply in so far as they can for a mother's love; at
the age of reason he is entrusted to educators who see to his
Christian instruction together with the development of his mind
and the formation of his character; if he is sick, the child or
adult will find nurses moved by the love of Christ who will care
for him with unwearying devotion; the orphan, the person fallen
into material destitution or moral abjection, the prisoner, will
not be abandoned. Priests, religious, consecrated virgins will see
in him a suffering member of Christ's Mystical Body, and recall
the words of the Divine Redeemer: 'For I was hungry, and you gave
me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a
stranger, and you took me in; naked, and you covered me; sick, and
you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me...Amen I say
to you, as long you did it to one of these my least brethren, you
did it to me.' Who can ever praise enough the missionaries who
toil for the conversion of the pagan multitudes, exiles from their
native country, or the nuns who render them indispensable
assistance?' To each and every one [as applicable] We gladly apply these words of
Our Apostolic Exhortation, 'Menti Nostrae:' '...by this law of
celibacy the priest not only does not abdicate his paternity, but
increases it immensely, for he begets not for an earthly and
transitory life but for the heavenly and eternal one.'" (Pope
Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954 A.D.)
"This
doctrine of the excellence of virginity and of celibacy and of
their superiority over the married state was, as We have already
said, revealed by our Divine Redeemer and by the Apostle of the
Gentiles; so too, it was solemnly defined as a dogma of divine
faith by the holy council of Trent, and explained in the same way
by all the holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church. Finally, We and
Our Predecessors have often expounded it and earnestly advocated
it whenever occasion offered. But recent attacks on this
traditional doctrine of the Church, the danger they constitute,
and the harm they do to the souls of the faithful lead Us, in
fulfillment of the duties of Our charge, to take up the matter
once again in this Encyclical Letter, and to reprove these errors
which are so often propounded under a specious appearance of
truth. First of all, it is against common sense, which the Church
always holds in esteem, to consider the sexual instinct as the
most important and the deepest of human tendencies, and to
conclude from this that man cannot restrain it for his whole life
without danger to his vital nervous system, and consequently
without injuring the harmony of his personality. As St. Thomas
very rightly observes, the deepest natural instinct is the
instinct of self-preservation; the sexual instinct comes second.
In addition, it is for the rational inclination, which is the
distinguishing privilege of our nature, to regulate these
fundamental instincts and by dominating to ennoble them... The
virtue of chastity does not mean that we are insensible to the
urge of concupiscence, but that we subordinate it to reason and
the law of grace, by striving wholeheartedly after what is noblest
in human and Christian life... We have recently with sorrow
censured the opinion of those who contend that marriage is the
only means of assuring the natural development and perfection of
the human personality. For there are those who maintain that the
grace of the sacrament, conferred ex opere operato, renders the
use of marriage so holy as to be a fitter instrument than
virginity for uniting souls with God; for marriage is a sacrament,
but not virginity. We denounce this doctrine as a dangerous error.
Certainly, the sacrament grants the married couple the grace to
accomplish holily the duties of their married state, and it
strengthens the bonds of mutual affection that unite them; but the
purpose of its institution was not to make the employment of
marriage the means, most suitable in itself, for uniting the souls
of the husband and wife with God by the bonds of charity. Or
rather does not the Apostle Paul admit that they have the right of
abstaining for a time from the use of marriage, so that they may
be more free for prayer (1 Cor. 7:5), precisely because such abstinence gives
greater freedom to the soul which wishes to give itself over to
spiritual thoughts and prayer to God? Finally, it may not be
asserted, as some do, that the 'mutual help,' which is sought in
Christian marriage, is a more effective aid in striving for
personal sanctity than the solitude of the heart, as they term it,
of virgins and celibates. For although all those who have embraced
a life of perfect chastity have deprived themselves of the
expression of human love permitted in the married state,
nonetheless it cannot thereby be affirmed that because of this
privation they have diminished and despoiled the human
personality. For they receive from the Giver of heavenly gifts
something spiritual which far exceeds that 'mutual help' which
husband and wife confer on each other. They consecrate themselves
to Him Who is their source, and Who shares with them His divine
life, and thus personality suffers no loss, but gains immensely.
For who, more than the virgin, can apply to himself that marvelous
phrase of the Apostle Paul: 'I live, now not I; but Christ liveth
in me.' For this reason the Church has most wisely held that the
celibacy of her priests must be retained; she knows it is and will
be a source of spiritual graces by which they will be ever more
closely united with God. We feel it opportune, moreover, to touch
somewhat briefly here on the error of those who, in order to turn
boys and girls away from Seminaries and Religious Institutes,
strive to impress upon their minds that the Church today has a
greater need of the help and of the profession of Christian virtue
on the part of those who, united in marriage, lead a life together
with others in the world, than of priests and consecrated virgins,
who, because of their vow of chastity, are, as it were, withdrawn
from human society. No one can fail to see, Venerable Brothers,
how utterly false and harmful is such an opinion. Of course, it is
not Our intention to deny that Catholic spouses, because of the
example of their Christian life, can, wherever they live and
whatever be their circumstances, produce rich and salutary fruits
as a witness to their virtue. Yet whoever for this reason argues
that it is preferable to live in matrimony than to consecrate
oneself completely to God, without doubt perverts the right
order." (Pope Pius XII, "Sacra Virginitas", 1954
A.D.)
Also
See: Celibacy
/ Chastity | Virginity
(Catholic Life Reflections) | Religious
/ Religious Life / Religious Institutes | Why
Priestly Celibacy? | Marriage,
Family & Home (Catholic Life Reflections) | Celibacy/Virginity
(Topical Scripture)
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