This is (from left to right) myself, Neil Atzinger of Lansing, Michigan and James Baron of Colorado Springs, Colorado. We are just about to start our tour of the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven, Belgium. Taken during Easter week.
This year has flown by, especially this spring semester. In less than fifty days I'll be done with my first year of Theology and no more than three years until ordination to the priesthood, God willing. There is a part of me that cannot wait to be a priest in the diocese of Duluth, but another part that is a bit more sober, meaning I am understanding more and more the gravity of being a priest. What comes with that is a desire and thirst to drink in all I can in these years before priesthood. I will never have this much time again to devote to prayer and study. It is a time that must not be wasted. There is a temptation for us seminarians to just slip by, to pass the exams, to jump through the hoops of formation without ever having integrated it into ourselves. You, the men and women of the Church deserve more than that from your priests.
I have been reflecting on how blessed I am. I hope I am someone who reflects gratitude for the gifts God has given me through the hands of others. I am twenty-six years old. Friends of mine are married, have kids and are working just to survive. When I'm hungry, I just go down to the refectory to eat, I don't have to worry about food being there. Through the hard work of so many others like yourselves I am able to do this. I am able to study what I love, I am able to focus on being a better person and as a result a better priest in the future. Yeah being away from home is tough at times, yes, the sacrifice of celibacy pricks at times, but there is no reason for self-pity or ingratitude in the life of a seminarian. And in general, I pray that you never feel sorry for priests or seminarians. Because that means that either the priest isn't living a joyful life, or that you have a distorted view of the priesthood including celibacy. Celibacy is such a great gift to the Church and to priests. It is not something that should be looked at as a handicap or an unfortunate circumstance a priest finds himself in.
I'll share a few thoughts on celibacy. These a few insights Fr. Barron a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago shared with us just last week.
1. Celibacy and Apostolic freedom
Its hard to think that Mother Theresa, St. Thomas Aquinas, or St. Francis of Assisi could have done the things they did if they were married with a family.
St. Paul understood this, "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." 1 Cor 7:32-33
As a celibate the priest is able to devote himself fully to the people of the Church. He can truly be their Father. A father of spiritual children.
Don't get me wrong, a husband who works to please his wife and visa versa, most often is pleasing the Lord as well. But I hope you can see the difference.
2. Celibacy and Levitical purity
Almost every culture has at one point has identified celibacy with holiness (simply meaning set apart), purity, the sacred. From the vestal virgins of roman antiquity, whose job was to tend sacred fire, to the celibate monks of Buddhism and Hinduism.
Like the Levitical priests in the Old Testament, the priest is a bridge between God and man. The Levitical priests where the only ones allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was housed, where God would come to dwell. With Christ that veil was torn. There is no longer a separation between us and God. Through the sacraments, through grace, we are able to meet God, most especially in heave. The priest is the bridge of the material to the spiritual. It is obvious that the priest is material, we can see him, but by being celibate there is a supernatural spirituality that is his. It is fitting that the priest should be set apart in this way as a mediator between God and man.
This in no way should imply a Manichean view (soul good, body bad) of the body . We believe God made all things good, most especially our bodies. But we can see that there is something supernatural involved with celibacy. This makes sense, the celibate needs God's grace to persevere in this life. This brings us to my last point.
3. Celibacy and way of attachment
Attachment- (n) anything we are convinced we cannot live without
Poverty, Chastity (celibacy here), Obedience, the promises that the priest makes, allows the priest to live radically unattached. The Celibate is able to witness to the ultimate end that we are all going for. His or her witness says, "Marriage is great, but there is more to reality than just this life. I am waiting for the ultimate wedding feast in heaven." The celibate is a sign of heaven.
You can tell a lot about a person by whether they want the celibate to succeed or not. Those that don't want the celibate to succeed are those that don't believe in God or his grace, and by the celibate failing they are able to say that this is evidence of their unbelief. However, those that pray and root for the celibate are those that want to believe in God and his grace. That what the celibate is pointing towards actually exists.
This next quote is meant to support celibacy, but it is meant for all, even those with the vocation to the married life.
"Live your life in a way that is totally ridiculous if God doesn't exist. Live in a way that only makes sense if God exists. In this way you will be the greatest witness to His existence."
