Quodcumque – Serious Christianity Guest Post: Consecrated celibacy – a personal journey
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Fantastic and deeply moving conversation between Marcus and Stanley. Thank you so much to both men.
Vows of committed celibacy aren’t an act of dedication as the author of the Quodcumque piece believes but are, I suggest, an impediment to dedication.
I fear that the author has just swapped the supposed certainty and permanence of marriage for a different type of certainty and permance without realising that true dedication to the Lord is about a willingness to do anything any time He calls.
Kate’s comment in my humble opinion is both unkind and lacking in grace. I have read the persons account, and thank her for her honesty, and deep commitment to her celibate life. Prepared to be guided in her journey by the Bishop’s guardian,
. God Bless her, and those who feel called to the celibate life.
Fr John Emlyn
A celibate life is a noble thing.
My comment relates to the vows – and the Gospels are clear that we shouldn’t make vows anyway.
So, Kate, you are obviously not a priest, otherwise, you would have been required to ‘vow’ (promise) to obey your Ordinary (local bishop) on ordination. Also, the rite of Christian Marriage requires the enactment of ‘vows’. Do you not approve of this Church tradition? I am in awe of Religious who DO make their Vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience. I got close to making these vows myself until I realised I probably would not be able to keep them. Dedicated Religious are a gift to the Church. Let us not downplay their role in dedicating themselves to celibacy/chastity if… Read more »
I have some sympathy for Kate’s point of view. We can have an over-optimistic and unrealistic regard for vows.
All priests (and indeed Lay Ministers) make vows of obedience to their Bishop. But are we saying that all priests always obey their sacred vows, and never slag off the Bishop behind his/her back? How many marriages start in vows and end in divorce. And how many catholic priests keep their vows of celibacy?
I like Kate’s ambivalence about vows, and Kate is right to remind us that in the Sermon on the Mount, Christ himself preached against them.
The question of what makes a vow a vow and not just a statement or an agreement seems a little murky to me. Is “Will you?” “Yes, I will” an oath? Jesus says “Let your yes be yes and your no be no; anything more than that comes of the evil one”. It seems to me that “Will you?” “Yes, I will” falls within the scope of what Jesus permits, but “Will you?” “Yes, I will, and my hand on this Bible to prove it!” does not. But then again, I could be wrong. I have the greatest respect for… Read more »
Thank you Tim.
Thanks you Tim, I agree. It is so easy to make a vow with every intention of keeping it, but then one year or twenty years down the line things have changed. To me a vow with a time limit or a get-out-clause is sign of honesty and integrity,not weakness.
Tim, likewise. Neither am I. However, God understands us better than we do ourselves. And what we may earnestly desire to do – at the point of our initial commitment – can actually be changed by our experience. Does God condemn us for that? I think not. HOWEVER, I still do thank God for those clergy and Religious who sincerely want to vow their lives and service and are able to keep their vows. They are an outstanding witness to the power of God over our common human weakness. I remember a wise old woman once telling me that she… Read more »
I could not, as a matter of conscience, take the vows expected of ordinands. I believe that taking such a vow is contrary to the Gospels.
One of the advantages of civil partnerships is that no vows are required but I am less troubled by the marriage vow, not least because Jesus expressly said that marriage is permitted
“Will you?” “I will, with God’s help?” Is that a vow? We could split hairs over that, I guess. But for myself, I find my ordination commitments very helpful. I go back over them regularly, and I find they help me concentrate on what’s important and what’s not important in my ministry. Over the years I’ve noticed that when I focus on these simple commitments I have a lot more joy and satisfaction – and fruitfulness – in my ministry. But when I allow myself to be distracted by other stuff (when you’re in a parish lots of people have… Read more »