Friday, October 19, 2012
342. Are all obliged to get married?
(Comp
342) Matrimony is not an obligation for everyone, especially since God
calls some men and women to follow the Lord Jesus in a life of virginity or of
celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of Heaven. These renounce the great good
of Matrimony to concentrate on the things of the Lord and seek to please him.
They become a sign of the absolute supremacy of Christ’s love and of the ardent
expectation of his glorious return.
“In brief”
(CCC 1619) Virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven
is an unfolding of baptismal grace, a powerful sign of the supremacy of the
bond with Christ and of the ardent expectation of his return, a sign which also
recalls that marriage is a reality of this present age which is passing away
(Cf. Mk 12:25; 1 Cor 7:31).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1618) Christ is the center of all Christian life. The
bond with him takes precedence over all other bonds, familial or social (Cf. Lk
14:26; Mk 10:28-31). From the very beginning of the Church there have been men
and women who have renounced the great good of marriage to follow the Lamb wherever
he goes, to be intent on the things of the Lord, to seek to please him, and to
go out to meet the Bridegroom who is coming (Cf. Rev 14:4; 1 Cor 7:32; Mt
2:56). Christ himself has invited certain persons to follow him in this way of
life, of which he remains the model: "For there are eunuchs who have been
so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and
there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom
of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive it" (Mt
19:12).
Reflection
(CCC 1620) Both the sacrament of Matrimony and virginity for
the Kingdom of God come from the Lord himself. It is he who gives them meaning
and grants them the grace which is indispensable for living them out in
conformity with his will (Cf. Mt 19:3-12). Esteem of virginity for the sake of
the kingdom (Cf. LG 42; PC 12; OT 10) and the Christian understanding of
marriage are inseparable, and they reinforce each other: Whoever denigrates
marriage also diminishes the glory of virginity. Whoever praises it makes
virginity more admirable and resplendent. What appears good only in comparison
with evil would not be truly good. The most excellent good is something even
better than what is admitted to be good (St. John Chrysostom, De virg. 10, 1: PG 48, 540; Cf. John
Paul II, FC 16).
(Next question: How is the sacrament of Matrimony celebrated?)
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