Celibacy, chastity, charity

“VOS estis lux mundi.” That’s Latin for “Your are the

light of the world,” words addressed by Christ to his disciples,

telling them how they ought to be. (cfr. Mt 5,14 ) Pope Francis used

these words as title to his Motu Proprio Apostolic Letter that deals

with how the Church officials should go about cases of clerical sexual

abuses, a screaming scandal in recent times. This was released on May

7, 2019.

            In that document, the dioceses are asked to propose a

system on how to report, investigate, judge and do other actions

pertinent to such delicate cases. I am sure that once this system is

put in place, there will be more transparency on the part of the

Church regarding these cases, and hopefully will lessen, if not

eliminate, these scandals.

  

            Of course, that wish may largely be considered as a pipe

dream. Man is man and whether one is a priest or layperson, a Pope or

a farmer, very honorable in stature or not, we should not forget that

we are all made of the same stuff. We have the same hormones and

libido running through our body, giving impulses and urges, etc.,

especially during one’s adolescent stage when things can get volcanic

in intensity.

  

            We may have impressive qualities, but let’s never forget

that we all have feet of clay. We have a treasure in vessels of clay.

The person who may look like an angel and a virgin during the day may

turn into a demon and a maniac in the night.

  

            We just have to be realistic about this condition of ours

and try our best to do something about it. There’s always hope. God is

always in control. Where sin has abounded, God’s grace has abounded

even more. (cfr. Rom 5,20)

  

            Yes, that’s all that we can do—just try and try, struggle

all the way like a good soldier. But we actually can do a lot in this

department. First, we have to understand that especially for priests

and bishops, celibacy is a matter of living chastity well, and

chastity in turn is a result of genuine love that comes from God, and

not from the urgings of the flesh, nor the many seductive

conditionings of the environment, etc.

  

            This basic equation should be imparted as early as

possible in everyone, starting in the family which is the first center

of formation for all of us, and especially when one starts his

priestly formation in the seminaries.

  

            Let’s hope that parents take this responsibility

seriously, especially these days when there are more challenges and

issues regarding human sexuality. Most likely, parents themselves also

need to be given the proper formation in this regard by the Church.

  

            The seminary formators and spiritual directors should

already be proven experts in this area and masters in the virtue of

priestly celibacy, chastity and love. Let’s hope that with their mere

presence and example, seminarians can already get inspired and feel

reinforced in their desire to live the virtue of chastity in celibacy,

a virtue that should spring out of genuine love.

  

            The formators and spiritual directors should really get to

know the seminarians thoroughly well, and give them the proper

guidance. They should try their best to win the confidence and

friendship of the seminarians so that a candid look into the

seminarians’ spiritual life, especially in the area of continence,

chastity and capacity for celibacy can be assessed properly.

  

            The formators and spiritual directors should know whether

there is genuine love for God and souls in the seminarians’ heart, or

at least know how to help them develop such love. They should know at

least the state in which these virtues are lived by the seminarians,

so that the proper guidance can be given.

  

            This is, of course, a delicate task to carry out, for

which a lot of spiritual and supernatural means have to be used

without neglecting the appropriate human means.