Theology of the Body Week 10
The Sacramentality of Marriage and Celibacy for the Kingdom
“The man and his wife were naked, yet they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:25
“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
“Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.”
Gaudium et Spes 48
The Sacramentality of Marriage and Celibacy for the Kingdom
“The man and his wife were naked, yet they felt no shame.” Genesis 2:25
“’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the Church.” Ephesians 5:31-32
“Authentic married love is caught up into divine love.”
Gaudium et Spes 48
Recap of our study thus far:
1. God created men and women in His image and likeness. God is Love, and we are made to reflect and point to His Love.
2. Once again, through the union of a man and woman in marriage, God makes visible His love for mankind and His plan to be eternally united with us in Heaven.
3. Until sin entered the world, man and woman knew how to love one another perfectly – without causing hurt or shame
4. Women are called to be receptive and know their beauty is a reflection to others of Heaven
5. Women are also supposed to guard and protect their bodies from objectification and shame because a woman has the supreme gift of bringing life into the world (whether spiritual or physical)
6. Men are to sacrifice for women and “lay down their life” for them, just as Christ did on the cross – to be a warrior
7. Men are also supposed to initiate love with women by pursuing them, and to protect women from their own lust – by treating them respectfully and allowing God to perfect their sexual desires
8. Why does the church say that the only place for sex is marriage?
9. Why is sex out of marriage a lie?
10. How is the body a sacrament?
11. Why do we need to practice chastity in marriage?
God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Marriage is important because it is not simply a part of God’s plan, marriage IS God’s plan
2. CCC 1617 “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath which proceeds the wedding feast, the Eucharist.”
3. God created us so that we could participate in and experience his love and thus become eternally united with Him, who is love!
4. Marriage is an icon of the Trinity and our eternal union with God
5. Marriage, primarily through the act of nuptial union, embodies or makes visible the beauty and perfection of God’s plan of salvation. Why?
The Sacrament of Marriage
1. The inexhaustible question: what is a sacrament?
2. Marriage is the “primordial sacrament” JPII In other words it is the original sacrament.
3. Marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and the Church Ephesians 5:31-32
4. Simply put, God reveals Himself to our world through marriage
5. But, Sacraments are more than symbols – they are signs that actually communicate or participate in what they symbolize, which in turn conveys GRACE
6. A marriage becomes more than a symbol and is elevated to a sacrament when both man and woman are baptized. Through their baptisms, both man and woman become a member of the Bride of Christ, who is united to her spouse, thus becoming one body (The Body of Christ!)
7. Because they are members of the Bride and Body of Christ, a Christian marriage is not merely a symbol of the love between Christ and the Church – it is a real participation in it!
8. On a side note, does anyone know when a marriage actually becomes valid in the eyes of the Church? Consummation! Consumatem Est!
9. CCC 1123 “The purpose of a sacrament is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God.”
10. Where does the grace come in? Through the nuptial union (sex) and through the day-to-day love and sacrifice of being husband and wife
11. This said, what happens when the infatuation wears off??? What is true love in a marriage, anyway?
12. The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, NOT a contract!
13. We can break, or go against, a contract and then the contract is void
14. We can go against a covenant, but the covenant doesn’t go away
Ephesians 5:21-32
1. We must approach St. Paul’s words with new eyes because this passage is the basis for our study on marriage
2. Through the spousal analogy of Christ and the Church, St. Paul revolutionizes the reality of marriage
The Model Marriage
3. So, what does the marriage between Christ and the Church look like?
4. Christ sacrificed Himself for His Bride, the Church, and the Church accepts and submits to His love and bears life to the world.
Submit? Sign me up!
5. Ephesians 5:22-24: the most misunderstood passage in the Bible!
6. The word “submission” means “under the mission.” In other words, the woman (who is the model for humanity, remember) is under the mission of her husband
7. So, what is the mission of the husband?
8. Ephesians 5:27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy…”
9. How did Christ love the Church? HE DIED FOR HER!!!
10. If the mission of the husband is to sacrifice and “die” for his wife on a daily basis, what woman wouldn’t want to be under this mission?!
11. Remember: the love between a husband and wife must be reciprocal. It is not passive or forceful…it is a shared, equal, and mutual love
This is a Great Mystery
12. Through the earthly understanding of husband and wife we can only begin to understand the union between God and humanity, but how awesome that the “great mystery” of our redemption and salvation is made visible through marriage!!!
13. Ephesians 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave His father and mother and be united to His wife and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
14. St. Paul directly quotes Genesis 2:24
15. Not only does this refer to a man and a woman, but also calls attention to what Christ did for His Bride: Jesus left His Father in Heaven and His mother on earth and was joined to His Bride, the Church…where? The Cross!
Consummatem Est!
John 19:30
PART II
Vocations
1. We all have the same call to LOVE
2. Your vocation is the path designated by God that is most likely to get you to holiness and our eternal goal, which is HEAVEN
3. What we are learning in this study on sexuality is how to get to Heaven, because your vocation is your path to Heaven and your sexuality is how you live your vocation!
4. How seriously will we take our vocations?
5. Since we are all called to self-sacrificial love, then the question of vocation is:
Who am I called to pour myself out, in love, to?
Celibacy For the Kingdom
1. “Celibacy for the kingdom signifies ‘the risen man, in whom there will be revealed…the absolute and eternal nuptial meaning of the glorified body in union with God himself.’” March 24, 1982
2. Some are called to an earthly marriage, which will point to and prepare them for the heavenly marriage. Others are called to skip the earthly marriage and participate here and now in the heavenly marriage to the Lamb through celibacy.
3. The celibate vocation is not what you give up, but what you embrace. Celibacy “skips” the sacrament of marriage and partakes in the real thing, a union with Christ.
4. If it is “not good for man to be alone,” Christian celibacy reveals that the ultimate fulfillment of solitude is found only in union with God.
5. Celibacy is not the same as chastity…we are all called to be chaste, no matter what our vocation.
6. “The Kingdom of God is at hand…”Mark 1:15 --> Celibacy proclaims to the world that the Kingdom of God is here!
7. The sacrament of Holy Orders, in turn, is where the spiritual reality of Heaven is realized through the physical means of the priest and the Catholic Church.
8. Celibacy does not demean or devalue marriage; rather it reveals its true goodness by demonstrating what marriage leads to.
9. Celibacy and marriage are complementary. We can’t understand, or even live, without one or the other! “Each one has his own special gift from God, one of a kind and one of another.” 1Corinthians 7:7
Why Celibate Male Priesthood?
1. “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:12
2. Celibacy is not a contradiction to everything we’ve talked about – it is the fulfillment!
3. Celibacy is not un-natural, it is super-natural. It is a grace given by God to carry out a call to love and make a self-sacrificial gift.
4. Christ was not married to one particular woman because he came to marry the whole human race. The Church is his eternal Bride.
5. Ordained priests become a sacrament of Christ, acting in persona Christi.
6. They make the love of the heavenly Bridegroom efficaciously present to the Church, particularly in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
“This is my body, which will be given up for you.” Luke 22:19
7. Celibacy gives priests the freedom to sacrifice completely for his bride, which is the Church. How hard would is be to “lay down your life” for a wife, children, the church, and all your priestly duties?
8. Celibacy also is not the cause of sexual problems/scandals. It is the grave misunderstanding of our sexuality that must be addressed.
Why Can’t Women Be Priests?
1. Equality between the sexes doesn’t mean sameness It’s the fundamental difference of the sexes that reveals the great “nuptial mystery” – a mystery that brings life into the world
2. Christ was very controversial and didn’t care about racial or gender barriers. He could have chosen female priests…so, why didn’t he?
3. The priest “stands in” for Christ, who is the Bridegroom. If a woman were to do this, then the symbolism would become that of bride to bride. Is this life giving?
4. Again, in a sacrament the physical must point to the spiritual. The physical fatherhood must precede the ability to become a spiritual father.
5. This is why we can call a priest Father, and how religious fulfill their call to marriage. Through ordination or religious vows, priests and religious become the husband of the church or the wife of Christ and can thus bear spiritual children.
Let us open our hearts and ask God to guide us in our call to love.
"Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
1. God created men and women in His image and likeness. God is Love, and we are made to reflect and point to His Love.
2. Once again, through the union of a man and woman in marriage, God makes visible His love for mankind and His plan to be eternally united with us in Heaven.
3. Until sin entered the world, man and woman knew how to love one another perfectly – without causing hurt or shame
4. Women are called to be receptive and know their beauty is a reflection to others of Heaven
5. Women are also supposed to guard and protect their bodies from objectification and shame because a woman has the supreme gift of bringing life into the world (whether spiritual or physical)
6. Men are to sacrifice for women and “lay down their life” for them, just as Christ did on the cross – to be a warrior
7. Men are also supposed to initiate love with women by pursuing them, and to protect women from their own lust – by treating them respectfully and allowing God to perfect their sexual desires
8. Why does the church say that the only place for sex is marriage?
9. Why is sex out of marriage a lie?
10. How is the body a sacrament?
11. Why do we need to practice chastity in marriage?
God’s Plan of Salvation
1. Marriage is important because it is not simply a part of God’s plan, marriage IS God’s plan
2. CCC 1617 “The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath which proceeds the wedding feast, the Eucharist.”
3. God created us so that we could participate in and experience his love and thus become eternally united with Him, who is love!
4. Marriage is an icon of the Trinity and our eternal union with God
5. Marriage, primarily through the act of nuptial union, embodies or makes visible the beauty and perfection of God’s plan of salvation. Why?
The Sacrament of Marriage
1. The inexhaustible question: what is a sacrament?
2. Marriage is the “primordial sacrament” JPII In other words it is the original sacrament.
3. Marriage is a symbol of the union between Christ and the Church Ephesians 5:31-32
4. Simply put, God reveals Himself to our world through marriage
5. But, Sacraments are more than symbols – they are signs that actually communicate or participate in what they symbolize, which in turn conveys GRACE
6. A marriage becomes more than a symbol and is elevated to a sacrament when both man and woman are baptized. Through their baptisms, both man and woman become a member of the Bride of Christ, who is united to her spouse, thus becoming one body (The Body of Christ!)
7. Because they are members of the Bride and Body of Christ, a Christian marriage is not merely a symbol of the love between Christ and the Church – it is a real participation in it!
8. On a side note, does anyone know when a marriage actually becomes valid in the eyes of the Church? Consummation! Consumatem Est!
9. CCC 1123 “The purpose of a sacrament is to sanctify men, to build up the body of Christ and, finally, to give worship to God.”
10. Where does the grace come in? Through the nuptial union (sex) and through the day-to-day love and sacrifice of being husband and wife
11. This said, what happens when the infatuation wears off??? What is true love in a marriage, anyway?
12. The Sacrament of Marriage is a covenant, NOT a contract!
13. We can break, or go against, a contract and then the contract is void
14. We can go against a covenant, but the covenant doesn’t go away
Ephesians 5:21-32
1. We must approach St. Paul’s words with new eyes because this passage is the basis for our study on marriage
2. Through the spousal analogy of Christ and the Church, St. Paul revolutionizes the reality of marriage
The Model Marriage
3. So, what does the marriage between Christ and the Church look like?
4. Christ sacrificed Himself for His Bride, the Church, and the Church accepts and submits to His love and bears life to the world.
Submit? Sign me up!
5. Ephesians 5:22-24: the most misunderstood passage in the Bible!
6. The word “submission” means “under the mission.” In other words, the woman (who is the model for humanity, remember) is under the mission of her husband
7. So, what is the mission of the husband?
8. Ephesians 5:27 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her to make her holy…”
9. How did Christ love the Church? HE DIED FOR HER!!!
10. If the mission of the husband is to sacrifice and “die” for his wife on a daily basis, what woman wouldn’t want to be under this mission?!
11. Remember: the love between a husband and wife must be reciprocal. It is not passive or forceful…it is a shared, equal, and mutual love
This is a Great Mystery
12. Through the earthly understanding of husband and wife we can only begin to understand the union between God and humanity, but how awesome that the “great mystery” of our redemption and salvation is made visible through marriage!!!
13. Ephesians 5:31-32 “For this reason a man will leave His father and mother and be united to His wife and the two will become one flesh. This is a profound mystery – but I am talking about Christ and the church.”
14. St. Paul directly quotes Genesis 2:24
15. Not only does this refer to a man and a woman, but also calls attention to what Christ did for His Bride: Jesus left His Father in Heaven and His mother on earth and was joined to His Bride, the Church…where? The Cross!
Consummatem Est!
John 19:30
PART II
Vocations
1. We all have the same call to LOVE
2. Your vocation is the path designated by God that is most likely to get you to holiness and our eternal goal, which is HEAVEN
3. What we are learning in this study on sexuality is how to get to Heaven, because your vocation is your path to Heaven and your sexuality is how you live your vocation!
4. How seriously will we take our vocations?
5. Since we are all called to self-sacrificial love, then the question of vocation is:
Who am I called to pour myself out, in love, to?
Celibacy For the Kingdom
1. “Celibacy for the kingdom signifies ‘the risen man, in whom there will be revealed…the absolute and eternal nuptial meaning of the glorified body in union with God himself.’” March 24, 1982
2. Some are called to an earthly marriage, which will point to and prepare them for the heavenly marriage. Others are called to skip the earthly marriage and participate here and now in the heavenly marriage to the Lamb through celibacy.
3. The celibate vocation is not what you give up, but what you embrace. Celibacy “skips” the sacrament of marriage and partakes in the real thing, a union with Christ.
4. If it is “not good for man to be alone,” Christian celibacy reveals that the ultimate fulfillment of solitude is found only in union with God.
5. Celibacy is not the same as chastity…we are all called to be chaste, no matter what our vocation.
6. “The Kingdom of God is at hand…”Mark 1:15 --> Celibacy proclaims to the world that the Kingdom of God is here!
7. The sacrament of Holy Orders, in turn, is where the spiritual reality of Heaven is realized through the physical means of the priest and the Catholic Church.
8. Celibacy does not demean or devalue marriage; rather it reveals its true goodness by demonstrating what marriage leads to.
9. Celibacy and marriage are complementary. We can’t understand, or even live, without one or the other! “Each one has his own special gift from God, one of a kind and one of another.” 1Corinthians 7:7
Why Celibate Male Priesthood?
1. “Some are incapable of marriage because they were born so; some because they were made so by others; some, because they have renounced marriage for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:12
2. Celibacy is not a contradiction to everything we’ve talked about – it is the fulfillment!
3. Celibacy is not un-natural, it is super-natural. It is a grace given by God to carry out a call to love and make a self-sacrificial gift.
4. Christ was not married to one particular woman because he came to marry the whole human race. The Church is his eternal Bride.
5. Ordained priests become a sacrament of Christ, acting in persona Christi.
6. They make the love of the heavenly Bridegroom efficaciously present to the Church, particularly in the Eucharistic sacrifice.
“This is my body, which will be given up for you.” Luke 22:19
7. Celibacy gives priests the freedom to sacrifice completely for his bride, which is the Church. How hard would is be to “lay down your life” for a wife, children, the church, and all your priestly duties?
8. Celibacy also is not the cause of sexual problems/scandals. It is the grave misunderstanding of our sexuality that must be addressed.
Why Can’t Women Be Priests?
1. Equality between the sexes doesn’t mean sameness It’s the fundamental difference of the sexes that reveals the great “nuptial mystery” – a mystery that brings life into the world
2. Christ was very controversial and didn’t care about racial or gender barriers. He could have chosen female priests…so, why didn’t he?
3. The priest “stands in” for Christ, who is the Bridegroom. If a woman were to do this, then the symbolism would become that of bride to bride. Is this life giving?
4. Again, in a sacrament the physical must point to the spiritual. The physical fatherhood must precede the ability to become a spiritual father.
5. This is why we can call a priest Father, and how religious fulfill their call to marriage. Through ordination or religious vows, priests and religious become the husband of the church or the wife of Christ and can thus bear spiritual children.
Let us open our hearts and ask God to guide us in our call to love.
"Let it be done unto me according to your word.”
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