Exilenomore
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I am interested in the subject of living celibate lives in the world with the intention of staying unmarried to serve God more perfectly, in imitation of the ascetics in the early Church who practiced a form of religious life without being cloistered as monks or nuns.
In the papal encyclical Sacra virginitas, the Holy Father mentioned with praise those generous souls who, while not being called to the clerical or religious state, have deprived themselves of the right to marry for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Such souls may perhaps serve as a prophetic sign, showing to the world that it is possible to lead a life of perfect chastity, even for those who are for some reason unable to join a religious house.
St. Casimir is a beautiful example of a Saint who sanctified himself in such a state of life. He chose to preserve the pearl of his virginity, while living at the royal court as a secular prince.
In the present circumstances in a world where impurity tyrannizes souls even from their youth, I wonder what practical means we can employ to foster, protect and discern such beautiful vocations to celibacy consecrated to God. The obvious and most direct answers are of course prayer and the guidance of a spiritual director who has the proper formation for such a task. But I wonder what more can be done, and also what forms or structures can be given to such a life. I believe that this does not receive enough attention.
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“After me, the deluge.” - Pope Pius XII
I retract all former posts which contained ecclesiological and canonical (I should not have commented on Canon Law to begin with) errors, and if I say anything now which may contradict Catholic doctrine, I would be pleased to receive correction in charity.
By posting, I do not give implicit assent to all the forum rules.
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| Posted Apr 9, 2012, 6:08 pm |
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Caraffa
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Although he eventually married at 34, might Louis Martin, the father of St. Thérèse of Lisieux come to mind? He wanted to enter religious life but was refused.
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"The dauntless will have to forge ahead alone; in old pagan Rome, the first Christians also had to abstain from participating in the feasts and meetings of their fellow citizens. Perhaps the new paganism can only be vanquished by such sacrifices. Nevertheless: Nolite timere, pusillus grex, quia placuit Patri vestro dare vobis regnum" (Luke 12:32).-The future Cardinal Von Galen, October 1926.
"For Catholics to follow their times is a disgrace, worse than that of a king abdicating his kingship. How can such (liberal) Catholics be taken seriously? Either they will come back to the fullness of their Faith or they will go over to the enemies of the Faith, but they cannot remain suspended in between."- Louis Veuillot
"Instaurare Omnia In Christo."-St. Pius X
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| Posted Apr 10, 2012, 2:37 am |
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Raoul76
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Exilenomore said:
| Quote: | | showing to the world that it is possible to lead a life of perfect chastity, even for those who are for some reason unable to join a religious house. |
The fact there is no sede religious house kind of makes this form of life inevitable if you want to remain celibate, no?
The destruction of religious orders isn't going to stop me from being a monk, at least in spirit! I work for CMRI doing translations, just like a monk might do, working for the Church.
Yes, I know CMRI has a monk or two, but I find it hard to consider that a monastery.
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A general rule is that all my posts before 2011 are dangerous to read. At the time I was nothing short of a frothing Pharisee. Please ignore my old posts against NFP and implicit faith, both of which are true teachings, as well as Fatima and Lucy's later revelations, which I now see are of continuing paramount importance in the history of the Church.
I also apologize for my lack of prudence when speaking about clergy in the past, I didn't know where the line was and often judged intentions instead of actions and words. My deepest apologies to Pius XII especially, who I judged in the harshest light and accused of being a communist infiltrator, and to Innocent XI and Pius XI, for any irrational suspicion or condemnation of their intentions. I also believe I spread a rumor about Innocent XI that I had read in a book, probably non-Catholic, which I would retract if I could.
I also apologize with profoundest regret to Abp. Lefebvre and Bp. Fellay, the nuns who left CMRI, for assuming malign intentions about them and calling them "witches" in my exaggerated style at the time; Father Cekada and the SSPX priest Fr. Boulet for suggesting or saying they were deliberately intellectually dishonest, Bp. Vezelis for spreading a rumor about him that is not verified; I also apologize to Fr. Martin Stepanich, Mgr. Fenton, Father Brian Harrison, Cardinal Newman, De Lugo, Suarez, Erasmus, and anyone else I have forgotten, for saying or suggesting they were heretics and/or infiltrators due to my former errors. I was also very harsh on Dietrich von Hildebrand and Cardinal Gibbons. During all this time, I was under the influence of major scruples, probably without even knowing what that meant, as well as general paranoia, seeing evil everywhere, and had a distorted, extreme view of the Crisis.
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| Posted Apr 10, 2012, 3:46 am |
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