Catholic Dads

I know, the title is pretty inflammatory. No, I am not advocating a Western married presbyterate. But we need to rethink how we see our priests and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. Frankly, did you ever wonder about the relationship between the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders. Both are intrinsically linked to each other.

Introduction

It is clear that Pope John Paul II has provided us a gift through his Theology of the Body (TOB), which offers the Church an opportunity to further reflect on her understanding of theology and how that theology shapes and forms her children.  Among those theological disciplines is Sacramental Theology.  Over the next two weeks we will delve into some steep theology  attempting to illustrate that the Sacrament of Holy Orders is another type of Marriage in the order of grace.  The best way I know how, is to look at the goods of marriage (don’t fret, I will define) in relation to Holy Orders and to draw a comparison between the two and using the lens of TOB. Our reflections might help us and our priests gain a deeper appreciation of their vocation by adopting a bridegroom mentality towards their parishes.

In audience 101:7, Pope John Paul II speaks of marriage,

As the primordial sacrament and at the same time as the sacrament born in the mystery of the redemption of the body from the spousal love of Christ and the Church…[1]

Later in his teaching corpus, John Paul II builds a case in audiences 96 – 98 that marriage is the “prototype”[2] to reveal the spousal love of Christ and the Church as illustrated by St. Paul in Ephesians 5:22-33 (He also explains that this Scripture is the summary form of Genesis 2-3, Song of Songs and the Book of Tobit).  At the center of his argument is that the Sacrament of Marriage not only provides a tangible “form” for the mystery of the Christ’s spousal love for the Church but also receives its identity from that same mystery.

I would propose that one can make the same argument for the Sacrament of Holy Orders.  As John Paul II continues his teaching, the Church comes to understand that the Sacrament of Marriage is a visible signpost directing us to understand our final goal – the wedding feast of the Lamb.  At which time, there will be no giving or taking in marriage and the elect will experience a mystical marriage through participation in the eternal exchange of persons which is the life of the Most Holy Trinity.  John Paul II also teaches that the intermediary sign between marriage and the beatific vision is the eschatological sign of continence for the kingdom, the celibates.[3] If marriage is ordered to the visible and natural order[4] (vivified by grace in the sacramental economy of the new dispensation) could one not make the argument that Holy Orders bridges the gap between “the now and the not yet?”

Scripture: Uncovering the Evidence

To begin to ponder this question, we should ground the terms “Bride” and “Bridegroom” in the understanding of Scripture and the Church.  Typologies for the Bride of Christ are well established in the Old Testament.  Many of the prophets used spousal imagery and themes to preach and even prophetically demonstrate (poor Hosea) how Israel’s sins were an affront to God (cf. Hos. 1-3; Is. 54; Is. 62, Jer. 2-3; Jer. 31; Ez. 16; Ez. 23; Mal. 2:13-17).  We also have the great example of Ruth, who with Tobit, bears witness to the tenderness of spouses and the importance of marriage and fidelity.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) states that,

Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, insofar as it is a reflection of God’s love…[5]

The New Testament likewise reveals our Lord’s own thoughts of how He would relate to the People of God.  In Mark 2:19, Christ refers to Himself as Bridegroom.

St. Paul speaks of the whole Church and individual members of Christ’s Body as bride ‘betrothed’ to Christ so as to become one with Him (cf. Mt. 22:1-14; 15:1-13; 1 Cor. 6:15-17; 2 Cor. 11:2).[6]

Bringing the spousal references together, we see in the Genesis 2 imagery of “Two in one flesh” indicates distinctiveness and the mutuality of two persons.  Lumen Gentium 7 illustrates the sacrificial quality and context of this spousal agape love,

Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her.[7]

Even without touring through the Patristic writings, we can safely rely on the evidence within Scripture and the Magisterium that Christ is the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride.  That being said, how does the priest act as the Bridegroom?

In order for the imagery to work, two important elements must be established.  The first is that the priest must represent Christ and second, the language of the body demands that the alter Christus must be male.  The teaching of the Church firmly establishes that the reception of Holy Orders “configures the recipient to Christ”[8]; and that it “confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily”[9].  To secure the second element and proper matter for the sacrament, the Church teaches that

Only a baptized man (vir) validly receives sacred ordination. [10] [11]

The Magisterium continues that when a priest is performing those duties specific to the ministerial priesthood, he stands in persona Christi capitis.

If the Church is to be the bride of Christ, the priest within the Church represents Christ the Bridegroom, and in order to complete the symbolism in this respect, the priest must be a man.[12]

While it is true that the Oriental Churches have married priests – and there are exceptions in the Western Church,

The bridal imagery of the celibate priest indicates that, representing Christ, he is ‘wedded’ to the Church, and this is expressed in the symbolism of the Episcopal ring.[13]

Additionally,

The ecclesiological dimension of this mystery is that celibacy enables the man endowed with the sacerdotal dignity to symbolize a bridegroom totally entrusted to the Church which is the eternally dedicated bride of Christ.  Priestly celibacy also reflects an eschatological dimension prefiguring the state of the kingdom of heaven, where ‘at the resurrection men and women do not marry’ (Mt. 22:30).[14]

Understanding that the priest stands as the Bridegroom in his sacerdotal duties and briefly comparing the Sacraments of Marriage and Holy Orders, should assist in showing the strength of the image.  Naturally, we see that both include a bride and bridegroom.  The question we need to really consider is, “Does Holy Orders really share in the imagery of the Bridegroom by sharing in the ‘goods’ of the Sacrament of Marriage?”

To be continued next week…thoughts so far?  Are you with me still?

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[1] John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body, (Boston, MA: Pauline Books & Media 2006) 100:7

[2] Ibid., 98:2

[3] Ibid. 76:4

[4] Ibid. 87

[5] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2^nd (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1997), §1611

[6] Rev. Paul F. deLadurantaye, Images of the Church, Ecclesiology lecture, October 27, 2007.

[7] Cf. Ephesisans 5:25-26, 29; Dogmatic Constitution: Lumen Gentium 7

[8] Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2^nd (Citta del Vaticano: Libreria Editrice Vaticana 1997), §1581

[9] Ibid. §1582

[10] Ibid., §1577

[11] Cf. John Paul II, Mulieris Dignitatem 26-27; Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), declaration, Inter Inisniores: AAS 69 (1977) 98-116.

[12] Rev. Paul Haffner, The Sacramental Mystery, (Leominster, Herefordshire Great Britain: Gracewing 2008) 224

[13] Ibid.

[14] Ibid.