The Effective and
Privileged Way of Continence
General Audience, March 31, 1982
1. We continue our reflections on
celibacy and on virginity for the kingdom of heaven, on the basis of
Matthew's Gospel (Mt 19:1012). Speaking of continence for the
kingdom of heaven and basing it on the example of his own life,
Christ undoubtedly wished that his disciples should understand it
especially in relation to the kingdom which he had come to announce
and for which he indicated the correct ways. The continence he spoke
of is precisely one of these ways. As appears from the context of
Matthew's Gospel, it is an especially effective and privileged way.
Indeed, that preference given to celibacy and virginity for the
kingdom was an absolute novelty in comparison with the old covenant
tradition, and had a decisive significance both for the ethos and
the theology of the body.
His own life a witness
2. Christ, in his statement, points out especially its finality. He
says that the way of continence, to which his own life bore witness,
not only exists and not only is it possible, but it is especially
efficacious and important for the kingdom of heaven. So should it
be, seeing that Christ chose it for himself. If this way is so
efficacious and important, then continence for the kingdom of heaven
must have a special value. As we have already noted, Christ did not
approach the problem on the same level and according to the same
line of reasoning in which it was posed by the disciples when they
said: "If such is the case...it is not expedient to marry" (Mt
19:10). Their words implied a certain utilitarianism. However, in
his reply Christ indicated indirectly that marriage, true to its
original institution by the Creator (we recall that the Master at
this point spoke of the beginning), is fully appropriate and of a
value that is fundamental, universal and ordinary. If this is so,
then continence, on its part, possesses a particular and exceptional
value for this kingdom. It is obviously a question of continence
consciously chosen for supernatural motives.
3. If Christ in his statement points out, before all else, the
supernatural finality of that continence, he does so not only in an
objective sense, but also in a sense explicitly subjective—that is
to say, he indicates the necessity of a motivation that corresponds
adequately and fully to the objective finality implied by the
expression "for the kingdom." To achieve the end in question—that
is, to rediscover in continence that particular spiritual
fruitfulness which comes from the Holy Spirit—then continence must
be willed and chosen by virtue of a deep faith. This faith does not
merely show us the kingdom of God in its future fulfillment. It
permits us and makes it possible for us to identify ourselves in a
special way with the truth and reality of that kingdom, such as it
is revealed by Christ in his Gospel message and especially by the
personal example of his life and manner of behavior. Hence, it was
said above that continence for the kingdom of heaven—as an
unquestionable sign of the other world—bears in itself especially
the interior dynamism of the mystery of the redemption of the body
(cf. Lk 20:35). In this sense it possesses also the characteristic
of a particular likeness to Christ. Whoever consciously chooses such
continence, chooses, in a certain sense, a special participation in
the mystery of the redemption (of the body). He wishes in a
particular way to complete it, so to say, in his own flesh (cf. Col
1:24), finding thereby also the imprint of a likeness to Christ.
Right motivation
4. All this refers to the motivation of the choice (or to its
finality in the subjective sense). In choosing continence for the
kingdom of heaven, man should let himself be guided precisely by
this motivation. In the case in question, Christ did not say that
man is obliged to it (in any event it is certainly not a question of
a duty deriving from a commandment). However, without any doubt, his
concise words on continence "for the kingdom of heaven" place in
bold relief its precise motivation. They point that out (that is,
they indicate the finality of which the subject is well aware), both
in the first part of the entire statement, and also in the second
part. They indicate that here it is a question of a particular
choice—a choice that is proper to a rather exceptional vocation, and
not one that is universal and ordinary.
At the beginning, in the first part of his statement, Christ spoke
of an understanding: "Not all men can understand it, but only those
to whom it is given" (Mt 19:11). It is not a question of an
understanding in the abstract, but such as to influence the
decision, the personal choice, in which the gift, that is, the grace
should find an adequate response in the human will. Such an
understanding involves the motivation. Subsequently, the motivation
influences the choice of continence, accepted after having
understood its significance for the kingdom of heaven. In the second
part of his statement, Christ declared then that a man makes himself
a eunuch when he chooses continence for the kingdom of heaven and
makes it the fundamental situation or state of his whole earthly
life. In such a firm decision a supernatural motivation exists, from
which the decision itself originated. It subsists by renewing itself
continually.
Viewed in the mystery of redemption
5. Previously we have already turned our attention to the particular
significance of the final assertion. If Christ, in the case quoted,
speaks of making oneself a eunuch, not only does he place in relief
the specific importance of this decision which is explained by the
motivation born of a deep faith, but he does not even seek to
conceal the anguish that such a decision and its enduring
consequences can have for a man for the normal (and on the other
hand noble) inclinations of his nature.
The reference to "the beginning" in the problem of marriage enabled
us to discover all the original beauty of that vocation of man, male
and female. This vocation comes from God and corresponds to the
twofold constitution of man, as well as to the call to the communion
of persons. In preaching continence for the kingdom of God, Christ
not only took a stand against the whole tradition of the old
covenant, according to which marriage and procreation were
religiously privileged, as we have said. But in a certain sense he
expressed himself even in opposition to that beginning to which he
himself had appealed. Perhaps also for this reason he nuanced his
words with that particular rule of understanding to which we
referred above. The analysis of the beginning (especially on the
basis of the Yahwist text) had demonstrated that, even though it be
possible to conceive man as solitary before God, God himself drew
him from this solitude when he said: "It is not good that the man
should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him" (Gn 2:18).
6. So then, the double aspect, male and female, proper to the
constitution of humanity, and the unity of the two which is based on
it, remain the work of God "from the beginning," that is, to their
ontological depth. Speaking of continence for the kingdom of heaven,
Christ had before him this reality. Not without reason did he speak
of it (according to Matthew) in the most immediate context in which
he referred precisely to the beginning, that is, to the divine
beginning of marriage in the constitution of man.
On the strength of Christ's words it can be asserted that marriage
helps us to understand continence for the kingdom of heaven. Not
only that, but also continence itself sheds a particular light on
marriage viewed in the mystery of creation and redemption.
Taken from: L'Osservatore Romano Weekly Edition in English 5-12
April 1982, page 5
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