Why Spiritual Fatherhood and Celibacy Are a Natural Fit, by Janet E. Smith

WHY CELIBACY?

Reclaiming the Fatherhood of the Priest, By Father Carter Griffin, Emmaus Road Publishing, 2019, 215 pages, $24.95 (hardcover), To order: StPaulCenter.com

Because God is infinitely greater and altogether other than we his creatures, we speak of him by using a multitude of “names” (“descriptions”), hoping to catch some element of his being with each one. Philosophers speak of God as being One, Good, Infinite, Intelligent, Truth, Free, Love and so forth. The Bible gives much more anthropomorphic descriptions of God: He is Lord, Creator, Husband, Healer, Avenger, Shepherd and Father, for instance.

The relationship of his creatures to an infinitely rich God also requires a multitude of analogies; in the Bible we are spoken of as God’s creatures, his sons and daughters, his servants and slaves, his “baby chicks” and so on.

The mystics love to speak of Jesus as the Bridegroom and the souls who love him as bride. When I taught seminarians, it didn’t surprise me to learn that they balked at thinking of themselves as brides, but I was taken aback at their resistance to thinking of themselves as “bridegroom” — it was a role they had renounced for themselves and which they found excessively “romantic.” Even thinking of themselves as bridegroom “of the Church” taxed their imaginations, for what a bridegroom does in their minds is simply to show up for the wedding ceremony. ….

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