Is the consecrated life "superior" to marriage?

The Catholic Church's answer to this question might surprise you.

I've never forgotten a strange conversation I had about 15 years ago with a Catholic seminarian in Baltimore. He had been tasked with retrieving me from the airport and driving me to the venue where I would be speaking that weekend. Along the way, as we were discussing his course of seminary formation, he said something to the effect that the consecrated life was no better than the married life.

I thought maybe I had misunderstood him and that he was just trying to be thoughtful in not giving me, a married man, the impression that he looked down on marriage. So I asked him to explain more clearly what he meant, and that led to the strangeness.

Turns out he was adamant that the consecrated life was not a higher state, and when I told him that that's not what the Church teaches, his adamancy became pique. He strongly disagreed with that view and I found it strange that he was so vehement in his position. Was this what he had been taught in the seminary? Most probably (remember, this was the mid-90s), although perhaps there was some other reason for his sensitivity to this subject.

In any case, I flashed back to that seminarian and that odd conversation, last Thursday, when, on my "Open Line" radio show, I took a call from a non-Catholic (most likely a Protestant) who wanted to express his reasons for disagreeing with something Pope John Paul II said about the consecrated life being "superior" to the married life. Click the picture or click here to hear the call.

(Also, here are some helpful references for consideration)

St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 7:

"It is a good thing for a man not to touch a woman. Indeed, I wish that everyone were like I am. I should like you to be free from anxieties. An unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord; how he may please the Lord. But a married man is anxious about the things of the world; how he may please his wife, and he is divided. Are you free of a wife? Then do not look for a wife. If you marry, however, you do not sin, nor does an unmarried woman sin if she marries; but such people will experience affliction in their earthly life, and I would like to spare you that" (c.f., Mark 12:18-27; Matt. 19:10-12; 2 Timothy 2:3).

Pope John Paul II , Vita Consecrata, 32:

“As a way of showing forth the Church's holiness, it is to be recognized that the consecrated life, which mirrors Christ's own way of life, has an objective superiority. Precisely for this reason, it is an especially rich manifestation of gospel values and a more complete expression of the Church's purpose, which is the sanctification of humanity. The consecrated life proclaims and in a certain way anticipates the future age, when the fullness of the Kingdom of Heaven, already present in its first fruits and in mystery, will be achieved and when the children of the resurrection will take neither wife nor husband, but will be like the angels of God (c.f., Matt. 22:30).”

Pope Pius XII, Sacra Virginitas, 32:

“This doctrine of the excellence of virginity and of celibacy and of their superiority over the married state was, as we have already said, revealed by our divine Redeemer and by the Apostle of the Gentiles; so too, it was solemnly defined as a dogma of divine faith by the holy Council of Trent, and explained in the same way by all the holy Fathers and doctors of the Church.”

Council of Trent:

"If anyone saith that the marriage state is to be preferred before the state of virginity, let him be anathema." [...] "writing to the Corinthians, [Paul] says: I would that all men were even as myself; that is, that all embrace the virtue of continence...A life of continence is to be desired by all.”

Catechism of the Catholic Church, 916

"The state of the consecrated life is thus one way of experiencing a "more intimate" consecration, rooted in Baptism and dedicated totally to God. In the consecrated life, Christ's faithful, moved by the Holy Spirit, propose to follow Christ more nearly, to give themselves to God who is loved above all and, pursuing the perfection of charity in the service of the Kingdom, to signify and proclaim in the Church the glory of the world to come."

What the hail?

I've experienced hailstorms before, but never anything like this. My advice to folks living in Oklahoma who want to find a silver lining in those dark, hail-laden clouds: Buy stock in companies that manufacture siding, shingles, and windshields.

P.S. I was trying to work in some kind of "Van Hailen" joke, but I couldn't come up with anything. Probably just as well.

Priest sells convent to Muslims for a mosque on a street named for 9-11 hero

Okay, this is galling on a couple different levels. Plot summary: The pastor of a Catholic parish sold the parish convent to an Islamic organization, which plans to turn it into a mosque. The kicker is that the convent happens to be on a street named in honor of . . . get this . . . "FDNY Capt. Martin Egan, 36, who was killed in the terrorist attacks" of September 11th.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- The impending sale of an empty, 2 ½ -story convent in Midland Beach owned by St. Margaret Mary’s R.C. Church has neighbors angry and afraid because the purchaser is an Islamic organization they know little about.

Several hundred concerned residents turned out last night for an emergency meeting called by the Midland Beach Civic Association at the Olympia Activity Center, two blocks from the convent site at 555 Greeley Ave.

The association’s president, Yasmin Ammirato, told the gathering that she first learned about the convent sale on May 12. She added that the Rev. Keith Fennessy, pastor, told her at a meeting on May 15 with four representatives of the nonprofit Muslim American Society (MAS), the group set to buy the property, that he had "signed off, and money has been exchanged."

She said that MAS agreed to pay $750,000 for the property, and its plan for the convent’s re-use includes a mosque and community center with after-school programs for children. "There’s a need for a mosque on the East Shore" from South Beach to Midland Beach, she said the representatives told her, citing Muslim Albanian and Turkish residents.

The convent occupies a 100-by-90-foot corner lot, with a current market value of $915,000, according to the city Department of Finance.

Residents in attendance last night were not happy about what they heard. One proposed a petition drive to remove Father Fennessy from his post, and the idea received sustained applause. Another suggested that the civic association consult with an attorney to explore legal options to fight the project. One woman raised a practical concern: "Parking here is already horrendous. How will another community center affect the neighborhood, whether it’s run by an Islamic group or not?"

"This hurts — it was done without even consulting us, on the sneak," said Eugene Reems, 42, a life-long resident whose three children attend the parish elementary school, where his wife, Erin, teaches third grade.

"September 11 left scars on this neighborhood that will last for the rest of our lives," he added, noting that part of the convent fronts Freeborn Street, which was renamed for FDNY Capt. Martin Egan, 36, who was killed in the terrorist attacks.

"We grew up together, and he was a very good friend. Marty was a hero in everyone’s eyes, and this a real slap in the face to his family and everyone who knew him.". . . (continue reading)

My advice to a discouraged young man struggling with an habitual sin

On my "Open Line" radio show last week, a 25 year-old man called to discuss his plight of not being able to overcome a serious sinful habit. In his dejection over his powerlessness to conquer the problem, he had given up and abandoned the Catholic Church and the sacraments, hopeless that he could ever be freed from his enslavement. I did my best to offer him some words of encouragement and advice. (Click the pic to listen.)

This music stirs my soul

Maurice Revel's “Pavane for a Dead Princess,” long a favorite of mine, has a poignant, personal meaning for me. I hope you enjoy it.

Wouldn't it be great to be back in North Platte for ten minutes?

What happened to our country?

One of the most beautiful versions of the Agnus Dei you'll ever hear

When you can, stop what you're doing, close your eyes, and let this gorgeous hymn wash over you. Let it inebriate your spirit with joy and gratitude to the Lord Who loves you so much that He died for you to redeem you and save you from your sins. Dial the volume up and let this magnificent prayer carry you heavenward to the throne of the victorious Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world. Praise Him.

Do not learn from this man

Hands down, this guy is the least motivating motivational speaker I have ever run across. And the funniest, too. My favorite line is, "You can do anything that you think that you can do." As one person commented, I'm just glad he didn't think he could fly.

Artsy time-elapse video of the Eyjafjallajökull eruption

Earth as seen from Mars

"This is the first image ever taken of Earth from the surface of a planet beyond the Moon. It was taken by the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit one hour before sunrise on the 63rd Martian day, or sol, of its mission. (March 8, 2004)"

This pretty much sums it up. Any questions?

Pope Benedict implores Catholics to join him in evangelizing

Porto, Portugal, May 14, 2010 / 09:52 am (CNA/EWTN News) —

Celebrating Mass in Porto, where he had arrived from Fatima early this morning, Pope Benedict called the faithful to witness the Resurrection and be missionaries of Christ. He urged Catholics not to let anything prevent them from spreading the Gospel, because if the Church rests on its laurels “it would be sure death in terms of the Church’s presence in the world.”

The Holy Father arrived in Porto this morning by helicopter to celebrate Mass in the Square of the “Avenida dos Aliados di Porto” where he was joined by tens of thousands of faithful.

Recalling the words of Peter, who said to the disciples in the Upper Room after the Ascension that “one of these men must become with us a witness to His resurrection,” Pope Benedict XVI called all people to missionary action, imploring them, “you need to become witnesses with me to the Resurrection of Jesus.

“In effect,” he continued, “if you do not become His witnesses in your daily lives, who will do so in your place? Christians are, in the Church and with the Church, missionaries of Christ sent into the world.”

The Pope said that receiving and offering the Risen Christ to the world is the “indispensable mission of every ecclesial community,” so that “growth and life” might come from “weakness and death.”

As Peter recommended, continued the Holy Father, we must always be prepared defend the hope within us, without imposing anything and never ceasing to propose. This is what “everyone” asks of us, and from experience, “we know well that it is Jesus whom everyone awaits,” the Holy Father shared.

Pope Benedict also reflected on the mindset necessary for evangelization. Together with Christ, without whom “we can do nothing,” we are called to evangelize, he said. “We must overcome the temptation to restrict ourselves to what we already have, or think we have, safely in our possession: it would be sure death in terms of the Church’s presence in the world; the Church, for that matter, can only be missionary, in the outward movement of the Spirit.” . . . (continue reading)

What you see versus what you think you see

There are some fascinating optical illusions that play upon the mind's tendency to impose things like motion on certain combinations of colors and shapes which are not, in fact, really moving. Look at the picture above, for example. Nothing in it is moving, but your eyes see it undulating and pulsating, don't they? This is because your mind imposes movement where it really does not exist. Try as you might, isn't it true that it is practically impossible to force that image to stop "moving," even though you know it's not?

This is reminiscent of another phenomenon in which some people think they see in Scripture teachings which simply are not there. Mormonism's "Plurality of Gods" and "Total Apostasy" doctrines, and the common Protestant notion of "Sola Scriptura" come mind as examples of this tendency.

Max & Anna

Joyous news. Our son, Max, recently got engaged to the lovely Anna Wagner. Though they haven't set a date for their wedding yet, everything points to the happy occasion taking place this fall. Max is in the U.S. Navy and doesn't know yet what the exact dates of his leave will be. Hopefully, he'll know soon, so he and Anna can begin planning in earnest.

"Inconvenient people" and the rising "Obligation to Die Movement"

I've been warning about this for years in my lectures on global aging, about how what we currently know as the "right to die movement" is steadily morphing into what soon will be soon be the obligation to die movement, which will increasingly target old people and others whom our sick society deems to have "outlived their usefulness." Authors such as Peter G. Peterson (Gray Dawn) and Ken Dychtwald (Age Wave), Patrick Buchanan (The Death of the West) and Wesley Smith (Forced Exit), have been ringing the alarm bells for years (much louder and more eloquently than I have been, to be sure), though it doesn't seem like many are paying attention to what's coming. Thomas Sowell is one of the few who is. Here are some of his thoughts about a common mentality that is paving the way for enforced euthanasia:

One of the many fashionable notions that have caught on among some of the intelligentsia is that old people have "a duty to die," rather than become a burden to others.

This is more than just an idea discussed around a seminar table. Already the government-run medical system in Britain is restricting what medications or treatments it will authorize for the elderly. Moreover, it seems almost certain that similar attempts to contain runaway costs will lead to similar policies when American medical care is taken over by the government.

Make no mistake about it, letting old people die is a lot cheaper than spending the kind of money required to keep them alive and well. If a government-run medical system is going to save any serious amount of money, it is almost certain to do so by sacrificing the elderly.

There was a time— fortunately, now long past— when some desperately poor societies had to abandon old people to their fate, because there was just not enough margin for everyone to survive. Sometimes the elderly themselves would simply go off from their family and community to face their fate alone.

But is that where we are today?

Talk about "a duty to die" made me think back to my early childhood in the South, during the Great Depression of the 1930s. One day, I was told that an older lady— a relative of ours— was going to come and stay with us for a while, and I was told how to be polite and considerate towards her.

She was called "Aunt Nance Ann," but I don't know what her official name was or what her actual biological relationship to us was. Aunt Nance Ann had no home of her own. But she moved around from relative to relative, not spending enough time in any one home to be a real burden.

At that time, we didn't have things like electricity or central heating or hot running water. But we had . . . (continue reading)