Guide to Ongoing Formation for Priests (Ascension)

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Chapter 3: Human Formation

of his people (see 1 Cor 7:32-33). 96 It is an imitation of Jesus’ own celibate love for the Church, as Pope St. John Paul II observed. “The Church, as the spouse of Jesus Christ,” he wrote, “wishes to be loved by the priest in the total and exclusive manner in which Jesus Christ her head and spouse loved her.” 97 119 Because a celibate priest’s heart and body are reserved for God and his Church alone, the self-mastery of chastity is essential. The priest’s vocation is incompatible with any deliberate genital activity, alone or with another person. Any use of pornography or masturbation, for instance, is a grave sin (as it is for anyone else) and also a violation of his celibate promise. God in his mercy will heal and restore anyone who goes to him with a contrite heart, of course, but he also promises grace and help to a man who wishes to be free of these sins. 98 We cannot, and need not, settle for mediocrity in this area. Living our celibate commitment well is not only a key marker of human formation but a profound witness to a world steeped in the misery of sexual sin. 120 Chastity is the virtue that enables men and women to love well, regardless of their vocation. “The chaste person maintains the integrity of the powers of life and love placed in him. This integrity ensures the unity of the person; it is opposed to any behavior that would impair it.” 99 Everyone is called to give life to others, in the natural or supernatural order; and chastity strengthens and protects that capacity to love. This is no less true in the life of the priest, for whom chastity plays a vital role by directing his heart to the genuine good of those he serves.

96 97

See CIC, c. 277 §1.

PDV, no. 29.

98 “While it is true that today’s world poses various difficulties regarding the living of holy purity, it is all the truer that the Lord abundantly showers his grace and offers the practical means for practicing this virtue with joy and happiness.” DMLP, no. 82. 99 CCC, no. 2338.

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