In the first part (Chapters 1–6) of the First Letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul rebuked the wrongdoings of the Corinthians. In the second part (Chapters 7–15), St. Paul gave general instruction in Christian moral life.
In Chapter 7, St. Paul gave instruction concerning marriage and virginity. Catholic author Stephen K. Ray commented, “He is being extremely practical, holding up marriage as an antidote to sexual impurity. Nevertheless, simply being married is not all that is needed. The man and woman must each fulfill their ‘conjugal rights’ (duty in Greek).”
This was revolutionary, Ray notes, because in Greco-Roman society, “a wife belonged to her husband and must remain sexually faithful to him, while the husband had no such restrictions. Paul now imposes equal ownership and laws upon both the husband and the wife. Paul’s words shook the foundations of Roman society and laid the groundwork for a woman’s equal rights and dignity… Paul wishes all were single and celibate like himself, but he knows that each man has his own gift from God; he is making a concession for those who do not have the gift to remain celibate. The Church has always been wise in this matter. It acknowledges, praises, and institutionalizes both the married and the celibate states.”
St. John Chrysostom wrote, “Whoever condemns marriage also deprives virginity of its glory; whereas whoever praises it makes virginity more attractive and luminous. Something which seems good only when compared with something bad, is not very valuable; but when it is greater than things which everyone gives great value to, then indeed it is good to a superlative degree.”
St. John Paul II wrote something similar: “Virginity or celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom of God not only does not contradict the dignity of marriage but presupposes it and confirms it. Marriage and virginity or celibacy are two ways of expressing and living the one mystery of the covenant of God with his people. When marriage is not esteemed, neither can consecrated virginity or celibacy exist; when human sexuality is not regarded as a great value given by the Creator, the renunciation of it for the sake of the Kingdom of heaven loses its meaning.”
Venerable Fulton J. Sheen wrote, “Both celibacy and marriage have the same passion of love except that celibacy is immediate though imperfect, while marriage is mediate and also imperfect… God has two kinds of lovers—those who go directly to the ultimate, such as the celibate, and those who go mediately through marriage.”
Regarding virginity and celibacy, St. Paul wrote, “I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord. But the married man is anxious about worldly things, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried or virgin woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit. But the married woman is anxious about worldly things, how to please her husband.” (1 Cor. 7:32–35)
Stephen K. Ray commented: “The wife will give up prayer and devotion to cook, change diapers, and please her husband. The husband will not have much time for spiritual things because he has to earn a living and support his family… Paul, on the other hand, was a single man without the burdens of a family. He could drive himself to the limit, stay up all night, and accept all kinds of suffering and abuse.”
Pope Pius XII stated: “This is the main purpose and primary reason for Christian virginity—to dedicate oneself exclusively to divine things, giving them all one’s attention and love, thinking of him constantly and consecrating oneself to him completely, body and soul.”
St. Therese of the Child Jesus described her vocation: “To be your spouse, O Jesus … by my union with you to be the mother of souls.”
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