Questions?

[Fr.Henry]

If you have any questions ask.

[esteromatt20]

For what reasons does the Church require celibacy of priests?

[Fr.Henry]

Hey Estero Matt,

This is what Pope John Paul II has to say about Celibacy and the priestjood:

In the Gospels, when Jesus called his first apostles to make them "fishers of men" (cf. Mt 4:19; Mk 1:17; Lk 5:10), they "left everything and followed him" (Lk 5:11; cf. Mt 4:20, 22; Mk 1:18, 20). One day Peter remembered this aspect of the apostolic vocation and said to Jesus: "We have given up everything and followed you" (Mt 19:27; Mk 10:28; cf. Lk 18:28). Jesus then listed all the necessary detachments "for my sake," and "for the sake of the Gospel" (Mk 10:29). This did not only mean renouncing material possessions, such as "house" or "lands," but also being separated from loved ones: "brothers or sisters or mother or father or children," according to Matthew and Mark, and "wife or brothers or parents or children," according to Luke (18:29).

Here we note the difference in vocations. Jesus did not demand this radical renunciation of family life from all his disciples, although he did require the first place in their hearts when he said: "Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me" (Mt 10:37). The demand for practical renunciation is proper to the apostolic life or the life of special consecration.

In First Corinthians, the Apostle Paul states that he had resolved to take this path and shows the coherence of his own decision, declaring: "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" (1 Cor 7:32-34). It is certainly inappropriate for someone to be "divided," who, like the priest, has been called to be concerned about the things of the Lord.

The Second Vatican Council gave the reasons for celibacy and the priesthood: "Through virginity, then, or celibacy observed for the kingdom of heaven, priests are consecrated to Christ by a new and exceptional reason. They adhere to him more easily with an undivided heart; they dedicate themselves more freely in him and through him to the service of God and men, and they more expeditiously minister to his kingdom and the work of heavenly regeneration, and thus they are apt to accept, in a broad sense, paternity in Christ." They "evoke the mysterious marriage established by Christ, and fully to be manifested in the future, in which the Church has Christ as her only spouse. They give, moreover, a living sign of the world to come, by a faith and charity already made present, in which the children of the resurrection neither marry nor take wives" (PO 16; cf. PDV 29, 50; CCC 1579).

These lofty, noble spiritual reasons can be summarized in the following essential point: a more complete adherence to Christ, loved and served with an undivided heart (cf. 1 Cor 7:32-33); greater availability to serve Christ's kingdom and to carry out their own tasks in the Church; the most exclusive choice of a spiritual fruitfulness (cf. 1 Cor 4:15); leading a life more like that definitive one in the world to come, and therefore, more exemplary for life here below. This is a valid reason for all times, including our own, and is the supreme criterion of every judgment and every choice in harmony with Jesus' invitation to the disciples and especially to the apostles to "leave everything."

Are you ready to "leave everything" and follow Jesus?

God Bless,

Fr. Henry

[AMDG]

Do Catholics believe that God could have chosen any other woman to become the Mother of His Son? I know Our Lady was preserved from Original Sin and all other sin, but could God have chosen another woman to preserve from sin and impregnate by the Holy Spirit?

[AMDG]

Also, where can I find the Consecration to the Sacred Heart and other prayers that HMJ youth pray every day?

[Br.Greggy]

Fr. Henry is in a pilgrimage right now...
He´s been with our Lady in Fatima...
This July 16 some brothers and sisters of the Home will receive their habits...Pray for them..
I guess Fr. Henry will be able to write back after July 17...
He´ll be back in the states...