The spirit speaks.Thank you for John Garvey's insightful observations on the married priesthood ("Priests Should Be Married," August 12). Yes, celibacy celibacy (sĕl`ĭbəsē), voluntary refusal to enter the married state, with abstinence from sexual activity. It is one of the typically Christian forms of asceticism. is beautiful, but we need the balance of a few priests who are living the experience of marriage. Whenever the subject of the scarcity of priestly vocations comes up, I'm reminded of a story about our much-loved former bishop, John Sullivan
John Sullivan (b. February 17 1740, Somersworth, New Hampshire – d. . Several people were talking about the difficulty of attracting young men to a life of celibacy, and after the usual lamentations and hand wringing wring v. wrung , wring·ing, wrings v.tr. 1. To twist, squeeze, or compress, especially so as to extract liquid. Often used with out. 2. , someone offered the shopworn response that we must pray for the Holy Spirit to speak to us. Bishop Sullivan commented wryly, "Maybe the Holy Spirit is speaking." CATHERINE THIEL Kansas City Kansas City, two adjacent cities of the same name, one (1990 pop. 149,767), seat of Wyandotte co., NE Kansas (inc. 1859), the other (1990 pop. 435,146), Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties, NW Mo. (inc. 1850). , Mo. |
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