the superiority of celibacy over marriage

[Paphnutius]

[quote name='phatcatholic' date='Mar 10 2006, 10:15 PM']here's what it says:[list]10. Si quis dixerit, statum conjugalem anteponendum esse statui virginitatis vel coelibatus, et non esse melius ac beatius manere in virginitate aut coelibatu, quam jungi matrimonio:15 anathema sit.

[/list][/quote]That helps a great deal.

[quote]CANON X.-If any one saith, that the marriage state is to be placed above the state of virginity, or of celibacy, and that it is not better and more blessed to remain in virginity, or in celibacy, than to be united in matrimony; let him be anathema. [/quote]This is a far better translation. It is almost verbatim from the Latin.

[phatcatholic]

i guess that solves it then

[phatcatholic]

look what i found

[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/v2priest.htm"][b]Decree on the Training of Priests[/b][/url]
Vatican II, [i]Optatam Totius[/i], 28 October 1965:[list][b]10.[/b] Students ought rightly to acknowledge the duties and dignity of Christian matrimony, which is a sign of the love between Christ and the Church. Let them recognize, however, [b][i]the surpassing excellence[/i][/b] of virginity consecrated to Christ, so that with a maturely deliberate and generous choice they may consecrate themselves to the Lord by a complete gift of body and soul.
[/list]the Flannery translation says "the greater excellence", which i guess would better prove the point. here is the Latin:[list]Officia et dignitatem christiani matrimonii, quod amorem inter Christum et Ecclesiam repraesentat (cf. Eph. 5, 22-33), alumni debite cognoscant; perspiciant autem virginitatis Christo consecratae praecellentiam,[23] ita ut optione mature deliberata ac magnanimi, integra corporis et animi deditione Domino se devoveant.
[/list]also, footnote 23 is to Pius XII's encyclical letter [url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/ENCYC/P12SACRA.HTM"][b][i]Sacra Virginitas[/i][/b][/url], which says:[list][b]8.[/b] However, since there are some who, straying from the right path in this matter, so exalt marriage as to rank it ahead of virginity and thus depreciate chastity consecrated to God and clerical celibacy, Our apostolic duty demands that We now in a particular manner declare and uphold the Church's teaching on the sublime state of virginity, and so defend Catholic truth against these errors.
[. . .]
[b]24.[/b] It is first and foremost for the foregoing reasons that, according to the teaching of the Church, holy virginity surpasses marriage in excellence. Our Divine Redeemer had already given it to His disciples as a counsel for a more perfect life.[44] St. Paul, after having said that the father who gives his daughter in marriage "does well," adds immediately "and he that gives her not, does better."[45] Several times in the course of his comparison between marriage and virginity the Apostle reveals his mind, and especially in these words: "for I would that all men were even as myself… But I say to the unmarried and to widows: it is good for them if they so continue, even as I."[46] Virginity is preferable to marriage then, as We have said, above all else because it has a higher aim:[47] that is to say, it is a very efficacious means for devoting oneself wholly to the service of God, while the heart of married persons will remain more or less "divided."[48]
[/list]just thought that was pretty cool

pax christi,
phatcatholic

[Aloysius]

y'all coulda just asked me, I have all 21 ecumenical councils side by side with their original languages... set me back about $150

the english in it isn't the greatest though, inclusive language and all that, but otherwise it's cool.

[phatcatholic]

doh!!

[Fides_et_Ratio]

too bad the girl I was "arguing" with is now graduated. lol.

[una_fide]

Maybe about a year ago EWTN had a series called "Does the Church Still Teach that", which I thouroghly enjoyed. And one was on this very subject, and it stated that celibacy is infact the greater of the two.

Just Go to EWTN.com to the audio library and search for "Does the Church Still teach that" in the series search, it is episode 11 "Objective Superiority of Celibacy and Consecrated Virginity to Marriage" if you want to listen to it.

[phatcatholic]

awesome, thanks for the heads up

[Laudate_Dominum]

woooot

[Fides_et_Ratio]

It's too bad EWTN was the site hosting the bad translation (see pg. 1 of this thread), seems counter-productive for the most part.