At
the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage. (Matthew 22:30)
Why not?
For
the wedding day of the Lamb
has come, and his bride has
made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7)
Oh, that’s why!
Yes, marriage takes on a completely new form
in Heaven; those who live celibate lives on earth are anticipating that
marriage in a unique way.
Love is forever, but marriage is not--at
least not the earthly variety. Like all sacraments, marriage is a visible (earthly)
sign of an invisible (heavenly) reality. Like all signs, marriage points to
something beyond itself, and we must ultimately leave the sign behind and go in
the direction it points. What it points to is the Heavenly marriage
of the Lamb (Jesus) with his Bride (all of us, the Church; see Ephesians
5:32).
Earthly, sacramental marriage is a
living image of God’s covenant with his people, which will be consummated fully
in the Heavenly Kingdom. There earthly, sacramental marriage will cease to
exist, and the marriage of the Lamb with his Bride will take its place.
That is why at the resurrection they
neither marry nor are given in marriage, for then we are all, as one body,
married to the Lamb of God. That’s also why the marriage vows include the words
“until death do we part.” Death is the end of earthly marriage so the Heavenly
one can begin.
Yet marriage is not the only earthly
experience that images the Heavenly marriage of the Lamb with his Bride.
“Celibacy for the Kingdom of God” does the same in a different way. Just as
Jesus did not take an earthly wife because the Church is his Bride, those who
do not take an earthly spouse, when they join themselves in celibacy to Jesus
Christ, have already begun on earth their betrothal to the one they will join
in Heavenly marriage. As St. John Paul II stated: “Already in the conditions of
the present temporal life [celibacy] seems to anticipate what man will share
in, in the future resurrection.”
Thus celibacy is also a means to live the
nuptial meaning of the body. Intimate union with another in an earthly body is
sacrificed in anticipation of the greater good of eternal marriage in our
glorified bodies with the Lamb of God.
So where do people with a homosexual
orientation fit into this picture? They are clearly called to the celibate
life, which means, in this context, they are actually invited to anticipate their eternal marriage with the
Lamb while still on earth, as are some heterosexual people who are also
called to celibacy.
Yes, there are trials in the life of a
celibate person, as there are in the lives of married couples. Jesus also
endured trials for his bride; this is a calling we all share.
The
Catechism of the Catholic Church puts
it this way:
[Homosexual]
persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are
Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they
may encounter from their condition.
Homosexual
persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them
inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer
and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach
Christian perfection. (2358-59)
