Corazones Summer 2017

without spot or wrinkle or any such
thing, that she might be holy and
without blemish” (Eph. 5:25-27). 2
Jesus gave Himself to the Church
so that we might be holy. I mean,
think about the cross for a second.
Hello?! You need not go any further,
but there is more. His complete selfoffering
on the Cross was for love of
His bride. Kinda like Adam went to
sleep and Eve was born from his side,
so now the New Adam went to sleep
(died) and by His blood His bride is
now born free from His pierced side.
He married humanity and we became
one flesh with him through the
paschal mystery.3 The Cross is the
consummation of that marriage—
a complete self-giving act sealed in
blood, for as Paul says in his letter to
the Ephesians:
For he is our peace, who has made
us both one, and has broken down
the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing
in his flesh the law of commandments
and ordinances, that he
might create in himself one new man
in place of the two, so making peace,
and might reconcile us both to God in
one body through the cross, thereby
bringing the hostility to an end. And
he came and preached peace to you
who were far off and peace to those
who were near; for through him we
both have access in one Spirit to the
Father. 4
You see!! The Bible talks about salvation
using language of marriage!
Remember what the Bible says back
in Genesis 2:24 talking about when
Adam met Eve, “Therefore a man
leaves his father and his mother and
cleaves to his wife, and they become
one flesh.” Christ is the ‘New Adam’
(Rm 5: 14) who St Ireneaus said, “in
the end He saved in Himself what
in the beginning had perished in
Adam.”5 So Adam kinda had it made.
He and Eve experienced a fullness in
the nuptial meaning of their bodies.
BUT, they messed up. It is through
Jesus’ giving of His body that we are
set free.
Christ thus gave his life for the
Church and still nourishes and looks
after her, for she is His body (Eph
5:29). So, in a way we can say that
somebody who is a virgin/celibate for
the sake of the Kingdom is following
Jesus, and is nourishing the Church
through their bodies. In Mulieris Dignitatem
John Paul explains:
Spousal love always involves a special
readiness to be poured out for
the sake of those who come within
one’s range of activity. In marriage
this readiness, even though open to
all, consists mainly in the love that
parents give to their children. In virginity
this readiness is open to all people,
who are embraced by the love of
Christ the Spouse. 6
Part of the “school of holiness/love”
for every man is to live the law of the
gift in their marriage, as we read in
Familiaris Consortia:
This revelation [that Jesus is the bridegroom
of his people] reaches its definitive
fullness in the gift of love which
the Word of God makes to humanity
in assuming a human nature, and in
the sacrifice which Jesus Christ makes
of Himself on the Cross for His bride,
the Church. In this sacrifice there is
entirely revealed that plan which God
has imprinted on the humanity of
man and woman since their creation;
the marriage of baptized persons
thus becomes a real symbol of that
new and eternal covenant sanctioned
in the blood of Christ.7
But what of those called to something
else? What of those called to spousal
relationship with Christ as an eschatological
sign of the Kingdom? All are
called to spousal relationship. Some
are called to a vocation of virginity,
which has a true fruitfulness, but
“The priest is called to be the living
image of Jesus Christ, the spouse of
the Church.”8 The Priest is ordained
and thus configured to Christ, the
head and shepherd; therefore, he is
in a spousal relationship with regard
to the community.9
In essence, what we are saying is that
there is a connection with the person
who is a virgin/celibate for the sake
of the kingdom and how Jesus gives
His body for our salvation. This is the
nuptial meaning of the celibate body.
-Fr. Agustino Torres, CFR
Founder of Corazon Puro
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