Celibacy and Spiritual Warfare

As an Easterner, I have mixed feelings, but I have no doubt that those calling for married Latin clergy are part of the effort to destroy the Church.

From Crisis

By Fr Joseph Gill

As a Catholic priest, I have discovered yet another reason why I love and appreciate the gift of celibacy: I do not have an immediate family (wife and kids) upon whom Satan could wreak havoc and suffering.

A noteworthy Catholic speaker and musician, Paul Kim, tragically lost his son to a severe case of the flu. Another Catholic chastity speaker’s son was recently diagnosed with cancer but, through the prayers of thousands, seems to have made a miraculous recovery. Jennifer Fulwiler, a convert and passionate woman of God whose words have brought many to a deeper love for God, recently shared that her college-age daughter, too, was stricken with cancer and continues the battle. So many, so young, in such a short time. Perhaps there is more to it than genetics and unfortunate luck?

I can add testimonies from my own life: a dear friend was beginning an EWTN radio affiliate station in the New York metro area when his wife was inexplicably struck with cancer. She survived, thankfully, but it was a frightening and arduous year-long battle. My parish’s Family Ministry Coordinator, who puts on events to evangelize young families, finds that every time she is about to make major headway for Christ’s Kingdom, her daughters come down with an exhausting and devastating illness.

Are these just coincidences? Or is something else at play?

Spiritual warfare is a very real phenomenon—and it plays out in so many different ways. For some, it manifests in difficulty praying—almost like being in a “brain fog” when trying to connect with God before some major evangelization outreach. For some, it’s severe temptations or intrusive thoughts. For others, it’s a series of unfortunate “coincidences”—cars breaking down, plans thwarted, unexplained aches and pains. But for professional lay Catholics, I believe that many times the spiritual warfare falls upon their family members—to try to disrupt the good work they are doing for the Kingdom.

The Scriptures are clear that Satan can cause illness and injury. The misfortunes to befall Job, for example, are attributed to the work of the devil. Jesus says that the woman who was crippled and bent, whom He healed on the Sabbath, had been “bound by Satan” for 18 years (Luke 13:10-16). We see signs of epilepsy in the boy, but Jesus heals him by casting out Satan (Mark 9:17).

Admittedly, it’s hard to distinguish between spiritual warfare and ordinary illness. Is it caused by the Evil One, the toxins in our food, the pollutants in our air, or a genetic predisposition? Parsing out the spiritual from the physical causes of illness can be difficult; but the coincidence of inexplicable sicknesses and misfortunes hitting the lives and families of Catholic speakers and evangelists seems too correlated to be random chance.

This is why, as a Catholic priest, I have discovered yet another reason why I love and appreciate the gift of celibacy: I do not have an immediate family (wife and kids) upon whom Satan could wreak havoc and suffering. Spiritual warfare either falls upon me directly (which is difficult enough) or upon the chosen victim souls who offer their suffering for priests (and thanks be to God for their heroic love!). But thankfully, celibacy has spared me the heartache of watching my family suffer for my ministry.

There are, in Protestant circles, stereotypes about Pastors’ Kids (PKs, they call themselves). They are often perceived as having greater struggles in their faith and being rebellious or wayward as they try to find life outside of their parent’s “professional Christian” orbit. While this stereotype might be overblown, I do think there might be some spiritual warfare at play: if Satan can’t tempt a preacher to fall into a public scandal, he would go after their kids to try to tempt them to play the prodigal.

Hence, those who call for a married priesthood do not understand the immense amount of spiritual warfare that would be leveled at the family members of priests.

Pope John Paul II once said that there were a handful of victim souls back in Poland who were offering their sufferings for the pope—he personally thanked them for accepting the spiritual attacks on his behalf. I know, too, that I have parishioners who are suffering for me and the parish. But these victim souls are specially chosen by the Lord, and their sufferings do not lead to an abandonment of the Faith but a deepening of their love. I think it would be wrong to bring a wife and innocent children into the warfare and expect these unsuspecting souls to accept the mantle of suffering. It’s hard enough to grow up in a world hostile to the values of Christ—imagine trying to do so with a special target on your back because your parents are working for Christ’s Kingdom!

This isn’t to say that there should not be lay Catholic evangelists. Indeed, the Church has been exponentially blessed by them. But they—and their families—deserve extra prayers due to the immense amount of spiritual warfare their whole families suffer. And at the same time, this can lead to a newfound appreciation of the gift of celibacy—the realization that an unmarried laborer in Christ’s vineyard will not have to subject a spouse and children to the realities of spiritual warfare that priests and consecrated persons endure on a regular basis.

Of course, in all things we must remember that Jesus Christ is victorious and that “all things work for good” for those who love God. Even the illnesses of these Catholic speakers’ family members will work out for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. We redouble our prayer efforts for them as they bring so many souls closer to Heaven. And I thank God for the gift of celibacy, which allows the spiritual warfare to fall not on family members but on us priests alone.