262. The Christian sacramental marriage

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Churcc Lesson 262

Ave Maria series

262 What is necessary for a Christian, sacramental marriage?

A sacramental marriage has three necessary elements: (a) free consent, (b) the affirmation of a life-long, exclusive union, and (c) openness to children.  The most profound thing about a Christian marriage, however, is the couple’s knowledge: “We are a living image of the love between Christ and the Church.”  [1644-1654, 1664]

Bob, Laurie and John on the shore of Lake Michigan at Baileys Harbor, Wi.…..262

The requirement of unity and indissolubility is directed in the first place against polygamy, which Christianity views as a fundamental offence against charity and human rights; it is also directed against what could be called “successive polygamy”, a series of non-binding love affairs that never arrive at one, great, irrevocable commitment.  The requirement of marital fidelity entails a willingness to enter a lifelong union, which excludes affairs outside the marriage. The requirement of openness to fertility means that the Christian married couple is willing to accept any children that God may send them.  Couples who remain childless are called by God to become “fruitful” in some other way. A marriage in which one of these elements is excluded at the marriage ceremony is not valid.

“An ‘open’ marriage is a marriage that was never entered into.”  Theodor Weissenborn (b. 1933, German writer)

“Love is perfected in fidelity.”  Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855)

MONOGAMY, POLYGAMY (from the Greek monos=one, polys=many, and gamos=marriage): marriage to one person or marriage to several persons at once.  Christianity forbids polygamy, which is also punished by the state as the crime of “bigamy” (Greek bi=two).

[1644-1654, 1664]

The unity and indissolubility of marriage

1644 The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their entire life: "so they are no longer two, but one flesh."(Matthew 19:6; compare Genesis 2:24.)¹⁵³  They "are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving."(Familiaris Consortio 19.)¹⁵⁴  This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of the common faith and by the Eucharist received together. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1645 "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and unreserved affection."(Gaudium et Spes 49 § 2)¹⁵⁵  Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which is undivided and exclusive.(CompareFamiliaris Consortio 19.)¹⁵⁶–CCC

The fidelity of conjugal love

1646 By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement "until further notice." The "intimate union of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them."(Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1.)¹⁵⁷–CCC

1647 The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning. –CCC

1648 It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to God's faithful love. Spouses who with God's grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community.(Compare Familiaris Consortio 20.)¹⁵⁸–CCC

1649 Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. The Christian community is called to help these persons live out their situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage bond which remains indissoluble.(Compare Familiaris Consortio 83; Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 1151-1155.)¹⁵⁹–CCC

1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery"(Mark 10:11-12.)¹⁶⁰  the Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence. –CCC

1651 Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons:

They should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community efforts for justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God's grace.(Familiaris Consortio 84.)¹⁶¹–CCC

The openness to fertility

1652 "By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory."(Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1; 50.)¹⁶²

Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves. God himself said: "It is not good that man should be alone," and "from the beginning [he] made them male and female"; wishing to associate them in a special way in his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: "Be fruitful and multiply." Hence, true married love and the whole structure of family life which results from it, without diminishment of the other ends of marriage, are directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and enrich his family from day to day.(Gaudium et Spes 50 § 1; compare Genesis 2:18; Matthew 19:4; Genesis 1:28.)¹⁶³–CCC

1653 The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children.(Compare Gravissimum Educationis 3.)¹⁶⁴  In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life.(Compare Familiaris Consortio 28.)¹⁶⁵–CCC

1654 Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality, and of sacrifice. –CCC

IN BRIEF

1664 Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift," the child (Gaudium et Spes 50 § 1).–CCC

People  Children Bob Laurie

261. "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband."

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 261

Ave Maria series

261  How does the sacrament of Matrimony come about?

The sacrament of Matrimony comes about through a promise made by a man and a woman before God and the Church, which is accepted and confirmed by God and consummated by the bodily union of the couple.  Because God himself forms the bond of sacramental marriage, it is binding until the death of one of the partners.  [1625-1631]

So faith, hope, love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love. –1 Corinthians 13:13.  My wife, RoseMarie, setting a Christmas dinner table for the family.….. 261

The man and the woman mutually administer the sacrament of Matrimony.  The priest or the deacon calls down God’s blessing on the couple and furthermore, witness that the marriage comes about under the right circumstances and that the promise is comprehensive and is made publicly.  A marriage can come about only if there is marital consent, that is, if the man and the woman enter marriage of their own free will, without fear or coercion, and if they are not prevented from marrying by other natural or ecclesiastical ties (for example, an existing marriage, a vow of celibacy).

“How can I ever express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church…?  How wonderful the bond between two believers, now one in hope, one in desire, one in discipline, one in the same service…undivided in spirit and flesh, truly two in one flesh, Where the flesh is one, one also is the spirit.”  Tertullian (160-after 220, Latin ecclesiastical writer)

[1625-1631]

MATRIMONIAL CONSENT

1625 The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; "to be free" means:

- not being under constraint;

- not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law. –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1626 The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes the marriage."(Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1057 § 1.)¹²⁷ If consent is lacking there is no marriage.--CCC

1627 The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband."(Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1; Ordo Celebrandi Matrimonium 45; compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1057 § 2.)¹²⁸ This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh." (Genesis 2:24; compare Mark 10:8; Ephesians 5:31.)¹²⁹--CCC

1628 The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear.(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1103.)¹³⁰ No human power can substitute for this consent.(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1057 § 1.)¹³¹ If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid.--CCC

1629 For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed.(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, cann. 1095-1107.)¹³² In this case the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged.(Compare Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1071.)¹³³--CCC

1630 The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality.--CCC

1631 This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this requirement( Compare Council of Trent: Denzinger-Schonmetzer 1813-1816; Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1108.)¹³⁴--CCC

- Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;

- Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards their children;

- Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have witnesses);

- The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the spouses remain faithful to it.–CCC

People Family Christmas

260. “no longer two but one”

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 260

Ave Maria series

The Sacrament of Marriage

260  Why did God dispose man and woman for each other?

God disposed man and woman for each other so that they might be “no longer two but one” (Matthew 19:6).  In this way they are to live in love, be fruitful, and thus become a sign of God himself, who is nothing but overflowing love.  [1601-1605]64, 400, 417

Six children and six grandchildren later, this is Rose and myself “sailing” the Wisconsin River between Rhinelander and Hat Rapids Dam on our 40^thwedding anniversary. The family (not shown) were also aboard the houseboat.  I like to think that the Bragg children arranged the rainbow’s appearance. June 15, 2018 was our 50^thanniversary.…..260

[1601-1605]

THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."(Codex Iuris Canonici, can. 1055 § 1; compare Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1.)⁸⁴–Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

MARRIAGE IN GOD'S PLAN

1602 Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." (Revelation 19:7, 9; compare Genesis 1:26-27.)⁸⁵ Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.(1 Corinthians 7:39; compare Ephesians 5:31-32.)⁸⁶--CCC

Marriage in the order of creation

1603 "The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage."(Gaudium et Spes 48 § 1.)⁸⁷ The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,(Compare Gaudium et Spes 47 § 2.)⁸⁸ some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. "The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life."(Gaudium et Spes 47 § 1.)⁸⁹--CCC

1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.(Compare Genesis 1:27; 1 John 4:8, 16.)⁹⁰ Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. And this love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: "And God blessed them, and God said to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'"(Genesis 1:28; compare Gen 1:31.)⁹¹--CCC

1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18.)⁹² The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. (Compare Genesis 2:18-25.)⁹³ "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." (Genesis 2:24.)⁹⁴ The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."(Matthew 19:6.)⁹⁵–CCC

People  Rose Don 

259. The universal priesthood

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Church Lesson 259

Ave Maria series

259  How is the universal priesthood of all the faithful different from the ordained priesthood?

Through Baptism, Christ has made us into a kingdom of “priests to his God and Father” (Revelation 1:6).  Through the universal priesthood, every Christian is called to work in the world in God’s name and to bring blessings and grace to it.  In the Upper Room during the Last Supper and when he commissioned the apostles with a sacred authority to serve the faithful; these ordained priests represent Christ as pastors (shepherds) of his people and as head of his Body, the Church.  [1546-1553, 1592]

The ”Diary” by St. Faustina…..259

To Saint Faustina, Jesus said, “Encourage souls to say the Chaplet which I have given you (Diary 1541).  Whoever will recite it will receive great mercy at the hour of death (Diary 687).  When they say this chaplet in the presence of the dying, I will stand between my Father and the dying person, not as the just Judge but as the Merciful Savior (Diary 1541). Priests will recommend it to sinners as their last hope of salvation.  Even if there were a sinner most hardened, if he were to recite this chaplet only once, he would receive grace from My infinite mercy (Diary 687). Through the Chaplet you will obtain everything, if what you ask for is compatible with My will (Diary 1731).

“Eternal Father, I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ for in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.”(Diary 950) …….Who among us would presume to pray for “the whole world?”  Maybe I could pray for a particular problem, but surely not the problems of the WHOLE world?  But that is exactly what our Savior asks us to do when we pray the Chaplet rosary given to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska (Diary 475, 476, 1541).

The words of the two special Chaplet rosary prayers that we are emboldened to say are: “Eternal Father, I offer you the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins an those of the whole world”; and, “For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

Using the same word, “priest”, for two related things that nevertheless “differ essentially and not only in degree” often leads to misunderstandings. (Second Vatican Council, (Lumen Gentium 10, 2)  On the one hand, we should observe with joy that all the baptized are “priests” because we live n Christ and share in everything he is and does.  Why, then, do we not call down a permanent blessing on this world?  On the other hand, we must rediscover God’s gift to his Church, the ordained priests, who represent the Lord himself among us.  138

“Like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”  1 Peter 2:5

“I am created to do or to be something for which no one else is created:  I have a place in God’s counsels, in God’s world, which no one else has.”  Bl. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) 

 [1546-1553, 1592]

THE SACRAMENT OF HOLY ORDERS IN THE ECONOMY OF SALVATION

Two participations in the one priesthood of Christ

1546Christ, high priest and unique mediator, has made of the Church "a kingdom, priests for his God and Father."(Revelation 1:6; compare Revelation 5:9-10; 1 Peter 2:5,9.)²⁰  The whole community of believers is, as such, priestly. The faithful exercise their baptismal priesthood through their participation, each according to his own vocation, in Christ's mission as priest, prophet, and king. Through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation the faithful are "consecrated to be . . . a holy priesthood."(Lumen Gentium 10 § 1.)²¹ –Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition

1547 The ministerial or hierarchical priesthood of bishops and priests, and the common priesthood of all the faithful participate, "each in its own proper way, in the one priesthood of Christ." While being "ordered one to another," they differ essentially.(Lumen Gentium 10 § 2.)²²In what sense? While the common priesthood of the faithful is exercised by the unfolding of baptismal grace --a life of faith, hope, and charity, a life according to the Spirit--, the ministerial priesthood is at the service of the common priesthood. It is directed at the unfolding of the baptismal grace of all Christians. The ministerial priesthood is a means by which Christ unceasingly builds up and leads his Church. For this reason it is transmitted by its own sacrament, the sacrament of Holy Orders. –CCC

In the person of Christ the Head . . .

1548 In the ecclesial service of the ordained minister, it is Christ himself who is present to his Church as Head of his Body, Shepherd of his flock, high priest of the redemptive sacrifice, Teacher of Truth. This is what the Church means by saying that the priest, by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders, acts in persona Christi Capitis(Compare Lumen Gentium 10; 28; Sacrosanctum Concilium 33; Christus Dominus 11; Presbyterorum Ordinis 2; 6.)²³  –CCC

It is the same priest, Christ Jesus, whose sacred person his minister truly represents. Now the minister, by reason of the sacerdotal consecration which he has received, is truly made like to the high priest and possesses the authority to act in the power and place of the person of Christ himself (virtute ac persona ipsius Christi)(Compare Lumen Gentium 10; 28; Sacrosanctum Concilium 33; Christus Dominus 11; Presbyterorum Ordinis 2; 6.)²⁴–CCC

Christ is the source of all priesthood: the priest of the old law was a figure of Christ, and the priest of the new law acts in the person of Christ.(St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III,22,4c.)²⁵–CCC

1549 Through the ordained ministry, especially that of bishops and priests, the presence of Christ as head of the Church is made visible in the midst of the community of believers.(Compare Lumen Gentium 21.)²⁶  In the beautiful expression of St. Ignatius of Antioch, the bishop is typos tou Patros: he is like the living image of God the Father.(St. Ignatius of Antioch, Ad Trall. 3,1:Sources Chrẻtiennes 10,96; compare Ad Magn. 6,1:SCh 10,82-84.)²⁷–CCC

2550 This presence of Christ in the minister is not to be understood as if the latter were preserved from all human weaknesses, the spirit of domination, error, even sin. The power of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee all acts of ministers in the same way. While this guarantee extends to the sacraments, so that even the minister's sin cannot impede the fruit of grace, in many other acts the minister leaves human traces that are not always signs of fidelity to the Gospel and consequently can harm the apostolic fruitfulness of the Church. –CCC

1551 This priesthood is ministerial. "That office . . . which the Lord committed to the pastors of his people, is in the strict sense of the term a service."(Lumen Gentium 24.)²⁸ It is entirely related to Christ and to men. It depends entirely on Christ and on his unique priesthood; it has been instituted for the good of men and the communion of the Church. The sacrament of Holy Orders communicates a "sacred power" which is none other than that of Christ. The exercise of this authority must therefore be measured against the model of Christ, who by love made himself the least and the servant of all.(Compare Mark 10:43-45; 1 Peter 5:3.)²⁹  "The Lord said clearly that concern for his flock was proof of love for him."(St. John Chrysostom, De sac. 2, 4:Patrologia Graeca 48, 636; compare John 21:15-17.)³⁰–CCC

. . . "in the name of the whole Church"

1552 The ministerial priesthood has the task not only of representing Christ - Head of the Church - before the assembly of the faithful, but also of acting in the name of the whole Church when presenting to God the prayer of the Church, and above all when offering the Eucharistic sacrifice.(Compare Sacrosanctum Concilium 33N; Lumen Gentium 10.)³¹–CCC

1553 "In the name of the whole Church" does not mean that priests are the delegates of the community. The prayer and offering of the Church are inseparable from the prayer and offering of Christ, her head; it is always the case that Christ worships in and through his Church. The whole Church, the Body of Christ, prays and offers herself "through him, with him, in him," in the unity of the Holy Spirit, to God the Father. The whole Body, caput et membra, prays and offers itself, and therefore those who in the Body are especially his ministers are called ministers not only of Christ, but also of the Church. It is because the ministerial priesthood represents Christ that it can represent the Church. --CCC

IN BRIEF

1592The ministerial priesthood differs in essence from the common priesthood of the faithful because it confers a sacred power for the service of the faithful. The ordained ministers exercise their service for the People of God by teaching (munus docendi), divine worship (munus liturgicum) and pastoral governance (munus regendi). –CCC

Saint Faustina Divine mercy

258. Celibacy: for the love of God's kingdom and the service of men

YOUCAT Catechism + Catechism of the Catholic Faith Lesson 258

Ave Maria series

258  Why does the Church require priests and bishops to live a celibate life?

Jesus lived as a celibate and in this way intended to show his undivided love for God the Father. To follow Jesus’ way of life and to live in unmarried chastity “for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 19:12)has been since Jesus’ time a sign of love, of undivided devotion to the Lord, and of a complete willingness to serve.  The Roman Catholic Church requires this way of life of its bishops and priests, while the Eastern Catholic Churches demand it only of their bishops.  [1579-1580, 1599]

A  bishop anointing the palms of priest with the oil of chrism.…..258

Celibacy, says Pope Benedict, cannot mean “remaining empty in love, but rather must mean allowing oneself to be overcome by a passion for God”.  A priest who lives as a celibate should be fruitful inasmuch as he represents the fatherly character of God and Jesus.  The Pope goes on to say, “Christ needs priests who are mature and manly, capable of exercising a true spiritual fatherhood.“

[1579-1580, 1599]

WHO CAN RECEIVE THIS SACRAMENT?

1579  All the ordained ministers of the Latin Church, with the exception of permanent deacons, are normally chosen from among men of faith who live a celibate life and who intend to remain celibate "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven."(Matthew 19:12.)⁷⁰ Called to consecrate themselves with undivided heart to the Lord and to "the affairs of the Lord,"(1 Corinthians 7:32.)⁷¹they give themselves entirely to God and to men. Celibacy is a sign of this new life to the service of which the Church's minister is consecrated; accepted with a joyous heart celibacy radiantly proclaims the Reign of God.(Compare Presbyterorum Ordinis 16.)⁷²–Catechism of the Catholi Church, Second Edition

1580   In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities.(Compare Presbyterorum Ordinis 16.)⁷³ Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry. --CCC

IN BRIEF

1599  In the Latin Church the sacrament of Holy Orders for the presbyterate is normally conferred only on candidates who are ready to embrace celibacy freely and who publicly manifest their intention of staying celibate for the love of God's kingdom and the service of men. –CCC

Sacrament  Holy Orders Bishop