1 Corinthians 7:32-35
I want you to be free from anxieties. The unmarried man is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to please the Lord; but the married man is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please his wife, and his interests are divided. And the unmarried woman or girl is anxious about the affairs of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit; but the married woman is anxious about worldly affairs, how to please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to lay any restraint upon you, but to promote good order and to secure your undivided devotion to the Lord.
Ever since the days of Jesus, one of the ways in which men and women have shown their devotion to God is by imitating Jesus in his single-minded love for the Church and adopting a celibate life. Paul did this and countless priests and bishops have followed in his footsteps. Such a choice, like all real choices, is not without cost and our priests need our love and prayers as they pursue Jesus, just as we need theirs in our daily lives. If you have not prayed for you priest today, be sure to do so and to thank God for the gift he has made of that man (and the gift that man has made of himself) to you and the ones you love. If you have prayed for your priest, make a point of telling him so and thanking him for his “undivided devotion to the Lord.”
