More from Lemmons on Bridegroom Analogy

Following up on her discussion of male priesthood, UST philosopher Mary Lemmons sent me some speculation (if not anwers) about the questions raised by Eduardo this past March about applying the bridegroom/bride analogy in the context of the requirement that priests be heterosexual.

It's important to realize that the bridegroom/bride analogy as it pertains to Christ and the Church also pertains to Christ and the people of God.  As such, the analogy teaches that every human being is to relate to Christ as to the bridegroom. Moreover, since Christ as the bridegroom signifies sacrificial love on the Cross and the Church as bride signifies responsive love, it is the feminine paradigm that images how every human being is to correctly relate to Christ, i.e., feminine responsiveness is the properly human response to God. Our responsiveness to Christ transforms us, especially through the Eucharist, into His image. Thus, women as well as men are called to image Christ.

Given this, it remains puzzling that the Catholic Church, in all her rites, has decided to restrict priestly ordination to heterosexual men. By so doing, the Church invites us to mediatate on heterosexuality: why is heterosexuality so important? Why did God create the human race as divided into males and females?

John Paul II in his Catechism on Genesis teaches that human beings image God best in moments of heterosexual, spousal union; because then we best image the Trinity. Could it thus be that part of the reason why the Church restricts priestly ordination to heterosexual men is to call attention to heterosexuality and the radical incompleteness of masculinity without femininity as well as the incompleteness of femininity without masculinity? Such radical incompleteness identifies the indispensability of both sexes as well as the need for each sex to relate to the other through equally reciprocated acts of self-giving love.  Could it be that by restricting priestly ordination to heterosexual men, while also identifying ordained priests to be images of Christ,  the Church is seeking to teach men that their masculinity achieves its highest fulfillment in a self-sacrificial love unafraid to embrace the Cross for the good of others?  Could it be that men especially need this message?

Lisa