On Celibacy
Whoever approaches the priesthood should be pure as if he were in Heaven.
Saint John Chrysostom.
Lately there have been some small but deep voices within the Roman Church about the reason for the maintenance of celibacy in the Latin clergy. Honestly, I hope that it does not become a controversy that we can regret in later decades, without a doubt celibacy is one of the spiritual privileges that a priest can boast. Voluntary celibacy would not be heresy in the strict sense of the word, but it would be a major loss for the attributes and commitments of the priest. I will explain briefly the reasons below.
The case of celibacy is old in the Latin Church, it was in the primitive Council of Elvira in which priestly celibacy was emphasized: "The following prohibition has been completely decided on bishops, priests and deacons or all clergy positions in ministry: that they abstain from their wives and not beget children; and whoever wishes to do so, be removed from the honor of the clergy ".
So we see how it was one of the main issues to deal with. But leaving councils aside, we will go to the defense for a virgin and celibate life. This defense was wielded by Saint Gregory of Nyssa, who wrote an essay in defense of celibacy which I strongly recommend reading, On Virginity.
Gregory opens by lauding virginity as a prize to be sought and strained for. He points out that the Divine life is virgin in every respect of the term: the persons of the Trinity are totally passionless and incorruptible. Christ's human birth was as apart from fleshly passions as was his generation from the Father. As virginity was blessed as the means of God reaching down to us, so virgin souls are made able to rise into the pure and holy dance of the Divine life. As we grow toward the likeness of God, we too must be virgins.
For the virgin, death is not fearful, for it threatens no separation from the Beloved. The virgin does not compete with others for worldly riches or glory, or any other perishable folly; he or she is lifted up above such things, concerned only with virtue and wrapped in peace. Whether rich or poor, suffering or comfortable, the virgin realizes that such states are irrelevant, and rather than seek self-gratification (thus attaching oneself to a whole chain of vices), the virgin seeks what is unchangeable and beyond the emotional and sensual world. For those caught in the secular life, a flight to virginity is called for; one must climb out of the stream of temporal concerns in order to contemplate eternity. Or rather, Gregory clarifies one must elude the feelings and attachments the flesh produces, and live for one's spirit, to bring it closer to the Father.
This is virginity, a return to innocence. Gregory compares the soul to a mirror which must be cleaned before, held up to Beauty, it can itself be a thing of beauty. A soul that has detached itself from all worldly passions, even from all lesser goods, will feel a burning passion for Beauty itself which unlike worldly things is constant and unchangeable.
Man was originally created perfect, without weakness or passion, with a reason and free will in God's likeness. Evil was born in man's will, as man shut his eyes, so to speak, to the glory of the Divine Spirit, plunging himself into darkness. From the first sin, evil spread like rust over the souls of all subsequent humanity, completely concealing the likeness and fine workmanship of the Creator. Although to wipe away this stain is to return to one's nature, humans are unable to accomplish this of themselves. The divine likeness nevertheless remains within, hidden; this is the meaning of "the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21).
Thus the priest, as a man of God, must detach himself from the earthly world. He must operate in the name of Our Lord and must approach Him, which implies filling his soul with God, which is something almost incompatible with leading a married life, since in that case man would not be giving his whole being for God (although he can reach holiness, but not with the same merit). As Saint Thomas Aquinas said:
...Whoever practices virginity abstains from all venereal delight to dedicate himself more freely to the contemplation of the Truth, since the Apostle says in 1 Cor 7,34: The unmarried and virgin woman thinks of the things of the Lord, of being holy in body and soul; but the one who is married thinks about the things of the world, how to please her husband. Therefore, virginity is not something vicious, but praiseworthy.
Concluding, I personally encourage those who want to live a religious life and consecrate themselves body and soul to the Blessed Sacrament, so the Holy Spirit can guide them to contemplate the Most Holy.