Celibacy is not a sad renunciation

The celibacy of a priest or someone consecrated to God is often seen as a deprivation, something lacking. But, well lived, it is not an empty void: it is a heart given entirely to God and, through him, to many. It does not arise from despising marriage, which is a great good, but from a distinct calling: leaving the heart free for a mission and to love many people without exclusivity. It is a way of anticipating heaven already, where love will not pass through marriage. One does not have to understand everything to respect it. When lived with joy, it shows: it is not someone lacking something, but someone filled with a reason that overflows him.