Dear M.C.,
Thank you for your trust.
Virginity is both physical and spiritual. The virginity of the body opens the mind to virginity of the soul, which allows the person to grasp the richness of the spiritual world and the paradisiacal aspects of Creation. When a person loses the virginity of the body through impurity – sexual intercourse and other related sins – normally speaking, he also makes a concession in his soul. In his soul he becomes akin to and adheres to the prosaic and vilifying aspects of the sins of impurity.
This action basically closes the soul to those highest truths, which he then classifies as unrealistic fantasies. Thus, that marvelous world of innocence, which is linked to the world of the Angels, becomes a foreign land to him. He turns his attention principally to the worldly realities that lie outside those golden and celestial reverberations.
However, some persons who lose their physical virginity do not adhere entirely to impurity; they conserve a more or less strong nostalgia for that lost marvelous world. These persons are more open than many to return to those ideals of virginity. Although they have already lost their original physical virginity, they still have a chance to restore that marvelous vision through the practice of chastity. St. Mary Magdalene, for example, was certainly not a virgin when she encountered Our Lord; yet after her conversion she became a model of chastity in the Church.
Chastity is abstaining from any sin against purity – by means of thought, word or action – after having lost one's original virginity.
The conclusion is that the call to have this superior vision of God, the spiritual world and the paradisiacal aspects of Creation includes both virginal and chaste persons.
The correct position about marriage and celibate life is a corollary of this conclusion. St. Paul affirms that those who remain celibate are called to care for things that belong to God, and those who are married are called to care for things that are of the world. (Cf. 1 Cor 7:32-35) This corresponds to what we just explained about virginity and chastity.
With these presuppositions, let us give specific answers to your questions:
- Q - Do people lose their virginity forever if they commit sins against the sixth/ninth commandments?
- A - They lose their bodily virginity forever, but the vision proper to spiritual virginity can be restored through the practice of chastity.
- Q - If so, can they still be considered as living a state of virginity if they decided to live a single celibate life?
- A - They can live the state of chastity, which can restore many of the gifts of spiritual virginity.
- Q - Above all, if people already lost their virginity, is a vocation of single celibate life still higher than matrimony for them?
- A - Yes, it is. By nature, the Catholic single celibate life is higher than matrimony. This is because those persons are able to show greater care for the things of God, while married persons are forced to show greater care for the worldly needs of their families.
Cordially,
TIA correspondence desk
