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1 Corinthians 7:1-3
New Catholic Bible
1 Corinthians 7:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Marriage and Celibacy among Christians[a]
Chapter 7
Christian Marriage.[b] 1 Now I will move on to the matters about which you wrote. Yes, it is a good thing for a man to refrain from touching a woman. 2 However, to avoid the temptation to immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 A husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise a wife should fulfill her conjugal obligations to her husband.
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- 1 Corinthians 7:1 The Apostle here expounds some basic ideas about marriage; elsewhere he will develop some deeper aspects of it (Eph 5:4-33). His reply is formulated in response to concrete situations. When he speaks of celibacy, he manifests something of his personal conviction resulting from his experience of a life devoted entirely to Christ. This chapter remains one of the major Christian documents for understanding consecrated virginity, but also for keeping alive in the Church the discussion of marriage and celibacy as choices of ways of life.
- 1 Corinthians 7:1 The call to celibacy is an excellent gift, but conjugal life is also a gift of the Lord and continues to be the normal condition. In speaking of couples, Paul emphasizes their life in common, their mutual belonging, and the reciprocal gift of self. He reminds his readers of the clear Gospel message: the conjugal community is an indissoluble one (see Mt 5:32; 19:9; Mk 10:11-12; Lk 16:18). Spouses may follow calls to a more intense spiritual life, but let them first safeguard the essential realities of their union.
