'I once heard a married woman say that Christian married couples need Christian celibates within the believing community in order to show the world what distinguishes Christian marriages from others.
Christian marriage is a sacrament because it is a sign of something real but invisible, namely, Christ's selfless love for his church. A celibate commitment is not a sacrament because it points to what is visible in Christian marriage, but which is easily missed or misunderstood, namely that self-fulfillment is not the ultimate meaning of life.
The "bottom line" for Christians who take each other for life no matter what, must be a selfless love which is a visible expression of Christ's selfless love in taking his church to himself. Celibates within the same believing community highlight this dimension of Christian marriage by living in a way that recognizes that self-fulfillment is not the ultimate meaning of life.'
Keith Clark, An Experience of Celibacy, p.104.
