Sean Cardinal O'Malley, Archbishop Of Boston, Blogs About Homosexuality

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Cardinal Seán O'Malley

Divine Providence is at hand.  Sean Patrick Cardinal O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts, just blogged about some of the same things I did in Part 2 of my series, Separating The Sin From The Sinner - and on the same day.  :-)

Here are some excerpts:

"I want to begin this week addressing a very important issue. [emphasis mine]

Some say that the Catholic Church hates people with same-sex attractions. This is not true. In fact, if there are any members of the Church who hate people because of their sexual orientation, they need to go to confession..."

"As Catholics, we must oppose the hatred and rejection of homosexual persons that exists in our society. We do not want them to be the object of discrimination or violence. We believe, however, that God’s law is written in our hearts [natural law] and that to lead a fully human life we need to embrace His commandments."

"The Church’s efforts to defend the institution of marriage has been interpreted by some as an indication of the Church’s hostility toward homosexual persons. The way that the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts framed the issue is unfavorable to Catholics or others who do not oppose anyone, but rather support an institution which is the cornerstone of society."

"It is encouraging that a number of Catholics who are homosexuals have expressed to me their conviction that marriage between a man and a woman is important for children and therefore for society." 


"Sometimes we are told: 'If you do not accept my behavior, you do not love me.' In reality we must communicate the exact opposite: 'Because we love you, we cannot accept your behavior.'”


It is worth reading his blog post in its entirety.

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images - http://www.cardinalseansblog.org/
http://www.imarksweb.net/642/written-on-the-heart-the-case-for-natural-law
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Separating The Sin From The Sinner - Part 1

This idea is a cornerstone to Catholicism, as well as to other religions.  It is a basic tenet we all need to not only know, but know how to carry out, in order to live at peace with each other and with each others' sinfulness.  You may have heard it expressed this way as well, "Hate the sin, love the sinner."  The behavior/sin has to be separated out from the person/sinner.  It's part of forgiveness.

So here I am.  A younger relative of mine recently moved in with her boyfriend.  It's not the first time they have slept together under the same roof, in the same room, in the same bed.  They've done it when they visited each other in the past.  Now, though, they are doing it uninterruptedly, renting a place together, food shopping together, house decorating together, and even writing notes from "us".  Are you married or aren't you?   It is much more uncomfortable than I expected.

I have had thoughts of not wanting to visit them.  I have also had thoughts of asking them when they are going to stop pretending to be married, and actually get married.  Never mind the thoughts about all the fornicating going on, and the use of artificial contraception. 

How do I love the two of them in this instance?  How do I hate their cohabitating, fornicating and contracepting, while I love the two persons involved?  It is not easy.  Separate the sin from the sinner.  Hate the sin, love the sinner.  It sounds so easy, but those suggestions are packed with challenges I could never have foreseen.

I brought them a bag of groceries.  Am I illicit in their sin?  I was invited to stay with them a couple days.  I'd like to save money, so it is tempting, but I can't do that.  They may be pretending they are married, but I can't pretend.  I got a note the other day, from the both of them.  Since when did he start writing to me?  I know they are ignorant about the impact their pretending to play house has on others, but I can't help my interior reactions of frustration, of fear (the divorce rate for couples who live together before getting married is higher than an already high rate), of anger (if they get pregnant, will they abort the baby?), and of humility (I can't control the world).

Hate the sin, love the sinner.  Sounds easy, but when it is face to face in your life in a serious way, it is challenging.  I don't know exactly how I will handle each situation that arises.  Honesty with compassion is the modus operandi I strive for, but since I am a sinner, too, I am sure I will have to frequent the confessional myself.

Kathleen

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image - http://www.zazzle.com/hate_the_sin_love_the_sinner_mk_gandhi_mug-168973483000872939
*Some details have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.
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Fr. Thomas Euteneuer Issues Statement About His HLI Departure

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It is with sadness and relief that I publish this entry.  The relief is not only from knowing what happened, but from witnessing Fr. Euteneuer's candid response at this time.  Even with that, though, this is not good for the Church or for the ProLife movement.


Fr. Thomas J. Euteneuer


Fr. Thomas Euteneuer, who served for ten years as Human Life International's President, stepped down from his position in August 2010.  The circumstances were murky, but they have just become clear.  Please read this in its entirety.

Statement of Fr. Thomas Euteneuer: ‘Setting the record straight’ by Fr. Tom Euteneuer







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image - http://hliamerica.org/hli-america-in-the-news/
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A Plug For The Pope - From A Protestant

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Stanley Hauerwas on Reformation Sunday

Stanley is Protestant.  Here is an excerpt from his talk.

"For example, I often point out that at least Catholics have the magisterial office of the Bishop of Rome to remind them that disunity is a sin. You should not overlook the significance that in several important documents of late, John Paul II has confessed the Catholic sin for the Reformation. Where are the Protestants capable of doing likewise? We Protestants feel no sin for the disunity of the Reformation. We would not know how to confess our sin for the continuing disunity of the Reformation. We would not know how to do that because we have no experience of unity."


Kathleen

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image - http://www.andyrowell.net/andy_rowell/2009/03/comparing-stanley-grenz-and-stanley-hauerwas.html

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Want To Improve Your Love Life?

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                  CONTRACEPTING                               

Take down, eliminate, and get rid of those barriers to God's intimate love in your life. Pray, and ask the Holy Spirit for help.  If you are single, stop having sex altogether.  If you are married, research natural family planning

Here are some other ideas to consider.

- The purest form of love between a man and woman is a child. Do you really want to interfere with that by using the birth control pill? by dressing immodestly? by having pre-marital sex? by forcing your spouse to have sex? by being unchaste in other ways?

- Consider reading Love & Responsibility , by Karol Wojtyla (later Pope John Paul II) or Sex And The Marriage Covenant , by John F. Kippley, The Conjugal Act , by Donald P. Asci, or read the transcription of Janet E. Smith's CD, Contraception Why Not

- Say "I'm sorry" for the confusion, the misunderstanding or the hurt you caused.  It is healing for everyone involved, as long as it is said with a pure heart.

- Fast.  It is a way to temper your desires and bring peace to the world. It also deepens your Faith. Try fasting from food, of course, but also try fasting from swearing, from being stingey, from watching TV, from being self-absorbed, and from always being first in line.

- In giving, you receive. Do you tithe? I don't mean $1 a week in the basket. I mean serious tithing, like 10% of your income. Start at a lower amount and work your way up.

- Confession may only be required for mortal sin, but regular confession for venial sins (at least once a month) gives you grace to stay away from sin and occasions of sin in the first place. "Be humbled in the sight of the Lord, and he will exalt you." (James 4:10)

- Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. Have you loved your temple today? or have you overeaten, underslept, sugared out, watched too much TV, watched too much violent or sex-filled TV, sat at your computer too long, underdressed for Mass or Divine Liturgy or dressed immodestly in general?

- Clearing house can clear your heart, mind and soul.  Pare down your physical belongings.

- Do service work.  It the cornerstone to seeing God in every person.  Start with your family members and serve them, then go together to the non-profits.

Peace in Christ,
Kathleen


* This is a rewrite of an entry from my first blog.

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Confession - You Are Not Alone

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image -  http://midlifeslices.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/confession.gif
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Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa

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I can't wait to go to Confession soon.  I have a few sins that are weighing heavily on my heart.

I can not wait to go before God, via the priest in persona Christi, to repent and do penance and have my slate wiped clean by God's mercy, so I can start all over and be strengthened with His grace to bring the Light of Jesus Christ to the rest of the world.  God is good.

If it has been awhile since you have gone to Confession, please consider going.  Not only will your sins be forgiven, if merited, but you will also receive grace to avoid them in the future.  And that heaviness in your heart?  It will be lifted, either right away or soon after.

Here is what Pope John Paul II had to say:

"Because of Christ's love and mercy, there is no sin that is too great to be forgiven; there is no sinner who will be rejected. Every person who repents will be received by Jesus Christ with forgiveness and immense love."

"And if today there is someone who is still hesitating, for one reason or another, please remember this: the person who knows how to acknowledge the truth of guilt, and asks Christ for forgiveness, enhances his own human dignity and manifests spiritual greatness."  -  Pope John Paul II, Ireland, September 29, 1979

For more information on Confessions, click here

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image - http://holygodblog.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/confession.jpg

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Spring Cleaning for the Soul

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I went shopping yesterday and saw a sign that said "Spring Clearance."  I thought of my soul.  I could go for a good spring cleaning.  Here are some things I would like to get rid of.

• The negative talking I do about people when they are not present
• The feet I drag sometimes before I get around to doing the Rosary
• All those times I don't get around to doing the Rosary
• The silences I carry instead of telling others I love them
• Petty jealousies
• Self-pity - This is so unproductive, isn't it?
• Ingratitude
• Texting or cell phoning while driving - Do I think I am immune to injury and death?
• My avoidance of reading the Bible, again
• Missing too many Daily Masses
• Watching useless TV
• Fretting
• Talking when it would be best for me to listen to others
• White lies - Oh, those white lies
• Not doing more concrete things to act on my ProLife beliefs
• Not speaking up about priests who grossly ad lib the words of the Liturgy, e.g. "Happy are all of us who are gathered here to take part in this meal." - What?!  The laity doesn't even know how to respond to that and the priest has been saying it for more than two years.

And here are some other things I wish could get purged.

• People who call themselves ProChoice yet do not tolerate my choice of ProLife
• Media bashing of the Catholic Church
• People who call themselves Catholic yet do not believe in the Real Presence
• People who call themselves Catholic yet consciously fornicate and/or contracept
• People, especially those who have children in religious education classes, who call themselves Catholic yet do not go to Mass or Confession
• Clergy and everyone else guilty of sex abuse

May God take all these items to His purgative fires of love and extinguish them.


Jesus, I love You.  Help me to follow You more closely.

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image - http://www.ic.nc.gov/ncic/pages/spring-cleaning.jpg

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Bless Me Father, For I Have Sinned

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I went to Divine Liturgy, the Eastern Catholic Sunday celebration, and I realized at coffee hour that Confession is one of the most needed Sacraments. 

Here we are at coffee hour below the sanctuary of the church on the holiest day of the week, and several of us have fallen short of Jesus' command to love thy neighbor as thyself.  Nothing major.  Abrasive edge of one's tone of voice.  Abrupt reply.  Stepping in front of someone to get food.  Mild politicking.  Yes, politicking, even in church, and that is why Confession is needed so much.  We Christians fall short of the very things we teach, even on Sundays.

Thank God Jesus knew our human nature and instituted Confession before He left this earth.  "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained."  (John 20:22-23)  It is the only way I know that we can cleanse ourselves and regenerate our spirits and try again with one another.  I often can feel it in my bones, so to speak, when I need to go to Confession.  I really wish the Church would suggest that everyone go at least once a month.

"I am weak; heal me, LORD, for my bones are trembling."  - Psalm 6:3


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image - http://www.connorcourt.com/catalog1/images/CONFESS.JPG

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