We have Totus Tuus going on this week at our Parish, and as usual it is an amazing feat of Catechesis, fun, and Worship of the Only Living and True God. However, as is often the case, we do have a few kids that aren't quite getting it. Typical, really, and I am not concerned, as God has his hand upon all of us and guides us as we are ready. Nevertheless, today one young boy was found in the bathroom all alone and would not come out. I was summoned and went in to talk to him. A smallish boy of around 7 dressed all in basketball shorts and t-shirt, I found him in a stall just sitting on top of the tank of the toilet. He was sort of holding his knees and seemed quite sad.
I questioned him to make sure he was okay, and then asked what had happened. It turned out he had been made fun of by some of the kids, later I found it out it was because he did not have a good guess for hangman. Well, I asked him if he wanted to come out, but he said no. Then I said okay, when you want to come out, then you can. And I walked out of the bathroom and chatted with a team member and a few teen volunteers. About a half hour later, he finally began very tentatively peeking out and looking if anyone was paying attention - he preferred to leave his "cave" on his own terms. He went to a corner of the gym and sat down. I noticed him and walked over and sat down beside him. we chatted a little about what had happened, and then I asked him if he wanted to play basketball as we waited for the other kids to come in or until mass began at 11:15. We played basketball, until a group of other kids about his age came in. Then a game spontaneously was organized. Unfortunately, this young boy would not pass, nor would not let anyone take a shot, except himself whenever he got the ball.
After the game, I headed to the Church to prepare for Mass. It wasn't until after the readings that I noticed that he was two rows directly in front of me. This same young boy was messing around with the books, and not standing when he was supposed to stand. When it came time for the consecration, he would not kneel. There was a volunteer teen next to him, who was trying to encourage him but with little success. I decided to step up and speak to him directly, about his playing with the books and not following proper decorum during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
After Mass, I was praying for this boy and I had a sort of epiphany of how to explain the mass to him analogusly: The Catholic Church is like a basketball team! Now, what we do all week is "practice" our Faith. We seek to be charitable, to be kind, to be forgiving because of our Coach - Jesus. But Mass, that is "The Game" you need to be in and fully involved. We can't just stand around, we need to be in and attentive - focused. We need our proper uniform (which, contrary to popular belief, is NOT shorts and a t-shirt) that is dress-up clothes. At mass, if we aren't focused, like playing with the books or flopping around or not doing our proper things, then we will not get it! We will not have the experience we ought! What if someone walked out of the big game? The whole dynamic would fall apart, and this is why people find mass boring! They are not invested, they are not focused on what is happening. Finally, who are in the bleachers? Well obviously it is the Saints and Angels who gather around us to encourage us to draw nearer to the Coach, to hear his cousel, so that the game can be won (which it will, but we must do our part in it!).
To me this summarizes a lot about what Mass is and i think it can be a good sports analogy explanation of why Church is important and we need to go to Mass. The Catholic Faith is not merely something we do for one hour, we must practice we must prepare our hearts for the sacrifice of Jesus and our ability to unify with it at Mass.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
What is "marriage" anyway?!?
Amongst my circle of friends a while back, a very interesting article was being passed around, namely this: http://mattfradd.com/2012/06/14/catholic-gay-and-feeling-fine/
The article goes on to explain how "Gay Marriage" is not even possible - that is right, IMPOSSIBLE. Well, in the commentary that ensued on Facebook, one commentor noted that it seemed to him that this is a large part of the misunderstanding. No one denies, I hope, that two people can love each other, care for one another, live in an intense friendship with one another. But that does not constitute marriage. Two people can engage in a sexual act or acts together, but that it not marriage either. Marriage is both for the complete union of the spouses, but also for the procreation of children of our species. The physical, spiritual, emotional complementarity that allows for this unity in which this procreation and union can even happen (regardless of whether it actually takes place or not) is precisely what marriage is about.
For those of us that hold to the Traditional understanding of marriage, it is only in the martial union of a man and a woman that children receive their right to these two complementary parents. These two parents certainly should grow in a union which is all those things I said above, but it doesn't always happen. Nevertheless, when two people of the same sex "love" one another, they can not enter into the same type of union because they do not have the ability to be complementary spiritually, emotionally and physically. They may connect on one or two of those, but that does not respect nor honor the entirety of the gift of service of a male husband and a female wife to one another that is supposed to take place in Marriage.
If we take it to the next step, the Catholic element, then the practice (not the desire or tendency, as some call it) of homosexual acts become sinful, just as adultery, pre-marital sex, even masturbation are all sinful, because they remove the ability to practice the fullness of the human love that one owes only to their spouse (i.e. the physical element). Now, certainly, not all people will appreciate or agree with any of this. But this is why the aforementioned author believes as he does. But, as well, to his point, a Father who truly loves us all - namely God, does not think the way we think. We may wish many things for our friends that are bad for them, to wit, "sand sandwiches", "sand pie", etc. it doesn't make those things healthy or nourishing and could in fact cause frustration and even illness.
In a similar way, so-called "Homosexual marriage" is like taking away the king or queen in a game of chess and replacing it with the same piece that remains (i.e. two kings or two queens). They will both move in the same directions, same manners, because they are the same. That would be really fun (as a game I mean), but it would no longer be Chess. In the same way, Marriage is no longer marriage with same-sex people. You can call it many things, but it is not Marriage. This, it seems to me, is why people are discussing "re-defining marriage." If marriage were something man could define and establish, then there might be something to this - which, incidentally is why there has been increased buzz about the Catholic Church
Marriage is a ceremony declaring that a Holy Matrimony has been entered into, but if one removes the Office of Holy Motherhood - emphasis on the "holy", then I think it is arguable that a "marriage" is impossible. Time will tell what will become of our world and our country because of this redefinition in progress, but in the world's recent past "redefining" things has not always ended well....
For those of us that hold to the Traditional understanding of marriage, it is only in the martial union of a man and a woman that children receive their right to these two complementary parents. These two parents certainly should grow in a union which is all those things I said above, but it doesn't always happen. Nevertheless, when two people of the same sex "love" one another, they can not enter into the same type of union because they do not have the ability to be complementary spiritually, emotionally and physically. They may connect on one or two of those, but that does not respect nor honor the entirety of the gift of service of a male husband and a female wife to one another that is supposed to take place in Marriage.
If we take it to the next step, the Catholic element, then the practice (not the desire or tendency, as some call it) of homosexual acts become sinful, just as adultery, pre-marital sex, even masturbation are all sinful, because they remove the ability to practice the fullness of the human love that one owes only to their spouse (i.e. the physical element). Now, certainly, not all people will appreciate or agree with any of this. But this is why the aforementioned author believes as he does. But, as well, to his point, a Father who truly loves us all - namely God, does not think the way we think. We may wish many things for our friends that are bad for them, to wit, "sand sandwiches", "sand pie", etc. it doesn't make those things healthy or nourishing and could in fact cause frustration and even illness.
In a similar way, so-called "Homosexual marriage" is like taking away the king or queen in a game of chess and replacing it with the same piece that remains (i.e. two kings or two queens). They will both move in the same directions, same manners, because they are the same. That would be really fun (as a game I mean), but it would no longer be Chess. In the same way, Marriage is no longer marriage with same-sex people. You can call it many things, but it is not Marriage. This, it seems to me, is why people are discussing "re-defining marriage." If marriage were something man could define and establish, then there might be something to this - which, incidentally is why there has been increased buzz about the Catholic Church
Marriage is a ceremony declaring that a Holy Matrimony has been entered into, but if one removes the Office of Holy Motherhood - emphasis on the "holy", then I think it is arguable that a "marriage" is impossible. Time will tell what will become of our world and our country because of this redefinition in progress, but in the world's recent past "redefining" things has not always ended well....
Busyness is God's business
WOW! One never expects life to be so busy, it just sort of sneaks up on you. Of course, we all have responsibilities, but sometimes they seem quite overwhelming. Thankfully, as so many Saints have noted, "God will not give us more than we can handle."
For this reason, however, I have not had a chance to get to this blog with so much frequency... ok... at all, really. But, thankfully, this has happened because of many things that have been happening here at the Parish. As well, my wife has recently been notified by God (and a doctor) that we are having twins! Nevertheless, I was particularly inspired by this short video that came out today:
So... I am back.
What has been happening at the parish, you ask? Well, for one, we have just completed a number of classes for Notre Dame's Summer of The Year of Faith. We looked at 8 amazing Saints that had come from various and wildly sinful backgrounds. We saw the Mercy of God works even in the darkest places that man puts himself. We saw dispelled 7 Myths about the Catholic Church and Science, and saw that science necessitates our understanding that there is more to life than our material world. We saw various movies that helped us to consider lives of some great Saints who have gone before us and Monks who take their faith most seriously. We are also preparing for the arrival of the Denver Catholic Biblical School here at Notre Dame. As well, in just less than two weeks the Totus Tuus Summer Catechetical Program is about to arrive here at Notre Dame. All of these things take time, and organizational work. However, the time has come, as I watched the video above about our present Holy Father (and noting that he is about to publish his First Encyclical letter to the Catholic Church), it seems I should challenge myself to be more active on this blog.
If you happen to read this, please comment! We all need a little encouragement, and I am no exception. Having studied the "Catholic Thing" for a while, I think it would be good for me to keep on posting thoughts on things Catholic in our 21st century. It just takes finding the time to do it....
For this reason, however, I have not had a chance to get to this blog with so much frequency... ok... at all, really. But, thankfully, this has happened because of many things that have been happening here at the Parish. As well, my wife has recently been notified by God (and a doctor) that we are having twins! Nevertheless, I was particularly inspired by this short video that came out today:
So... I am back.
What has been happening at the parish, you ask? Well, for one, we have just completed a number of classes for Notre Dame's Summer of The Year of Faith. We looked at 8 amazing Saints that had come from various and wildly sinful backgrounds. We saw the Mercy of God works even in the darkest places that man puts himself. We saw dispelled 7 Myths about the Catholic Church and Science, and saw that science necessitates our understanding that there is more to life than our material world. We saw various movies that helped us to consider lives of some great Saints who have gone before us and Monks who take their faith most seriously. We are also preparing for the arrival of the Denver Catholic Biblical School here at Notre Dame. As well, in just less than two weeks the Totus Tuus Summer Catechetical Program is about to arrive here at Notre Dame. All of these things take time, and organizational work. However, the time has come, as I watched the video above about our present Holy Father (and noting that he is about to publish his First Encyclical letter to the Catholic Church), it seems I should challenge myself to be more active on this blog.
If you happen to read this, please comment! We all need a little encouragement, and I am no exception. Having studied the "Catholic Thing" for a while, I think it would be good for me to keep on posting thoughts on things Catholic in our 21st century. It just takes finding the time to do it....
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)