Right and Tragedy

Well, at least you can say I consistently go for long stretches without blogging....


I've recently been reading a number of articles in reaction to SCOTUS' declarations on DOMA and Prop 8. And of course, like a number of Catholics, I'm concerned and disturbed (though I must admit I'm slightly excited to be even more counter-cultural and to have a chance to stand with Christ's Church on earth).

I was perusing an article on my news feed from the Los Angeles times, very much in support of 'gay marriage'. Maybe you've seen it, but if not, it was listing all those that benefit from DOMA and Prop 8's demise. Wedding cake bakers, travel agencies, honey moon destinations, etc. I expected as much. But the last section really sent my head reeling:

And perhaps the last beneficiary of new marriages: the divorce attorney.
With a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act struck down, the ruling will make divorces for gay couples much easier and cheaper, said Debra Schoenberg, a family law attorney based in San Francisco.
She anticipates "a flood of new marriages" once the legal dust settles.
And once the honeymoons are over?
"From a divorce lawyer's perspective, I will have more work to do in the coming years," she said.

Divorce lawyers. It shows how far marriage really has fallen. What is the point of marriage, if it's not permanent? Why pursue it? Perhaps it's all about the trappings now: the wedding cakes, the honeymoons, the dress... Maybe it's about 'equality'-- it's about having the right to do it, and the right to throw it away. This is not what marriage is, but it is what it seems to be these days.

It would be easy to say that's all that marriage is to 'those people', the ones involved in homosexual relationships. But that's not true. Look at our culture. What do we have a hundred different shows about? Wedding dresses, wedding cakes, bridesmaids, controlling mothers, bridezillas, destination honeymoons, and themed weddings where brides judge one another's display. These are what we idolize. At some point, we forgot that weddings are about marriage.

And let's not forget about divorce. That was heterosexuals, too. Marriage lost its permanence long ago. Kids are growing up in broken households. Not only that, but it's presented in popular culture as necessary, inevitable, and laughable. We lost the battle when divorce became a right instead of a tragedy.

So what can we do? I'm not sure if anything can stop the collapse of marriage in our country. But it is up to us to try. Support those who are married, especially in your parishes. Work with those who are about to embark upon their own married life together. Love and teach your kids to love, the way Christ loves us. Speak out about marriage, defend what the Church teaches. That way, even if we lose the battle in America, we can still save souls.


UPDATE: Check out this article from Rebecca Hamilton over at Public Catholic. She covers it much better than I ever could.

Why I will be veiling on Sunday

It's been a while since I posted. Sorry about that, nonexistent readers. Anyway, something has been on my mind, and I think I need to write about it.

I went to my brother's confirmation mass on Sunday. I was his sponsor, and I was thrilled. He went in super prepared, way more than I was at fifteen. He's also a lot holier and mature than I was at fifteen, but I'll save that for another post.

Anyway, I was so excited, I invited people. My protestant roommate, who occasionally goes to mass with me, decided to join my us. And while I was thrilled about the confirmation, I left embarrassed.

I forgot that, every Pentecost, my church engages in Liturgical dancing. Long white robes, bare feet, and giant oil candles. The women carry them up in rhythm while we all sing "Veni Santi Spiritu" over and over and over again. They place six candles around the baptismal font, and one inside it (and yes, the candles float). If that wasn't enough, the flower pots around the altar were filled with colorful paper cranes (yes, they were supposed to be doves, but they were cranes). Totally irreverent. I felt the need to apologize over and over again to my protestant roommate for how not Catholic that mass was. Luckily, it wasn't her first mass, and my Newman Center is more reverent. She laughed it off. I could not.

That leads to my decision to purchase a mantilla. It had been a while coming. I was thinking over the pros and cons, getting some of the more stubborn, feminist parts of my brain to grasp the concept of wearing a veil. Being subservient to anything is a difficulty for me (Even to Christ. It's something I have to work on). But I may not have done anything about it, had it not been for that mass. I came to the conclusion that I couldn't wait for someone else to treat the mass with the piety it deserved. If I could show even an ounce of respect towards Christ and His Body by wearing a veil, it was worth it. I bought one later that night.

Fortunately, very few masses I attend are like that (though one occasion did involve ribbons. *shudder*). Still, this Sunday will be my first in a mantilla. I'm not sure how it will go, but after trying it on, I'm excited, and a little bit nervous.

If you're also thinking about wearing the veil, I would say that it's got to be a personal decision. If we lived pre-Vatican 2 (and pre-spirit of V2) it wouldn't be an issue. You'd wear them because you'd wear them. But now that it's fallen out of practice, it's a real commitment (I'm not saying them falling out of practice is a good thing. A lot of things fell out of practice, and almost all are bad). You will stand out. You will be judged for it. So pray about it. Ask other women why they veil. Give it a chance. Even if the concept seems atrocious to you at first (as it did to me) don't let it go just yet.

I'll let you know how it goes on Sunday.

I disagree with you, but do not hate you

Today on Facebook you may have noticed a number of red equal signs appear on the profile pictures of your friends, or perhaps even your own. You will not see one on mine.

I watched comments shooting back and forth from those posting for and against gay marriage, and though I am on one side, I didn't say anything. Cowardice? Maybe. I've got a lot of friends that are pro gay marriage, and to be quite honest, I don't want to lose them. Because I don't hate them. I love them very much. And it complicates the matter.

You know what I do hate? Being accused of hate. There are no people I truly hate, and those that come close, I'm praying to be able to forgive. Perhaps that's part of the reason I said nothing (and as this blog is anonymous it's still mostly nothing). I'm not really sure, and I'm going to have to spend a lot of time thinking about it.

I think this is the heart of the matter: You don't have to agree with someone in order to love them. The opposite of that is relativism, that all truths are equally good and loving someone is agreeing with them all the time on everything. It's what people mean when they say "Don't judge me." I'm pretty sure, that driven to an extreme, no one would agree to that. Our entire country would fall into chaos. Let's just say, for example, that a serial killer says, "Don't judge me." Are you alright with that? I didn't think so.

So if I don't agree with you, is it out of hate? I hope that anyone who does know me would never think that. In fact, beyond the Bible verse slinging and arguments for complementarity in sexual unions, I disagree because I love you. This world is temporary, fleeting. I want for you what I want for me--heavenly glory. Eternal happiness, joy, and peace. Complete union with the creator. If that doesn't line up with the world's opinions, so be it.

Even if you don't agree that there is a God or heaven beyond this earth, that's what I believe. Therefore, because that is my worldview, I am putting the good of you first, though you may not like it. Is it right to blame me for that? To accuse me of hate?

There are people out there that hate, but I don't I don't think that's the majority. It's labels like that keep us from authentic dialogue, which is vital to a functioning society. I hope we'll be able to get there some day.

I know I've barely scratched the surface of the issue, but those are some basic thoughts. Maybe you've had some of your own. Feel free to share in the ComBox.



Update: After a courageous friend posted that she disagreed with the same sex marriage movement, I finally had the courage to post this: http://catholicexchange.com/the-truth-about-same-sex-attraction/
It's a pretty awesome article. Check it out. Not sure how it'll come across on Facebook, but it's worth it in the end, right?

Me, Myself, and I

Hey there!

So, I'm checking out my blogger dashboard today, and what do I see? It's been a month since I posted a darn thing. Which I figure is enough time for the awesomeness of my first post to settle in your minds. And if it hasn't yet, it'll never happen, so I'm just going to write on.

Kidding. 

Actually, the real problem was that I couldn't decide what to post. I tried a couple times, and they all pretty much came up crap, so I gave up on it for a while. And then I thought, geez Julia, it doesn't have to be some deep, profound thing, go simple. Tell them about yourself, what you want with to do with the blog. Hence, well, this post. (If you're not a Catholic I'm going to be throwing around some terms that may be confusing. Google is your best friend because I don't like (nor am I very good at) defining things.)

1. I generally write run-on sentences. It's kind of my style. (Which is a thing you can say after you've learned all the rules in Eng 101, right?)

2. Following number 1, I both over and underuse commas. Fun, right?

3. I'm don't really consider myself a Trad Catholic. I attend a novus ordo mass (pause for gasps... and we're back). And I like it when it's done correctly (read, 'no clown masses'. I've been to masses when it's done wrong and well... another post, perhaps). After all, the Latin mass came about in a time when Latin was the lingua franca of most of the people and especially those who could read. I don't really see the issue with either mass. Nor do I have a problem with guitars. Or organs. Or Benedictine Chants, for that matter. (I am considering wearing a mantilla, but that's a post for another time.)

4. I do agree with all the Churches doctrine and Dogma. I believe the Church to 100% correct in faith and morals.

5. I like our new Pope. And Pope Benedict 16. And JP II.

6. I read a lot, and right now, it's a lot of theology and history. If you've got any suggestions, I'd be happy to read them and discuss. Right now, I'm on The Jew's Pope: The Vatican's Secret Plan to Save the Jews from the Nazis. I highly recommend it.

7. I love being Catholic. Catholicism is my favorite thing to talk about. Which, frankly, is the reason I'm writing this blog. People I know get sick of me blabbing on all the time about theology and Popes and Authority and yadda yadday yadda. Hopefully this blog will give me the chance to release some of my zeal on an unsuspecting internet, instead of my weary family and friends.

So, what is this blog, then? A little of this, a little of that, probably. I'm going to throw in some apologetics, random thoughts, videos, and occasionally something on my favorite TV shows (Oh! I thought of number 8: I'm a nerd).

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully your brains don't explode with the awesometude coming from this post.

Hello!

I was wandering around the internet the other day, and stumbled upon an interesting forum. It was filled with people discussing religion (which I love) and in several places the evils of the Catholic Church (which I also love (not the evils, the Catholic Church)). While I wanted to defend myself, I couldn't post on this particular blog, because in the rules of the board it stated that no contrary beliefs/teachings would be allowed. And I know this is not an isolated incident. I know a lot of people feel the same way.

Therefore, I've decided to start this blog. It'll probably never get readers, but that's just fine. If I can defend one belief of the Catholic Church well, then it's all worth it. Not only that, but in laying things out, in teaching others, I'm teaching myself, so to speak.

So, if you have questions, doubts, feel free to post them. Want to know more? I'll help with what I can. As I haven't moved any mountains lately, I'll try to answer, taking from sources much more knowledgeable than I. All I ask is that everyone is respectful. If you've got an opinion, back it up with reasons. If you disagree, say why. If you're a troll, you will not be fed.

Okay, that's all for now. Let the writing begin!

--J