Charles Cooper, the attorney defending Proposition 8 supporters, was prodded in the court as to what makes marriage between a man and a woman unique? Cooper responded that a man and a woman could procreate. Why the court room "chuckle, chuckle". If I am not mistaken, the whole concept goes back to Adam and Eve. So what is so funny?
Why would a Supreme Court Justice, namely Elena Kagan, say, "I can assure you, if both the man and woman are over the age of 55, there are not a lot of children coming out of that marriage." That comment received an appropriate amount of laughter in the packed courtroom. I ask again, "what is so funny?"
It seems to me that gay couples are able to receive every right that married couples do. They can own real estate together, share medical insurance together, can be on the same lease together, be each other's medical proxy, and be buried together. What is the problem? Is it the word, MARRIAGE?
We are living in the Age of Relatavism. That means Absolute Truth has been kicked to the curb. There are 24 hours in a day. The earth revolves around the sun in 365 days. We have day and we have night. Our very existence is predicated on the perfection around us. Can you imagine if one day took 24 hours and another day 13 or maybe 16 hours? How would you plan. What time would you go to work? Would 2p.m be 6 p.m depending on the day which would never be the same length? Absolute truth also says that a man and a woman are needed to continue the human race. Without the joint cooperation between a man and a woman the human race would cease to exist and it would happen very quickly. If I am not mistaken men and women have been joining together publicly in what is called Marriage for thousands of years.
What is the paranoia about being able to use the word Marriage? There are civil unions and nine states allow "marriage" between same-sex couples. Even Chief Justice John Roberts said, "Same sex couples have every other right, it's just about the label."
Why is that so important? Look, I am a catholic and I do not condemn anyone for what they do or what they believe. The Catholic Church does not condemn homosexuals. It does say "NO" to sexual relationships outside the state of marriage. That also applies to unmarried heterosexual couples. That will not change.It seems to be that same-sex couples want to be the SAME as men and women couples. It is an impossibility. It has nothing to do with hatred or malevolence or anything like that. Being among those (including myself) who would be accused of that is not funny, it is sad. The bottom line is this, pinning on the Marriage label changes nothing. Marriage is for men and women, end of story.
March 27, 2013
March 19, 2013
Honoring the "Shadow Saint" His Name is Joseph
I call Joseph of Nazareth, the "Shadow Saint" because, even though his life is so quiet and unknown, he was responsible for being foster-father to the God-man and husband to the God-man's mom, Mary. He had to shelter them, protect them, feed them, provide for them. He married Mary while the cloud of "adultery" ( a sin punishable by death) hung over her head. He managed to take her to Bethlehem for the census when she was almost full term. Then he had to hide his wife and Son and run from the maniacal Herod who wanted the child dead and had his soldiers out looking for them.
Back in Nazareth he raised his Boy as any loving and caring father would. He aided the Boy when he took his first steps, held Him on his knee when he fell and scraped it and it was bleeding, showed Him how to eat, taught Him how to pray, read the scriptures to Him and tucked Him into bed at night. No one ever in the history of the world has ever been entrusted with such incredible responsibility. No one in the history of the world could tell Jesus, the God-man, when to go to bed or when to wash His hands for supper or "not to interrupt" if mom or dad was speaking. Yet, we know so little about this just and holy man. What we do know is he saved the Son of God who in turn lived long enough to save us all.
There are no writings left behind by Joseph. There are no words that were spoken by him that were ever recorded. We have no idea as to what he might have even looked like. None of that matters because we do know he was there when God needed him to be there.Today, the day Pope Francis is installed, is also St. Joseph's feast day. The Holy father picking this day is no coincidence I am sure. Joseph is considered the Protector of the Universal Church. He is also the Patron saint of fathers and families. Next to his wife, The Blessed Virgin Mary, he is the greatest of all other saints. Just remember that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, called him 'dad'. No one, anywhere, ever, was afforded that particular honor.
HAPPY FEAST DAY ST.JOSEPH Thanks for being there for Him and for all of us
March 18, 2013
Pope Francis I---God's Kind of "Big Shot"
Last week I wrote a piece commenting on why "I Love being Catholic". This past week has validated those feelings. "Hello, Pope Francis. Nice to meet you." Unbelievable.
I loved it when the cardinals went into conclave. The doors were locked and sealed behind them. No communication devices of any kind were permitted. They shut themselves off from the world and I thought that the 5000 journalists, reporters, broadcast folks and whoever else wanted information must have been going crazy. Speculation was rampant and no one knew anything. What I noticed and became fixated on (as I am sure many others might have too) was the bird sitting on the smokestack. It was alone and it stayed for the longest time. How many statues have you seen of Francis of Assisi with a bird on his finger? Was that God communicating to all of us what was about to happen? After all, God doesn't need a cell phone or an iPod. "Hello, Pope Francis".
How about the inexplicable angel cloud that appeared in the crystal clear skies of south Florida around the same time the new Holy Father was introduced? It was broadcast over numerous stations and many thousands were witness to it. Was God introducing us to His new representative here on earth? I think He was. "Hello, Pope Francis".
I believe that it is easy to be Catholic as long as you stick to the fundamentals. You follow the "Golden Rule" and love your neighbor. That is Numero Uno, Numerus Unus, Number One in any language. "Hello, Pope Francis". Did you really refuse to live in the palatial edifice that was available to the Cardinal of Buenos Aires and choose instead to live in your own small apartment? Did you really turn down a chauffeured limo and take the bus to work like the plain folks? Oh no, you did your own cooking too? Did you not realize that you were the highest cleric in the land of the Pampas and Gauchos? What, are you kidding me? You also frequented the slums surrounding the city. You kissed the feet of Aids' victims and blessed unwed mothers? What kind of "Big Shot" cleric are you? You are God's kind of "Big Shot", that's what kind.
Today, most Holy Father Francis, you are the "Biggest Big Shot" cleric in the whole world. So what have you done so far. You rejected the papal Mercedes and took a Volkswagen to the conclave hotel to claim your own bags and pay your bill with your own money. You are certainly a strange "Big Shot" Holy Father. All you had to do was ask someone to fetch your bags and pay the bill. In fact, you might want to check but it is possible the Vatican has a running tab for Popes all around the Eternal City. But you do not care about that, do you? After your introduction as our new Pope you decided to take the bus along with the other Cardinals back to the Vatican for dinner.
So, "Hello, Pope Francis I". "Hello" to a follower of the man from Assisi who was a lover of the poor and downtrodden and animals. What a way to start a Papacy. You have humbled us all and made us proud. We must all thank the Lord for sending the world His kind of "Big Shot".
I loved it when the cardinals went into conclave. The doors were locked and sealed behind them. No communication devices of any kind were permitted. They shut themselves off from the world and I thought that the 5000 journalists, reporters, broadcast folks and whoever else wanted information must have been going crazy. Speculation was rampant and no one knew anything. What I noticed and became fixated on (as I am sure many others might have too) was the bird sitting on the smokestack. It was alone and it stayed for the longest time. How many statues have you seen of Francis of Assisi with a bird on his finger? Was that God communicating to all of us what was about to happen? After all, God doesn't need a cell phone or an iPod. "Hello, Pope Francis".
How about the inexplicable angel cloud that appeared in the crystal clear skies of south Florida around the same time the new Holy Father was introduced? It was broadcast over numerous stations and many thousands were witness to it. Was God introducing us to His new representative here on earth? I think He was. "Hello, Pope Francis".
I believe that it is easy to be Catholic as long as you stick to the fundamentals. You follow the "Golden Rule" and love your neighbor. That is Numero Uno, Numerus Unus, Number One in any language. "Hello, Pope Francis". Did you really refuse to live in the palatial edifice that was available to the Cardinal of Buenos Aires and choose instead to live in your own small apartment? Did you really turn down a chauffeured limo and take the bus to work like the plain folks? Oh no, you did your own cooking too? Did you not realize that you were the highest cleric in the land of the Pampas and Gauchos? What, are you kidding me? You also frequented the slums surrounding the city. You kissed the feet of Aids' victims and blessed unwed mothers? What kind of "Big Shot" cleric are you? You are God's kind of "Big Shot", that's what kind.
Today, most Holy Father Francis, you are the "Biggest Big Shot" cleric in the whole world. So what have you done so far. You rejected the papal Mercedes and took a Volkswagen to the conclave hotel to claim your own bags and pay your bill with your own money. You are certainly a strange "Big Shot" Holy Father. All you had to do was ask someone to fetch your bags and pay the bill. In fact, you might want to check but it is possible the Vatican has a running tab for Popes all around the Eternal City. But you do not care about that, do you? After your introduction as our new Pope you decided to take the bus along with the other Cardinals back to the Vatican for dinner.
So, "Hello, Pope Francis I". "Hello" to a follower of the man from Assisi who was a lover of the poor and downtrodden and animals. What a way to start a Papacy. You have humbled us all and made us proud. We must all thank the Lord for sending the world His kind of "Big Shot".
March 11, 2013
I Love Being Catholic and It Is Easy To Do
IT MAKES SENSE TO ME
By Larry Peterson
I was born a Catholic, raised a Catholic and I am still a Catholic. Even with a secular college education I remained a Catholic. I am considered fairly intelligent although some of my opinions have had some of the intelligentsia consider me an idiot. I do not care. I LOVE being Catholic. That's right, I do love being Catholic and permit me to let you in on a little secret, IT IS EASY TO DO! Just keep it simple. How? You reach inside yourself, admit that you are not nearly as smart as you think you are and DO NOT "outhink" the fundamentals.
What are the fundamentals? The "Golden Rule" encapsulates it all. Love God. How? By Loving your neighbor. How do you do that? You treat him/her the way you would like to be treated. You do not pass judgment on them and you "forgive them their trespasses". That's it. That is being Catholic. Where does the strength and courage come from to help us live this way? From the Risen Christ Who is there every single day of the week for us in the Holy Sacrifice of The Mass.
I am a writer. I am not famous or anything like that. I have no idea who might even read this. But I write every day so I am a writer. In my office at home I am surrounded by a bunch of books about a whole bunch of stuff. My task bar on my desktop has the dictionary, Wikipedia , Google translate and other links at my fingertips for immediate reference. I have all the news information a click of the mouse away. I know about the church scandals, the pedophilia and the defrocked clerics that shamed the church so badly. It changes NOTHING as far as the fundamentals are concerned. Those people decided not to follow the Golden Rule and used their positions to disgrace themselves, hurt the innocent and scandalize the Church that trusted them. No matter what, that church has never deterred from her fundamentals. It was some of the people entrusted with her care who did that.
Tomorrow the College of Cardinals will conclave. They will go into the Sistine Chapel, the doors will be locked behind them and they will not exit until a new Pope is elected. There will be no communication with the outside world. There are over five thousand journalists on hand to cover the proceedings and the speculation about topics such as birth-control, women's ordination, "reproductive rights", gay marriage and other subjects will get top billing. None of the thousands are reporting about the love and forgiveness the church teaches or the charity it extends and has extended to millions over the decades. None of them has a clue as to what is going on inside the conclave. Yet they will speculate and offer rumors. It is what it is.
My Pollyana side imagines that some of these folks might report about some of the simple catholics who have lived and died their faith following the Golden Rule. Catholics like St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who gave his life at Auschwitz so a man who had children could live. He was starved to death. They could mention Blessed Frederick Ozanam, the 21 year old student from Paris who founded the St. Vincent De Paul Society in 1833 and how this society is today a worldwide charity serving countless millions each year and also was the first charity in the United States. One more is Venerable Solanus Casey, a simple priest who spent most of his life as a doorman at the monastery where he lived. They called him "Barney" and his kind words to people coming and going made him renowned. It was all because he stuck to the fundamentals.
Yessiree, I LOVE being Catholic. All you have to do is keep it simple and L-Y-N (love your neighbor)
copyright © 2013 Larry Peterson
By Larry Peterson
I was born a Catholic, raised a Catholic and I am still a Catholic. Even with a secular college education I remained a Catholic. I am considered fairly intelligent although some of my opinions have had some of the intelligentsia consider me an idiot. I do not care. I LOVE being Catholic. That's right, I do love being Catholic and permit me to let you in on a little secret, IT IS EASY TO DO! Just keep it simple. How? You reach inside yourself, admit that you are not nearly as smart as you think you are and DO NOT "outhink" the fundamentals.
What are the fundamentals? The "Golden Rule" encapsulates it all. Love God. How? By Loving your neighbor. How do you do that? You treat him/her the way you would like to be treated. You do not pass judgment on them and you "forgive them their trespasses". That's it. That is being Catholic. Where does the strength and courage come from to help us live this way? From the Risen Christ Who is there every single day of the week for us in the Holy Sacrifice of The Mass.
I am a writer. I am not famous or anything like that. I have no idea who might even read this. But I write every day so I am a writer. In my office at home I am surrounded by a bunch of books about a whole bunch of stuff. My task bar on my desktop has the dictionary, Wikipedia , Google translate and other links at my fingertips for immediate reference. I have all the news information a click of the mouse away. I know about the church scandals, the pedophilia and the defrocked clerics that shamed the church so badly. It changes NOTHING as far as the fundamentals are concerned. Those people decided not to follow the Golden Rule and used their positions to disgrace themselves, hurt the innocent and scandalize the Church that trusted them. No matter what, that church has never deterred from her fundamentals. It was some of the people entrusted with her care who did that.
Tomorrow the College of Cardinals will conclave. They will go into the Sistine Chapel, the doors will be locked behind them and they will not exit until a new Pope is elected. There will be no communication with the outside world. There are over five thousand journalists on hand to cover the proceedings and the speculation about topics such as birth-control, women's ordination, "reproductive rights", gay marriage and other subjects will get top billing. None of the thousands are reporting about the love and forgiveness the church teaches or the charity it extends and has extended to millions over the decades. None of them has a clue as to what is going on inside the conclave. Yet they will speculate and offer rumors. It is what it is.
My Pollyana side imagines that some of these folks might report about some of the simple catholics who have lived and died their faith following the Golden Rule. Catholics like St. Maximilian Kolbe, a priest who gave his life at Auschwitz so a man who had children could live. He was starved to death. They could mention Blessed Frederick Ozanam, the 21 year old student from Paris who founded the St. Vincent De Paul Society in 1833 and how this society is today a worldwide charity serving countless millions each year and also was the first charity in the United States. One more is Venerable Solanus Casey, a simple priest who spent most of his life as a doorman at the monastery where he lived. They called him "Barney" and his kind words to people coming and going made him renowned. It was all because he stuck to the fundamentals.
Yessiree, I LOVE being Catholic. All you have to do is keep it simple and L-Y-N (love your neighbor)
copyright © 2013 Larry Peterson
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