tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post50243040673871890..comments2024-01-27T06:41:34.292-06:00Comments on Lord, Make Me a Saint: A Fine LineJamie Johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17678469484585027738noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-8835118913492217262011-07-25T23:56:01.119-05:002011-07-25T23:56:01.119-05:00This post deserves more of my time to answer than ...This post deserves more of my time to answer than I currently have. But, I did want to chime in to tell Noreen what a wonderful light she is for bravely sharing her story. <br /><br />We can lead more to the truths of our Church and our groom Jesus by doing what has been posted here. Love, let us not judge but pray daily for our brothers and sisters. We are all sinners and I know I fall often enough to be so very thankful for the sacrament of confession.<br /><br />God bless you ladies :-)fadfdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13848573945320504838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-42708546306544803202011-07-20T08:28:17.466-05:002011-07-20T08:28:17.466-05:00I know most good priests will say one should not a...I know most good priests will say one should not attend the wedding of a Catholic not receiving the Sacrament of Marriage, but I have not heard that if the couple is living together one should not attend. Sheesh that would eliminate a lot of weddings!<br /><br />I don't know what I would do if one of my children married outside the church, besides die a little inside. Could I turn my back? I guess it depends on the individual circumstance, but it seems a parent can do more harm by shunning than by accepting the circumstance while trying to teach. I could see a child cutting off a relationship with a parent over something like that and I don't know if I would have the courage to do it. One hopes the Holy Spirit would guide and comfort if the situation came about. Our children (collectively) do a lot of things that they feel pressure to do, even though they know they are not right.Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00747308009364094199noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-68518735558232796522011-07-20T07:18:17.923-05:002011-07-20T07:18:17.923-05:00These situations always present a predicament to c...These situations always present a predicament to couples who are a witness to life and the sanctity of marriage. Grace is certainly available and it's too bad most people don't take it. From what I have seen, marriages either start off with Sacramental marriage in mind or they don't. To attend or not? I guess it depends on how damaging you believe the sin is. We Catholics do believe in degrees of sin and the many conditions that define it.<br /><br />Would you attend a celebration of an abortion? Would you attend a gay "wedding"? Would you attend a party celebrating fornication and contraception? <br /><br />Unfortunately this is what modern cohabiting couples ask their family and friends to do.<br /><br />And we do. Joe and I did in May - when his sister married. We prayed for them every night for months before their wedding and used the opportunity to teach them what God intends for marriage to be. <br /><br />Unfortunately most families lack a strong patriarchal leadership to unite their families and take a loving but firm stand. If whole blocks of families were more united in faith maybe this wouldn't be the accepted sin it is today and those who choose not to attend would not be seen as isolated religious zealots. Or maybe they still would!<br /><br />Noreen's comment edifies me and gives me hope!queen of the castlehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01380202178477553248noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-21403511757371948522011-07-19T19:24:57.630-05:002011-07-19T19:24:57.630-05:00Great post and difficult subject,especially within...Great post and difficult subject,especially within our own families! You got some nice long comments here:) I'm one of those that gets just as frustrated with those that judge as those that are being judged for whatever sin or matter. Judgement seems to be a rampant viper weed among faithful people. But it's funny because it's like one sinner against another! LOL They are both wrong. I'm no perfect Christian but I believe love and good example is the best default. I'm not saying that we should be silent on this subject (or others) but our actions (for better or worse) speak louder than words.Tiffanyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07679337171422593785noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-31335904469297557362011-07-19T05:13:14.757-05:002011-07-19T05:13:14.757-05:00You are right in that we cannot/should not judge. ...You are right in that we cannot/should not judge. Afterall, a couple doesn't have to be living together to be 'sleeping' with each other before marriage.... and how would we know that?<br /><br />One of my cousin's daughter's already has a child and is living with the father of the child until their marriage in October (her dad made her wait to get married until after her sister's wedding in June). In hindsight, we all 'wish' the baby would have come after their marriage, but their current living situation is best for the child ... isn't it?? I do not want to judge that situation. You want to be happy for them because they have this beautiful child, but you also want them to realize their sin and hope they have gone (or go) to confession.<br /><br />I wonder ... if/when your brother gets married if your relatives will attend?? Are they so hurt that they will stay away, or will they be more forgiving??<br /><br />Aren't family dynamics SOOOO very interesting and challenging to navigate?? Prayer and more prayer is the only recourse.<br /><br />BTW, we've never attended 'no kids' weddings. We've been invited to a few, but find them offensive! That may be strong wording, but the whole point of marriage is to be open to children; why not start with their attendance at the wedding?Suzie L.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14187842891099447088noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-24816996090773699612011-07-18T22:35:02.860-05:002011-07-18T22:35:02.860-05:00Noreen, how very brave of you to admit it, but pl...Noreen, how very brave of you to admit it, but please know I'm not judging you, we've all done things we are not proud of.<br /><br />I do also know that it depends on the priest, hate to say that, but it's true. My cousin's priest (in Chicago) told him and his fiance, now wife, that nowadays it's ok, because everyone is doing it.<br /> <br /><br />Nice, huh?<br /><br />His mom told him it was not ok and that the priest was wrong. Thank goodness she knew what to tell him.<br /><br />You were very blessed to have a priest like that, we need to pray for those priests to be more brave like him.<br /><br />When my husband's brother got married in the Catholic Church, they were living together, he'd offered for him to live with him, and they refused, we also reminded them of Confession, and they directly refused in front of us, the night before, at the rehearsal. <br /><br />so, it doesn't always happen the way it did for you. Which is sad.<br />It would sure be nice if it did.<br /><br />But, I truly believe that these young people, getting married in the Church, have the Sacrament anyway, the grace is there, although maybe not as much grace, since the state of the soul is in mortal sin, not sure how all that works, but I think that the grace from the Sacrament of Matrimony helps them in their future so much more than they can even imagine and it might be the saving grace that brings them to the realization of it all on their own. Which hopefully would lead to complete conversion.<br /><br />Thank you again for your honesty.Jamie Johttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17678469484585027738noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-46288045360580651002011-07-18T21:38:06.197-05:002011-07-18T21:38:06.197-05:00Tough subject Jamie but I happen to know that if a...Tough subject Jamie but I happen to know that if a couple lives together, before they get married in a Catholic Church, they will have to make a confession before receiving the Sacrament of Marriage. And the confession is done by the priest who will marry them so he is certain that the couple has repented and received absolution.<br /><br />I know this because I was one of those sinners and we had to confess to our priest. At that time, I was deceiving myself that it was ok because we'd gotten engaged and we only lived together for a few months before the wedding. I know I was wrong.<br /><br />I'm outting myself here and feeling vulnerable but it's the truth. Our priest was not about to marry us because we were living together without us both making the Sacrament of Reconciliation. And I wasn't about to lie to our priest when we were discussing our wedding plans and he asked us directly about our living arrangements.<br /><br />I'm certainly not proud of it but I mention it as a testimony to what a couple who lives together will have to do to get married in a Catholic Church.noreenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11512311149461187879noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-64264312188606217242011-07-18T21:07:37.826-05:002011-07-18T21:07:37.826-05:00We did not go to my husband's only brother'...We did not go to my husband's only brother's wedding. He was raised in the Catholic Church and the wedding was outdoors, not Catholic. We were advised by two different priests not to go to the wedding. We did go to the party afterward. It was one of the hardest things to do...skip the wedding. In good conscience we had to do it. It is not a sacramental marriage. If they were living together, but had the wedding in a church, we would have gone as we are so closely related, and they may have repented...it would have been sacramental then. So hard. It's too bad situations like this keep coming up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-43478442788046171572011-07-18T20:14:07.228-05:002011-07-18T20:14:07.228-05:00What an excellent, thought provoking post.
I esp...What an excellent, thought provoking post. <br /><br />I especially like the idea that we shouldn't judge but leave it up to God. I think that is so important.Madelinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17721349139975265768noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7056332983367489033.post-80449156682061389692011-07-18T19:47:44.397-05:002011-07-18T19:47:44.397-05:00Great post! I always think "What did the sai...Great post! I always think "What did the saints think about all the sin when they were alive?" When I read about the saints, they tend to focus on their devotions and prayer for sinners. To convert. SO...in a way they did think about them and want them to not go to hell. <br /><br />I remember when Brian and I were engaged and I would sleep over at his house...like once every two weeks...way down in another bedroom...by myself. His roommate at the time was going to be in our wedding but told us that he could not because we were causing scandel (sp). So he wasnt in our wedding. At the time, I didnt think we were doing anything wrong. Now I understand. We were not doing anything...but others saw my car there at his home....overnight. gasp...crazy especially considering people live together and do not give it a second thought.<br /><br />I do not like the no kids at weddings either. It is about families.<br /><br />gotta go! hope to write more later.Christinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03030030108671604522noreply@blogger.com