Monday, September 20, 2004
Marriage or a Life of Sacrifice
Tonight's RCIA class was to attend a seminar given by our priest for all in our parish on marriage and annulment. Extra credit was given to high schoolers who attended, so there was a broad age range in attendance. It was a good discussion, with the high schoolers asking age appropriate questions like, "What about people who are insane or retarded," etc. and with older folks asking, "What if my divorce was 30 years ago and the witnesses can't be tracked down?" I think the pain and hurt in the voices of those who are no longer allowed to take part in the Eurcharist made an impression on those high school kids... maybe made them think about what marriage is all about.
Unlike the Methodist Faith I come from, the rules in the Catholic Church won't be changed anytime soon and the members know it. Divorce, Drinking, Swearing, Abortion even Card Playing were once considered evil, horrible things in the Methodist Church -- now only the oldest Methodists seem to be shocked by any of them. But when a member of the Catholic Church asks what a divorced Catholic who has remarried another divorced Catholic should do if they can't get an annulment and the priest says, "Live a life of sacrifice by not participating the Eucharist or else separate from your new partner..." Well, I feel like I'm in another age, an age where promises meant something, an age where words were not spoken lightly and Sacraments were taken seriously. Would I be where I am today, in this Catholic Church, if the Methodists weren't voting every four years on whether or not gay marriage is right or wrong? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Women weren't marching on Washington in support of choice? If the Methodist Men weren't sending letters of hate against George Bush? If the Global Church wasn't all for sending little boys back to their fathers in Cuba? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Church still held some kind of moral high ground on social issues? Probably not. They have done me a favor.
Unlike the Methodist Faith I come from, the rules in the Catholic Church won't be changed anytime soon and the members know it. Divorce, Drinking, Swearing, Abortion even Card Playing were once considered evil, horrible things in the Methodist Church -- now only the oldest Methodists seem to be shocked by any of them. But when a member of the Catholic Church asks what a divorced Catholic who has remarried another divorced Catholic should do if they can't get an annulment and the priest says, "Live a life of sacrifice by not participating the Eucharist or else separate from your new partner..." Well, I feel like I'm in another age, an age where promises meant something, an age where words were not spoken lightly and Sacraments were taken seriously. Would I be where I am today, in this Catholic Church, if the Methodists weren't voting every four years on whether or not gay marriage is right or wrong? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Women weren't marching on Washington in support of choice? If the Methodist Men weren't sending letters of hate against George Bush? If the Global Church wasn't all for sending little boys back to their fathers in Cuba? Would I be where I am today if the Methodist Church still held some kind of moral high ground on social issues? Probably not. They have done me a favor.
