tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post2354026411321067382..comments2024-03-27T11:42:13.364+10:00Comments on JungleWatch: WHERE DO I STAND?Frenchiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05189311368021711422noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-59290373360453593222015-04-11T17:14:33.804+10:002015-04-11T17:14:33.804+10:00I love Father Z. Very well thought out response to...I love Father Z. Very well thought out response to such a challenge. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04938040986821544181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-64920613831204900972015-04-11T05:52:23.739+10:002015-04-11T05:52:23.739+10:00When they come to destroy your business because yo...When they come to destroy your business because you are pro-traditional family<br /> <br />Posted on 2 April 2015 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf<br /> <br />I’ve been thinking about how homosexualists target Christian businesses for destruction. Approach a florist or a bakery or, now, a pizzeria and tell the owner that this is for a homosexual “wedding” and then hammer them with law suits.<br /> <br />Enough already. It’s time for everyone to calm down.<br /> <br />We need a new approach.<br /> <br />Think about this.<br /> <br />When some homosexual couple comes to your Christian business for services at their immoral event, don’t panic. Go ahead and take their business!<br /> <br />Then explain what is going to happen next.<br /> <br />Tell them that the food and services will be just fine. And then inform them that all of the money that they pay for the services will be donated to a traditional pro-family lobby. If it is something like catering, where your employees have to be there to provide services, tell them that all your people will smile, be professional, and everyone of them will be wearing crucifixes and have the Holy Family embroidered on their uniforms. Then show them pictures of your uniforms. When the truck pulls up, speakers will be playing Immaculate Mary. Show them the truck and play the music.<br /> <br />“Oh, you would be offended by that? I’m so sorry. You approached us because we are Christians. Right? We are happy to provide services for you and we are grateful that you chose to come to our Christian catering business. We just want to be of help.”<br /> <br />Then tell them that you will take out an ad in the paper to let everyone know what you did with their money, thanking them by name for their business so that you could make the contribution.<br /> <br />I suspect this approach, if adopted far and wide, would put an end to attacks on Christian businesses.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-23631346784086559212015-04-10T19:26:47.563+10:002015-04-10T19:26:47.563+10:00True, Rome's docs sometimes uses the term &quo...True, Rome's docs sometimes uses the term "homosexual persons". It may be a translation issue. Actual teaching is that human beings are only male and female, not homo or heterosexual. Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01305960063884511003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-88969118748756899062015-04-10T16:21:09.565+10:002015-04-10T16:21:09.565+10:00Great article! a must read I think for all Catholi...Great article! a must read I think for all Catholics. I only regret that Rome used the term homosexual. I read an excellent booklet on the matter wherein a priest stated that these people are not homosexual but rather heterosexual with Same Sex Attractions (SSA). It helps us better understand the dilemma .Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-90357036215801762192015-04-10T10:00:45.730+10:002015-04-10T10:00:45.730+10:00Wonderful comment. We all bear our crosses. Some s...Wonderful comment. We all bear our crosses. Some suffer more than others, ie. Christians in Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Pakistan, etc. but each Christian is called to a life of sacrifice and yours is definitely a life of sacrifice. God bless you and your journey towards heaven. Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04938040986821544181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-38309301559671550162015-04-09T17:46:20.781+10:002015-04-09T17:46:20.781+10:00Part II
Is it hard to be gay and Catholic? Yes, b...Part II<br /><br />Is it hard to be gay and Catholic? Yes, because like everybody, I sometimes want things that are not good for me. The Church doesn't let me have those things, not because she's mean, but because she's a good mother. If my son or daughter wanted to eat sand I'd tell them: that's not what eating is for; it won't nourish you; it will hurt you. Maybe my daughter has some kind of condition that makes her like sand better than food, but I still wouldn't let her eat it. Actually, if she was young or stubborn enough, I might not be able to reason with her -- I might just have to make a rule against eating sand. Even if she thought I was mean.<br /><br />So the Church doesn't oppose gay marriage because it's wrong; she opposes it because it's impossible, just as impossible as living on sand. The Church believes, and I believe, in a universe that means something, and in a God who made the universe -- made men and women, designed sex and marriage from the ground up. In that universe, gay marriage doesn't make sense. It doesn't fit with the rest of the picture, and we're not about to throw out the rest of the picture.<br /><br />If you don't believe in these things, if you believe that men and women and sex and marriage are pretty much whatever we say they are, then okay: we don't have much left to talk about. That's not the world I live in.<br /><br />So, yes, it's hard to be gay and Catholic -- it's hard to be anything and Catholic -- because I don't always get to do what I want. Show me a religion where you always get to do what you want and I'll show you a pretty shabby, lazy religion. Something not worth living or dying for, or even getting up in the morning for. That might be the kind of world John Lennon wanted, but John Lennon was kind of an idiot.<br /><br />Would I trade in my Catholicism for a worldview where I get to marry a man? Would I trade in the Eucharist and the Mass and the rest of it? Being a Catholic means believing in a God who literally waits in the chapel for me, hoping I'll stop by just for ten minutes so he can pour out love and healing on my heart. Which is worth more -- all this, or getting to have sex with who I want? I wish everybody, straight or gay, had as beautiful a life as I have.<br /><br />I know this isn't a satisfactory answer. I don't think any words could be. I try to make my life a satisfactory answer, to this question and to others: What are people for? What is love, and what does it look like? How do we get past our own selfishness so we can love God and our neighbors and ourselves?<br /><br />It's a work in progress.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-56017132095240286982015-04-09T17:46:05.371+10:002015-04-09T17:46:05.371+10:00The Archbishop of Washington DC, Archbishop Donald...The Archbishop of Washington DC, Archbishop Donald Wuerl, said it best when speaking about Catholics who are gay. Just to paraphrase, he basically said that the Church loves you (LGBT) and welcomes you, but asks of you, like all other Catholics, to walk as closely to Christ as possible. We all have crosses to bear in every state, whether single, married, or religious and the road to follow Christ is not easy. We stumble and fall, but even so, we must stay on the path no matter how difficult.<br /><br />I will not judge or preach to you. I do not know you or your situation, but please read this article from a Catholic young man who happens to be gay..(The original article can be found here: http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2011/07/gay-catholic-and-doing-fine.html )<br /><br /><br />"Gay, Catholic, and Doing Fine"<br /><br /><br />Steve Gershom (a pseudonym) is a gay Catholic man in his late twenties. His blog, stevegershom.com, has been around for some months, but he has just decided to make it public. It's original, funny, poignant -- and culturally important. You can also find him on Twitter as stevegershom. I am profoundly grateful to Steve for agreeing to write this post for the Bubble.<br /><br />+++++++<br /><br />When Leila asked me to write about gay marriage, the first thing I found out was how little I know about it. If I wanted to say anything coherent, I'd have to have definite beliefs about some deeper, thornier subjects first: the relationship between civil and moral law, just for starters. Even if I were sure enough of myself to talk about those things, I doubt I could do it in a blog-sized article.<br /><br />So I'll have to do it in a more personal way. That might be better anyhow.<br /><br />I have heard a lot about how mean the Church is, and how bigoted, because she opposes gay marriage. How badly she misunderstands gay people, and how hostile she is towards us. My gut reaction to such things is: Are you freaking kidding me? Are we even talking about the same church?<br /><br />When I go to Confession, I sometimes mention the fact that I'm gay, to give the priest some context. (And to spare him some confusion: Did you say 'locker room'? What were you doing in the women's...oh.) I've always gotten one of two responses: either compassion, encouragement, and admiration, because the celibate life is difficult and profoundly counter-cultural; or nothing at all, not even a ripple, as if I had confessed eating too much on Thanksgiving.<br /><br />Of the two responses, my ego prefers the first -- who doesn't like thinking of themselves as some kind of hero? -- but the second might make more sense. Being gay doesn't mean I'm special or extraordinary. It just means that my life is not always easy. (Surprise!) And as my friend J. said when I told him recently about my homosexuality, "I guess if it wasn't that, it would have been something else." Meaning that nobody lives without a burden of one kind or another. As Rabbi Abraham Heschel said: "The man who has not suffered, what can he possibly know, anyway?"<br /><br />Where are all these bigoted Catholics I keep hearing about? When I told my family a year ago, not one of them responded with anything but love and understanding. Nobody acted like I had a disease. Nobody started treating me differently or looking at me funny. The same is true of every one of the Catholic friends that I've told. They love me for who I am.<br /><br />Actually, the only time I get shock or disgust or disbelief, the only time I've noticed people treating me differently after I tell them, is when I tell someone who supports the gay lifestyle. Celibacy?? You must be some kind of freak.<br /><br />Hooray for tolerance of different viewpoints. I'm grateful to gay activists for some things -- making people people more aware of the prevalence of homosexuality, making homophobia less socially acceptable -- but they also make it more difficult for me to be understood, to be accepted for who I am and what I believe. If I want open-mindedness, acceptance, and understanding, I look to Catholics.<br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-41158692807256703292015-04-09T14:58:03.912+10:002015-04-09T14:58:03.912+10:00There are many who lead celibate lives, not just g...There are many who lead celibate lives, not just gays who choose to live chastely. Single people of every sort and even married people, many married people. All that Christ promises is "My grace is enough for you." There is nothing unrealistic about relying on Christ. Timhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01305960063884511003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5652940417109665141.post-19285336632239731332015-04-09T14:14:58.498+10:002015-04-09T14:14:58.498+10:00Because I was born gay, the church says I should b...Because I was born gay, the church says I should be celibate because sex is reserved specifically for procreating only. I'm sure that's the intent of all couples every time they have sex; to make babies. If I'm to lead a celibate life, maybe I should become a priest? Or is that even allowed? I remember reading a memorandum from the archdiocese stating that homosexuals should not be serving in any ministries in any capacity. Hate the sin not the sinner they say, yet they expect us to live an unrealitically chaste lifestyle and treat us as sub-human.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com