The Corruption of the Privacy of Marriage

A guest post by Daniel Michel

It's a good time for churches in USA to separate civil ceremonies and church ceremonies to clearly show the difference.

— Fr. Jonathan Morris (@fatherjonathan) June 27, 2015

Within just a few days of the Supreme Court's decision on same-sex civil marriage, those on the victorious side of the case began calling for new discriminatory laws and policies to be put into place. One columnist suggested scrapping the longtime tradition of tax-exempt status from religious institutions — and even polygamists feel emboldened by the decision. Other radical ideas are sure to come about.

It already looks bleak for many of us who support traditional marriage: the true definition, nature, and substance of what marriage, in fact, is. This issue over marriage and same-sex unions has obviously become divisive, and outside of the legal realm, there appears no end in sight to this debate. This is why it may be time to take a new, or rather old, way of dealing with this issue: privatizing it altogether.

When God Speaks My Love Language

Readers, I have a confession to make. 

I have an addiction. 

An addiction…

To adoration!!

That was awful. I'll never joke again. So, on to all seriousness: Eucharistic Adoration is probably my favorite thing in the whole world. It wasn't always, though. As a kid, I remember being dragged along to Adoration and feeling that it was the most boring thing anyone could possibly do. I didn't actually believe in the Real Presence back then. I couldn't tell that Jesus was there using my senses, so I couldn't really believe. Why would someone spend an hour in silence staring at a piece of bread, when she could be out climbing trees or playing kickball? 

Honour, Virtue, and Not-Unpleasant Accents

It's (still) the summertime, and from my lofty perch top atop the Honorary Chair of Leisure as Culture, I can't think of a better time to review some recent — and not-so-recent — works of literature and television concerning Catholics living in times of tempestuous social change!

It also happens that this post coincides with the centenary of WWI, which is the setting for Ford Madox Ford's Parade's End trilogy. This great tragedy that marked the beginning of the 20th century could not be stopped, despite attempts to secure peace by the reigning Pope and the devout Catholic Emperor of Austria. 

Benedict XV

Blessed Charles/Karl I 

Baptism By Fire: The Unwilling Godparent's Dilemma

But he has to, Don! He's not Catholic!

Recently, a good friend of mine contacted me because he is facing a particularly awkward family situation. My friend was born into a Catholic family, but he is not religious himself. His brother asked him to be the godfather to his newborn niece, and he is incredibly uncomfortable being placed into such a situation. The first half of this post is our exchange on the matter, with only minor edits for clarity. For the sake of confidence, I have changed my friend's name to Tim and his niece's to Lily. Tim's words are in italics:

Caritas Actually

It is perhaps unfortunate that we begin our first post — a post about love, no less — on a sour note, but it is necessary because it is illustrative of how not to be charitable. Our story takes place several years ago. I was attending the enthronement of the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island. As one of the local clergy, my father was expected to attend. It can be rather lonely as a traditional Anglo-Catholic in a liberal diocese (to say nothing of the entire denomination as a whole), so I tagged along, for moral support.