I'm in what is often called a “Mixed-Orientation Marriage,” which means that I am queer and my husband is straight. Naturally, now that same-sex marriage has received the official blessing of the Supreme Court of the United States of America, I will be compelled to get me to an annulment tribunal post haste. Read more
I think the Onion’s headline from yesterday nailed it: “SCOTUS decides whether to legalize same-sex marriage now or in a couple of years.” The simple fact is that the war to prevent gay marriage was probably a losing battle from the beginning. The reason, however, has very little to do with a clandestine Gay Agenda or a sinister Pink Mafia pulling strings behind the scenes. I’m sure that scuzzy, unsavoury politicos exist in the gay scene just as they exist... Read more
I found myself in Toronto several months ago, alone in the city for the first time in many years. It used to be my home, but I was surprised upon returning to find how much had changed. Not how much had changed in the city: Toronto is pretty much Toronto, though I think that some of the buildings were different. The change was primarily a change in me. When I first converted to Catholicism I recall that one of the... Read more
When St. Paul called upon the people of Corinth to give generously to the collection for the needs of the Church, he referred to their wealth as “your surplus now.” Corinth was a wealthy town, and the Corinthians could reasonably expect to go on being affluent for many years to come. Yet Saint Paul seems to appreciate the point made by the author of Ecclesiastes: “There is a season for everything” (3:1). Riches will come, and riches will go. Poverty... Read more
A friend just pointed out to me that I’ve been answering the question of “Why I am Catholic” without actually getting to the Catholic part. I’ve been having some lovely conversations about theism (and would like to thank my atheist interlocutors for their gracious and intelligent responses), but I have gone from belief in God to belief in the Church. There are two basic answers to why Catholicism, but I can’t get both of them into one post so I’ll... Read more
Once upon a time, a man who had two blankets, and a tent of his own, and enough meat to get him through the winter was rich. Today, a man who has only two blankets, nothing but a tent to live in, and just enough meat to get him through the winter is considered extremely poor. The rich man in the tent never thought of himself as poor. He didn’t look with envy on other men and didn’t feel the... Read more
Since I’ve only recently come to Patheos, I wanted to give readers an idea of what kind of things I’ve done in the past and what I’m hoping to do in the future. So here is some stuff from my former blog, Sexual Authenticity, and some teasers for what I’m expecting to write in the coming months. 1. Whatever Happened to That NFP Series and My Dog Ate My Chart – Two posts that I wrote about Natural Famiy Planning... Read more
Walking through my property the other day, I was overcome with a sense of weariness and frustration. Too many things to do. Not enough time to do it. The sumac is overrunning areas that used to be lawn, the hillsides are overgrown, there’s a turtle living in the algae-green waters of the swimming pool, and after nearly two weeks of continuous rain the vegetable gardens need an awful lot of heavy weeding. I traipsed over the back path running out... Read more
Most atheists begin with the question “Does God exist.” I don’t think this is the right question. God’s existence is a fact that must be accounted for, not a question that needs to be debated. It’s like asking “Does beauty exist?” or “Does truth exist?” or “Do we really have free will?” These are first year undergrad philosophy questions, and they don’t lead to very interesting arguments because they are fundamentally questions about faith. You have to make certain philosophical... Read more
Converting is pretty easy: it’s kind of like falling in love. You find this perfect Church, resplendent and beautiful, which is going to provide for your spiritual needs, take away all of your confusions and provide shape to your life until death and beyond. You celebrate, and make vows, and you drive everyone you know nuts by talking about nothing else. If anyone points out the faults in the character of the beloved you become immediately offended and quickly fly... Read more
Catholic Authenticity
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