Last week the Maryland State Senate passed legislation that would legalize gay “marriage”; shortly after the vote, I received an email from my state senator defending her vote in support of the legislation. Her email read in part:

This year I have signed on as a co-sponsor of the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act and last night I voted in favor of this bill. This decision did not come lightly, but this is why I support the legislation: As parents, the thing we hope most for our children is that they are healthy and happy. And when our children are grown, as mine are, we hope that if they choose to share their lives with another, that they choose someone who will love them, share the ups and downs with them, protect them and care for them when we are no longer here.

These are the hopes and dreams I have for my children. These are the hopes and dreams all parents have for their children. I believe as a representative of all Maryland citizens, I cannot deny another parent the same hopes and dreams that I have for my children. And that is why I voted for this legislation.

The civil institution of marriage bestows on couples rights, benefits and responsibilities. These rights and responsibilities financially, morally and socially protect each person in the union. Those are the protections that my married children have and those are the protections I want for all who choose to share their adult lives with another.

Notice my senator’s definition of marriage: sharing life with “someone who will love them, share the ups and downs with them, protect them and care for them when we are no longer here.” Notice also what is NOT included: the “one flesh” of man and woman, and the possibility of having or raising children. By her definition, marriage boils down to living together and caring for each other. By this standard, a man could be “married” to a woman, a man, his sister, or five different people at the same time. As many commentators have already noted, this obliterates marriage as every culture has defined it since the beginning of man’s history.

Unfortunately, my state senator is not unique in her redefining of marriage; in fact, her outlook is all too common today. The fight against gay “marriage” is, in many ways, much more difficult than the fight against legalized abortion. With abortion, you have a very clear grave act: the killing of an innocent child. Even if people deny it outwardly, everyone instinctively knows that this is wrong. This is why even radical pro-abortionists claim that abortion should be “rare” – they know it is a failure on some level.

But with gay “marriage” we have a more fundamental problem. Most people – including most Christians – define marriage in a very similar fashion to my state senator, even if they explicitly limit it only to a man and a woman. They see marriage as an institution in which two people support and love each other – and that’s it. The importance of male-female sexual union in marriage – both its unitive and procreative aspects – is largely ignored or denied by people today, even by Christians. And why is this fundamental component of marriage denied today?

Contraception.

The advent of modern contraceptive methods has completely redefined marriage in the hearts and minds of most people today. The procreative aspect of sexuality – being open to children – is seen as something superfluous to a good marriage. The unitive aspect of sexuality – a man and a woman becoming “one flesh” – is also minimized, as sexual pleasure is exalted as the only good in the sexual act. But the Church has always taught that a marriage requires that a couple have this proper understanding, at least implicitly, of sexual intercourse for the union to be valid.

By accepting the divorce between marriage and authentic human sexuality more than 50 years ago, we have laid the foundations for today’s gay “marriage” push. For if procreation and male/female sexual union is irrelevant to marriage, why shouldn’t homosexuals be allowed to marry?

A final note: I realize that my title is provocative – some would argue that the battle against gay “marriage” is not yet lost. But I am not talking about the battle in legislatures and courts – I am talking about the battle for hearts and minds. And there,  our conception of what marriage is already accepts the validity of “marriage” between a man and a man or a woman and a woman.

Who said the following?

Look, the secular response to the Christ story always goes like this: he was a great prophet, obviously a very interesting guy, had a lot to say along the lines of other great prophets, be they Elijah, Muhammad, Buddha, or Confucius. But actually Christ doesn’t allow you that. He doesn’t let you off that hook. Christ says: No. I’m not saying I’m a teacher, don’t call me teacher. I’m not saying I’m a prophet. I’m saying: “I’m the Messiah.” I’m saying: “I am God incarnate.” And people say: No, no, please, just be a prophet. A prophet, we can take. You’re a bit eccentric. We’ve had John the Baptist eating locusts and wild honey, we can handle that. But don’t mention the “M” word! Because, you know, we’re gonna have to crucify you. And he goes: No, no. I know you’re expecting me to come back with an army, and set you free from these creeps, but actually I am the Messiah. At this point, everyone starts staring at their shoes, and says: Oh, my God, he’s gonna keep saying this. So what you’re left with is: either Christ was who He said He was the Messiah or a complete nutcase. I mean, we’re talking nutcase on the level of Charles Manson. This man was like some of the people we’ve been talking about earlier. This man was strapping himself to a bomb, and had “King of the Jews” on his head, and, as they were putting him up on the Cross, was going: OK, martyrdom, here we go. Bring on the pain! I can take it. I’m not joking here. The idea that the entire course of civilization for over half of the globe could have its fate changed and turned upside-down by a nutcase, for me, that’s farfetched.

Is it a theologian? A Scripture scholar? A powerful preacher? Nope – it’s Bono, the lead singer of the rock band U2.

What is amazing is that Bono really hits the nail on the head. Over the past 200 years there has been a concerted effort to make Jesus “safe” for consumption. He is a nice guy, a great moral teacher, even a prophet. But nothing more. By relegating him to such categories we can handle him – we don’t need to change our lives because of him. But the life and teaching of Jesus doesn’t allow such a cop-out. A nice guy doesn’t get brutally killed at the instigation of a mob like Jesus did. Jesus claimed to be so much more than a simple prophet or moral teacher. He claimed, in ways both subtle and explicit, that he is the divine Son of God and the Savior of the world. Such a declaration demands a response from us. We cannot simply wave him off and go about our lives after encountering Jesus; we must act, either for him or against him.

What will be our response?

The speakers for one of my favorite conferences, Orientale Lumen, have been announced:

• Metropolitan Jonah (Orthodox)
  Primate of the Orthodox Church in America, Washington, DC
  
• Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia (Orthodox)
  Professor Emeritus of Oxford University, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople
  
• Archimandrite Robert Taft, SJ (Greek Catholic)
  Professor Emeritus of the Pontifical Oriental Institute, The Vatican
  
• Msgr. Michael Magee (Roman Catholic)
  Chairman and Professor of Systematic Theology, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Philadelphia, PA
  
• Father Ron Roberson, CSP (Roman Catholic)
  Associate Director for Ecumenical Affairs, USCCB, Washington, DC
  
• Sr. Dr. Vassa Larin (Orthodox)
  Lecturer, University of Vienna, Austria, Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
  
• Dr. Adam DeVille (Greek Catholic)
  Assistant Professor, University of Saint Francis, Ft. Wayne, IN and Editor, LOGOS

This is quite an impressive, and ecumenical, line-up. Further details about the conference can be found here.

Warning: if you don’t want to be inspired, please skip this post and definitely don’t watch the video below.

An amazing thing is happening here in Maryland. In response to the arrival of late-term abortionist LeRoy Carhart, Christians have mobilized to protest his barbaric practice and to let him know that he is not welcome here. Since Mr. Carhart first arrived, there have been three 600+ person prayer rallies to oppose his practice. Mr. Carhart has remarked, however, that the opposition won’t last and soon nobody will be protesting at his clinic.

Instead, there are now 80+ people praying every Monday morning in front of Germantown Reproductive Health Services. This has already resulted in at least one life being saved, and there is reason to believe that other women have chosen life because of this peaceful, prayerful presence.

High School Student Jamie Morrison

What is even more amazing about this weekly gathering is that it has been primarily organized and promoted by a 17-year-old high school student! Instead of waiting to see what his elders would do, young Jamie Morrison has taken it upon himself to confront this evil directly and to work to put it to an end. A committed abortionist with the backing of the entire pro-abortion industry is being confronted by a young man who is simply responding to God’s call. If the story of David and Goliath is any indication, I like Jamie’s chances!

Jamie and his younger brother Nicky (good news: Jamie is the oldest of six children, so there is more where he came from!) put together an inspiring video that documents their work at this clinic and urges anyone who can to join them. Witness all these young people standing for the Gospel of Life – this is the future of the Church!

One of the people in the video actually works in the same office complex as this clinic, and I think his quote is a powerful one: “I don’t know why [Carhart] chose our place to do it, but if he chose our place to do it, then it’s our job to get out and protest against it.” If only every pro-lifer in this country had such an attitude.

Please pray for all involved in this important apostolate – and please consider being a prayerful presence in front of an abortion clinic in your area. Join the Voice!

G.K. Chesterton once wrote that original sin is “the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved” – all we have to do is read the daily newspaper or watch the local news. I thought of that quote while reading this parody from The Onion:

Nation Somehow Shocked By Human Nature Again

BRANDON, SD—As more details emerged of Friday’s horrible but relatively commonplace manifestation of human nature in Brandon, SD, citizens nationwide somehow managed to enter a state of shock, apparently struggling to comprehend an act that, throughout history, has happened thousands upon thousands of times.

In the wake of the tragedy, Americans have expressed a deep sense of bewilderment, though it is unclear why, given that events just like the one Friday have taken place frequently throughout their lifetimes.

“I still can’t believe what happened,” said 48-year-old Linda Durland of Atlanta, who for some reason has been unable to extrapolate from literally millions of previous examples the fact that such acts inevitably repeat themselves. “It’s just unthinkable.”

Despite there being nothing unusual about the incident in Brandon, the media has descended upon the small town in droves, somehow finding a way to portray the event as if it were a novel phenomenon or some sort of aberration within human society, an assertion that even a cursory glimpse at the species’ violent past would immediately disprove.

“You never expect something like this to happen,” said 29-year-old Brandon resident Janine Ackerman, though she would be justified in expecting something like this to happen, and then happen again and again and again, and so on, ad infinitum. “It just came out of nowhere.”

Continue reading…

A couple of blog announcements:

• I have updated my blog’s software so that if you access it via a mobile browser you will be taken to a mobile-friendly format of the blog. Hopefully that will make it more readable for those of you who read this blog on your smartphones and other mobile devices.

• I know that blogging has been light here lately. It will continue to be light for the next few weeks, as I am facing a few major deadlines for some writing projects I’m currently working on. Hopefully after that I’ll be able to resume blogging at previous levels.

One of the most iconic images in sports history is Carlton Fisk’s walk-off home run to win Game Six of the 1975 World Series. The Boston Red Sox, with the Curse of the Bambino hanging over them, had not won a World Series in almost 60 years. They were down 3 games to 2 to the Cincinnati Reds in Game Six, which went to extra innings tied 6-6. Carlton Fisk hit a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning to win it for Boston and send the Series to Game 7 (which, as a devoted Reds fan, I’m happy to report Cincinnati won). The image of Fisk waiving the home run fair is embedded in American sports history:

I was recently reading an account of Game Six and I was struck by a quote from Fisk regarding this home run:

Other than being the father of two children, this was the greatest thrill of my life.

Think about what Fisk said for a moment. He just compared something that only 14 men have ever done – end a World Series game with a home run – with something that millions of men throughout history have done. Hitting a walk-off World Series home run takes a unique combination of skill, hard work and luck; having a child takes no special skill or ability. Just about every boy dreams about hitting a home run to win a World Series game – and Fisk did it in one of the most thrilling situations – yet the Red Sox catcher said that one of the most common activities known to man – having children – was more thrilling. So what does that tell us about parenthood?

We are made in the image and likeness of God, and God is a Creator. He created the heavens and the earth, and He created man. We, too, are fundamentally creators. We create things every day – meals, notes, pictures – and each creation of ours reflects us in some way. But our greatest privilege is that we are cooperators with Him in the creation of new life. Nothing reflects us more than our own children. And without our participation, God would not create any human persons – souls who are destined to spend eternity with Him. As Carlton Fisk realized on some level – what can be more thrilling than that?

For all you parents out there, always remember that your participation in the creation of new life is more thrilling than anything possible on this earth – even more thrilling than a World Series walk-off home run.

Step 1: Confession iPhone app released to help Catholics prepare for confession.

Step 2: Catholic media accurately reports about the app.

Step 3: Secular media picks up story and screws it up, claiming the app proposes to replace confession, with headlines like “Confess via your iPhone and be app-solved of sin”

Step 4: Vatican reminds everyone that absolution cannot be given via an iPhone.

Step 5: Secular media continues in their ignorance, stating, “Vatican bans iPhone ‘God app’”

It sometimes makes you wonder if they are even trying…

I’ve mentioned before that the notorious late-term abortionist Leroy Carhart has set up his practice in Germantown, Maryland, only a few minutes from where I live. The local Christian community here has strongly responded to his presence – in the two months since his arrival, we have had three separate prayer events at his clinic with over 600 people at each, and now there is a regular prayer gathering of over 80 people in front of the clinic every Monday morning. Yesterday I got the following email from one of the pro-life leaders:

A young woman with her mother arrived to have a scheduled abortion with Carhart. We cried out to her not to go in and that we were there because we loved her. We watched her enter the mill and we all turned and bombarded the mill with prayer!  She later came out of the mill and over to us.  She told us, “I knew the love was out here and not in there!”  After talking with her, we drove her to [the local pro-life] Pregnancy Center.  She plans to give birth to her baby and is considering adoption.

Praise God! Please pray for this mother and her precious baby – the devil is sure to attack her now that she has rejected his ways.

This is a reminder that God does hear our prayers. Over the past twenty years I have been primarily involved in two types of apostolate: pro-life and evangelization. Both can be very frustrating, as they do not often show immediate results. You can pray in front of an abortion clinic for years with no (visible) results, and you can share your faith with hundreds of people without any known conversions. But, as Mother Teresa liked to say, “we are called to be faithful, not successful.” We must persevere, knowing that the Lord always hears our prayers – we just might not always see the results. But praise God when He allows us to see them!

I have an article in the latest issue of OSV Newsweekly about how to evangelize total strangers:

You are sitting at your son’s soccer game, enjoying the crisp weather and your boy’s joy for the game. Then you hear someone nearby say “Catholic Church,” then “divorce”; suddenly the hair on your neck stands on end and your body tenses.

You realize that two parents next to you are criticizing the Church; they notice you looking at them and ask, “What do you think?”

Now that we live in a post-Christian world, every one of us encounters situations like this. The Catholic Church teaches certain precepts that are simply unacceptable — antithetical, even — to the modern ethos. Standing by those precepts, we open ourselves to criticism and even attack. Furthermore — and sadly — there are scandals surrounding some Church figures that open Catholics up for easy condemnation.

So what are Catholics to do? How do we respond? What are our obligations in these situations?

Continue reading…

I’ve had a few things cross my in-box recently, and I’ve been remiss in passing them along.

• For those who have the iPhone or iPad, there is a cool app called “iPieta” that “contains a vast library of Catholic Treasures including: writings, prayers, calendars, and documents”. As the creator of the app stated, “it could be a great tool for on the spot apologetics, teaching, and any situation in which the Word of God and the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church can be spread.”

• Next, a project to encourage confession: The Penance Project. I am a strong proponent of frequent confession, so anything that helps bring people to that sacrament sounds great to me.

• Finally, please consider supporting the St. Francis Mission in South Dakota. This mission is a “ministry of the of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) among the 20,000 Lakota (Souix) people on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in south-central South Dakota. The Mission is a not for profit organization founding in 1886, whose mission is to serve the spiritual, educational, and physical needs of Lakota Catholics and those who are un- churched on the reservation.”

Check them out!

Today is the feast of the Presentation, and when contemplating this event, I often marvel at the faith of Mary and Joseph as parents. They were given a great gift from God in the form of a miraculous baby, and the first thing they do is to give him back to the Lord!

Now this might not seem too impressive, considering the events surrounding Christ’s birth, but if you are a parent, you might recognize the great faith involved in such an action. Every parent is given a great gift that we don’t deserve every time we are blessed with a child. An eternal soul is placed in our care and we are graced with that child’s presence in our lives. Our capacity to love is expanded and through the sacrifices we are required to make for that child, we are given a sure means to holiness if we just take it.

But what do we often do in the face of such a gift? We cling our children with a miserly grip. We act like these precious children are “ours” and that we deserve them. Instead of presenting each and every one of them to the Lord, we refuse to let them go, trying to control their destinies and ultimately afraid that God will not take care of them like we will.

This can be most obvious when we discourage religious vocations in our children, either explicitly or implicitly. Most people reading this blog would never outwardly reject a religious vocation for their child, but we can often do things to subconsciously lead our children to a “safe” vocation, i.e. married life with a nice comfortable job.

But there are other ways we cling to our children. Whenever we do not trust in the Lord to take care of them – when we are anxious about their futures, when we hold them back from their God-given dreams because they don’t conform to what we want for them, or when we try to direct their life path – we act as if these children are our own, instead of realizing that they are simply on loan from God.

Let all of us parents look to Mary and Joseph as perfect examples of how we should raise our children – they are not our own, let us present them to the Lord!

Life as a Catholic involves many complex issues and debates. From transubstantiation to the Immaculate Conception to purgatory, these issues have been discussed and debated by great minds and saints for centuries.

But life as a Catholic is not simply made up of such theological topics. We also live in real-world parishes with real-world issues. These might not be as weighty, but they make up the fabric of Catholic life nonetheless. Certain issues arise that must be addressed: Do we like the music? Is the church building properly designed? Is the youth minister any good? Are there enough chocolate donuts supplied after Mass? These and other such questions are at the forefront of living as a Catholic today.

This leads me to a pressing issue that has always vexed me:

When a new priest is assigned to our parish, do we call him by his first name or last name? Is he “Fr. Bob” or “Fr. Smith”?

There seems to be a certain stereotype associated with both ways. For example, I have noticed that whenever a secular news outlet reports on a local priest’s death, they will usually include the line, “…known simply as ‘Father Bob’…” to represent that this priest was beloved by his parish. This (overused) line is shorthand for “this priest was not one of those rigid authoritarian priests, but instead just one of the guys.” Use of the first name supposedly makes the priest more approachable and more “down to earth,” whereas calling a priest by a last name conveys more authority to the cleric (which is bad in the eyes of most people in the secular media).

In my own experience this stereotype has some basis in truth, as many of the priests I know who want to be called by their last name are more likely to exercise their priestly authority in the parish. (Note that, unlike the secular media, I think this is a good thing). I have also noticed that it seems that it is was more common to call priests by their first name a decade ago than it is today. The majority still seem to go by their first name, but more and more priests – especially pastors – prefer to be called by their last name. Personally, I prefer to use a priest’s last name, as I think his position demands a certain level of respect. Every culture conveys a message with the titles they give to a person or office, and the priesthood is no different. I would not call the commander-in-chief “President Barack”, nor do I let my children call adults by their first name. Using a formal title represents that the person or office deserves respect.

Now I admit there are exceptions when it comes to priestly titles. For example, in the Franciscan tradition, it is most common for priests and brothers to just go by their first name. I respect this and keep to this practice with all the Franciscans I know. But when it comes to diocesan priests, I usually try to use a priest’s last name when referring to him. His office deserves respect (more respect than any office on earth, in fact), and this is a small way I am able to show that respect in my life.

In today’s world we tend to try to minimize most authority figures. This has led to fewer and fewer people being called by anything other than their first name. Even the CEOs of major companies are just called by their first name by their employees. But I always get a kick out of old movies when everyone calls each other by their last name, “Hello, Mr. Jones, how are you?” “I’m fine, Mr. Franklin. Great weather we are having, isn’t it?” Such a way of addressing each other seems foreign today, but it does convey an important social message about respect. Perhaps it is time we apply that to the titles we use for one of the most important jobs in the world: the holy priesthood.