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This blog is simply meant to bring God the glory; no more and no less. I'd love to hear from you! Comments, questions, conversation. rebecca.labriola@gmail.com

Thursday, May 10, 2012

The Catholic Church and Homosexuality. Thursday, May 10. 2012.

Yesterday history was made.
I guess, technically, history is made every day
but it is a matter of what is remembered and what is forgotten.
On Sunday Pujols hit his first home run with the Angels.
Southern California was elated.
History was made but my guess is that,
unless you are a diehard Pujols or Angels fan,
the home run will be forgotten within a matter of a couple of weeks.

Yesterday however is something that will be remembered among most all people
and probably for a long time.
Our president, Barack Obama,
is the first American president to come out and publicly support gay marriage.

Well.
There is a lot to this.
It is a well known fact that the Catholic Church does not support homosexual marriage.
The Church is not trying to separate or exclude anyone,
the Church is holding fast to its religious roots, to Scripture, and to God's truth.

Starting off in Genesis,

God created mankind in his image;
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.
[Genesis 1:27]
God blessed them and God said to them:
Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.
[Genesis 1:28]

God created male and female.
He essentially told the male and female to have sex and have children.
He, as Creator, gave men and women their sexuality.
Sex and sexuality are not bad things.
They are good things granted that sex is performed within the bonds of marriage
and that sexuality is seen as God desired it.

In Leviticus it bluntly states,

If a man lies with a male as with a woman, they have committed an abomination.
[Leviticus 20:13]

And, simply the physical
God created Adam and Eve that they would be fruitful and multiply.
He created their bodies to fit together and become one.
A man and a man and likewise a women and a women cannot become one
in the same physical aspect that a man and a women can.
God created Adam and Eve so that the two of them could bring life into the world.
The Church supports marriage between a man and a woman so that they may bring life into the world; the same thing that Adam and Eve were created for.

However, the Church is based on Love Himself and for this reason, the Church as a whole and in parts is called to love. This is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about homosexuals:


God created man as male and female and destined them for each other in a bodily way as well. The Church accepts without reservation those who experience homosexual feelings. They should not be discriminated against because of that. At the same time, the Church declares that all homosexual relations in any form are contrary to the order of creation. [CCC 2358-2359]

The Church as a whole and as parts has a duty.
Its duty is to first and foremost follow the laws of creation,
its next duty is to love.
Homosexuals should not be treated as some outcast by the Church
because of the way that they feel towards the same sex.

This is where lines get blurred sometimes.
Just because the Church should treat everyone with love, including homosexuals,
does not mean that the Church should accept and be okay with homosexuality.
Christ did treat everyone with love; sinner, saint, and leper alike.
However, He did not condone and support sin.
The idea is to love the sinner, not the sin.
Love the homosexual not the idea of homosexuality.
The traditional definition of love is challenged by both St. Thomas Aquinas and the philosopher, Aristotle who both agree that the definition of love is "to will the good of another".
Willing the good of another does not coincide with accepting and allowing others to sin.

Now the whole idea of separation between Church and state.
I understand, in some ways, why people bring that up as a concept
but I cannot help but think about our country's roots.
The Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights
were put together and written by the fathers of our country.
Whether you want to call them religious or not, they undoubtedly had a strong set of morals.
People are not just born with morals and values, those things are instilled in us.
Morals and values ultimately come from the idea that there is a higher power,
otherwise they would not be necessary because there would be no one or nothing of seniority to answer to.

The Pledge of Allegiance firmly states that we are,
One nation under God

and our coins, they preach,
In God We Trust

The idea that there is a higher power seems to be in decline.
The practices of morals and values seems to be going down the toilet.
If you are not politically correct, you are wrong.

I personally think that, as a whole, we are making the wrong choices as a country.
I think that we need to learn to love
but we need to not lower our standards and morals and values.

I believe in a God who expects much, but who will, in turn, give us much.
I believe in a God who challenges us.
I believe in a God who expects us to love and to hold ourselves to a standard.

With all of this, there is no point in me pounding my views onto another person.
It is my duty to pray for our country and pray for our president.
It is my hope and prayer that you accept this duty as well.
The power of prayer is unimaginable.
God is in control.
He always was.
He always will be.

"If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under."
-Ronald Reagan

4 comments:

  1. Something I've told my students is that laws give us freedom. Example, knowing the laws of gravity and motion, and obeying them, gives us the freedom of flight. We can then operate within those laws unrestricted in a sense by knowing and obeying them. Laws against stealing and violence, give us the freedom to not worry every second about being attacked or threatened for our belongings. And knowing our sexuality and why we have it gives us the greatest gift of all: to participate with God in His creation by bringing into the world a new human being.
    Regarding treatment of people who experience feelings of same sex attraction I wish they experienced more compassion from people. One cannot easily walk the way of Christ if they do not first feel His love.

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  2. Not being a homosexual myself it is difficult for me to relate to them on many levels. Being raised in the Catholic Church I suppose that I too share your belief that God created man and woman to be together. However, if I were sexually attracted to a person of the same sex, even thought I was raised in the Catholic Church I might not agree with that statement. Your justifications for not allowing homosexuals the right to chose to live their lives the way in which they chose is something I cannot support. Not everyone is Catholic, not everyone is Christian and you're never going to get everyone to agree with you.
    First let me point out a bit of history you misconstrued in your blog. The line "One Nation Under God" was added to our Pledge of Allegiance by president Reagan in 1952, 12 years after the original pledge was formally adopted by congress. It was not written by our founding fathers, but rather a man named Francis Bellamy, who just so happened to be both a Christian and a socialist. In 1951 the Catholic organization The Knights of Columbus began including the words "One Nation Under God" to the pledge, and therefore began the motion to formally add these words.
    The issue of gay marriage has nothing to do with our founding fathers. Yes, they were men of strong morals, and they chose to follow the righteous path that God wanted them to -- in YOUR opinion. It's not anyone's place to say what is right or wrong. Allowing homosexuals the right to marryy is not endorsing their lifestyle, but rather allowing them the freedom to chose the way in which they would like to live their lives. Imagine someone telling you that the Catholic church was wrong, and they would accept the fact that you believe in the Catholic Church, but insist that you do not take communion. We are each entitled to our own opinions, but that gives us neither the right nor responsibility of shoving it down other people's throats. I leave you with these words to ponder "Judge not lest ye be judged"

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  3. To Anonymous:


    Not being a homosexual myself it is difficult for me to relate to them on many levels. Being raised in the Catholic Church I suppose that I too share your belief that God created man and woman to be together. However, if I were sexually attracted to a person of the same sex, even thought I was raised in the Catholic Church I might not agree with that statement. Your justifications for not allowing homosexuals the right to chose to live their lives the way in which they chose is something I cannot support. Not everyone is Catholic, not everyone is Christian and you're never going to get everyone to agree with you.

    -My goal is not to please everyone. I have found that to be quite impossible in life. My goal is however to please my God. I feel as though that can be done through many ways but definitely via scripture. For me, personally, the story of creation in Genesis and the verse in Leviticus that explicitly states that man shall not lie with man is enough to form my own personal opinion about homosexuality.

    First let me point out a bit of history you misconstrued in your blog. The line "One Nation Under God" was added to our Pledge of Allegiance by president Reagan in 1952, 12 years after the original pledge was formally adopted by congress. It was not written by our founding fathers, but rather a man named Francis Bellamy, who just so happened to be both a Christian and a socialist. In 1951 the Catholic organization The Knights of Columbus began including the words "One Nation Under God" to the pledge, and therefore began the motion to formally add these words.

    -As humbly as I can I am going to point out that Reagan was present from 1981-1989. Truman was president in 1952. I was not implying that our founding fathers put together the Pledge but rather that the Pledge is still a motto for our country.

    The issue of gay marriage has nothing to do with our founding fathers. Yes, they were men of strong morals, and they chose to follow the righteous path that God wanted them to -- in YOUR opinion. It's not anyone's place to say what is right or wrong. Allowing homosexuals the right to marryy is not endorsing their lifestyle, but rather allowing them the freedom to chose the way in which they would like to live their lives. Imagine someone telling you that the Catholic church was wrong, and they would accept the fact that you believe in the Catholic Church, but insist that you do not take communion. We are each entitled to our own opinions, but that gives us neither the right nor responsibility of shoving it down other people's throats. I leave you with these words to ponder "Judge not lest ye be judged"

    -Yes, this is my opinion, this is a personal blog.
    Based upon scripture, we actually are called to judge. Never to judge the state of anyone's soul but we are allowed to judge their actions. As stated before, love, true love, always seeks the good of another which implies if you are in the bad, if I truly love you, I would tell you. For example, should I not judge a child playing with a key near an electrical outlet?

    "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
    Luke 17:3

    "Stop judging by appearances, but judge justly.” John 7:24

    I am not judging homosexuals, in fact, my blog states that we are called to love them. In that love however, we are called to point out the truth. I am stating the reasons that the Church believes an active homosexual lifestyle is not proper.

    Though I may be going against the grain and against the majority of society, I will not lower my standard or tweak the belief of the Catholic Church.

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  4. A.M.D.G.

    A rousing round of applause sounds)

    Very well put, my dear, very well. That which you scribe on thine blog, MUST be inspired by that which is within thee...none other than the Third Person of the Holy Trinity. I judge that you must have very well pleased Our Father in Heaven. Having done all to stand, (for righteousness) stand therefore.

    May the blessing of Our Lady & Our Lord be ever upon thee.
    +Amen.

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