FROM THE PRESIDENT'S KITCHEN TABLE

You’ve probably noticed from the front page that I’ve combined the winter and spring issues into one – not by choice – but by necessity. And there’s a story behind it. In mid February the winter issue was almost finished and ready for the printer when a little gremlin inadvertently set my computer back to factory mode. He erased everything and I do mean EVERYTHING: documents, picture, everything. It was as if my computer were brand new. My local computer guru recovered the files, but most were so corrupted they were unreadable. I also lost my mailing lists and my email contacts. What was particularly ironic about all this, is that I cancelled my Carbonite account a year ago during the Rush Limbaugh/Sandra Fluke controversy after they pulled their advertising with a sanctimonious statement about defending women.. Sometimes acting on your principles is inconvenient, to say the least.

At any rate, after my initial upset, I remembered that “all things work together for good” and shrugged. Some things are just not worth stressing over and this was one of them. Besides, after getting the most recent mailing lists from the printer (only three months old), and rewriting the lost material, I realized that 90% of what’s on my computer I will never miss. Over the next few months, I will be document cleaning, eliminating all the corrupt files, and starting over.

Ah…starting over. Don’t we need to do that regularly in our spiritual lives as well? Life is a constant battle with “corrupt files” that lead us into sin. Spring, the Easter Season, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pentecost – all are opportunities to reflect on how much God has blessed us, how much we need to give thanks, and how much we need to reform our lives and become true apostles.

Which leads me to the need for warriors to embrace a serious apostolic crusade – defense o traditional marriage. The push for gay marriage which the United States is likely to get by judicial fiat from the Supreme Court (just as we got abortion-on-demand), is front and center right now. How did we come to this point – where the highest court in the land may actually declare the physical “union” by anal sodomy is equated with natural marital relations between a man and a woman? Lots of reasons, but especially, I think, we came to this the minute the courts legalized contraception in Griswold vs. Connecticut (1965) separating the love-giving and life-giving aspects of sexual relations. Following that decision (and the easy availability of the pill) the U.S. saw an astronomical rise in promiscuity, pre-marital relations, divorce, and cohabitation.

Separating the God-ordained union of sex as both love giving and life-giving wreaked havoc on the family. And, sadly, both aspects of the marital act have become ever-more perverted as a result of their separation. Sexual pleasure is more and more lust, less and less love – with sex toys, pornography, group sex huddles, same sex sodomy, and other perverted novelties the call of the day. On the other hand, giving life is no longer the prerogative of a husband and wife in the privacy of their bedroom. It’s the business of scientists, laboratories, surrogates, egg and sperm donors, etc. Roe v. Wade was the natural outcome of Griswold. Once sexual pleasure became the be-all and end-all, the inconvenient little “product” had to be dealt with in a way that satisfied lust while avoiding responsibility. But since the baby is meant by God to be a couple’s love with skin on, the natural outcome of killing that love is killing the relationship that preceded it and was meant to protect it. God meant the baby not as a “product of conception” but a fulfillment of the relationship of love. Today, however, there is often no love – just a groaning lust; hence the easy disposal of lust’s consequences.

If…I’m tempted to say when… marriage is destroyed, it will be the natural result of all the destruction that went before. First lust replaced love, then murdering love became routine, now the institution protecting love must be redefined to protect lust instead in all its nauseating depravities. The circle of corruption is complete with plenty of blame attached to those who call themselves people of faith who embraced moral evils targeting the holiness of marriage..

How is a Catholic to respond in such cultural meltdown? The same way the early Christians did: defend marriage by living it. Take your vows and mean them. Keep them for life “in good times and bad.” Easy divorce among Christians contributed to the corruption we see around us today. Contracepting Christians paved the way for murdering babies in the womb. Catholics, especially, are responsible because we failed to be the salt and the yeast. We should beat our breasts and cry mea culpa for all the sins against the sixth and ninth commandments that brought us where we are today.

But there’s good news too. Rejoice that God gives us so much time to repent and reform our lives. Let’s not waste a minute. If you haven’t been to confession in awhile, go! Add the Act of Contrition to your night prayers and say it before every reception of Holy Communion. Love everyone around you, especially those blinded by lust. They are slaves of the evil one, more to be pitied than reviled. We who have so much must pray to be a source of conversion for those who have so little. Seek the aid of Mary Magdalene, the woman at the well, the good thief, and the little shepherds of Fatima that we might bring many to the table of the Lord. There is no greater destiny for the Christian than to be a channel of salvation for someone on the path to Hell. May God give us the fortitude to persevere and the grace of a sense of humor so that we will be cheerful instruments for His glory. St. Phillip Neri, patron saint of joy, pray for us.

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