New Beginnings

I'm excited--and somewhat trepidatious--to announce the commencement of a new project.

I'm starting a new blog.

Don't worry--I will most certainly be keeping this one. And I hope to be much better about posting pictures and stories of the kiddos--as well as other miscellany. Thanks to the encouragement of some friends and the guilty realization that my negligence has been seriously depriving friends and family of their regular dose of my crazy children, I have firmly resolved to post here more often. You know, more than quarterly.

But.

I have long felt torn between the desire to write more about Scripture and the faith and a certain hesitancy to try to mix my plain ol' mommy blog with more professional or academic pursuits. It just didn't seem to fit. A motherhood-inspired reflection on something faith-related, sure. A treatise on whether or not Moses actually wrote the Pentateuch, not so much. (Not that I will be writing any treatises, but you get the picture.)

In the past few weeks the desire to write more on Scripture and put it out on the interwebs has grown, and so I'm just jumping in. Because otherwise I will plan and dream for six months, and it will grow to something huge and glorious in my dreams (okay, it already has), and then I will talk myself out of actually moving forward.

So here we go.

I humbly invite you to join me in this adventure at Broad and Deep. (And any feedback in this new endeavor would be most appreciated!)

7 Quick Takes (vol. 41) -- The Laudato Si' Edition

I know I'm a bit late to the game with responses to Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si', but I'm late with pretty much everything these days. And of course it's never too late to get started. So here are seven ways we've been living out care for our world in our little corner of it. Or maybe I'm just totally exhausted and overwhelmed with toddlerness and third trimesterness and beginning of the school yearness. You decide.

Ready to be awed and inspired?

--- 1 ---

Leave the scrambled eggs on the floor. The 18 month old decided he wanted to dump his breakfast on the floor instead of eating it? No problem. Don't bother cleaning it up--in an hour or so he will rediscover it and eat every. single. crumb. for snack time. The 2 1/2 year old will probably help. Team work? Check. Waste not, want not? Check. Clean(ish) floor without breaking out the broom? Check.

--- 2 ---

Don't pull the weeds. So maybe you had grand plans for landscaping and gardening and all the green thumb things way back in April and May. And maybe the budget for that stuff decided to disappear down the drain of the master bathroom project that became never-ending. And maybe all your creative energy disappeared into growing one tiny human and keeping three others alive and (mostly) happy. But guess what? Bees like the weeds better--and helping out the bees is super important. And the weeds clearly have very low water needs (see next point), and are therefore the environmentally-friendly option. So stop feeling guilty about the overgrown au naturale look of your front flowerbed. Encouraging native flora is definitely Laudato Si'.

an actual bee on an actual weed native wildflower in my actual flower bed

--- 3 ---

Only water the grass/flowers every couple of weeks. Because water is a precious resource. And expensive. And your brownish lawn will make your neighbors feel a lot better about their yards. And if you don't water it you will rarely have to mow. (Note: may be a problem with heathen HOAs).

--- 4 ---

Bathe your children once a month. Or less. Really, if they aren't too smelly or sticky they are totally fine. This encourages a healthy immune system (or something like that) and conserves water. And when you do bathe them, throw as many as you can possibly fit into the bath or shower all at once and scrub away.

--- 5 ---

Bonus points if you combine tip #3 with tip #4 and just kick the kids outside to run through the sprinkler instead of actually showering them.

he looks clean to me!

--- 6 ---

Let the kids run around in their pajamas all day. For multiple days in a row. You will save on water and detergent for laundry and justify uberminimalistcapsule wardrobes. Bedtime is that much easier because everyone is already in their pajamas! Our current record is approximately 72 hours in the same set of pajamas. I can tell that you're impressed.

--- 7 ---

Use as few dishes as possible at mealtimes to save on clean up. This will likely involve the kids eating directly off the table or counter, but you know they weren't going to keep the food on their plates anyway. Silverware is a waste of time and water. And if your kids are anything like mine they sometimes forget that they aren't puppies and lick their food straight off the plates. It may not be acceptable for public, but at home we'll just chalk that one up concern for the environment. Cups, unfortunately, are pretty much necessary at this age... although I can just imagine the boys' excitement if I let them start drinking milk straight out of the jug. We're not that hardcore... yet.

So there you have it. Are you impressed? Horrified? Think you can do better? I'd love to hear it!

Linking up with Kelly for Seven Quick Takes!

This Saying is Hard--Thoughts on the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Many of Jesus' disciples who were listening said, 'This saying is hard; who can accept it?'"  -John 6:60

I love this line from today's Gospel reading.  I find myself using it pretty regularly--"God, this situation is ridiculously hard; do you really expect me to accept it?" (Especially in those early morning/late night/no nap situations... really?  I'm really supposed to be able to get through this?  And with a good attitude?!  Ha.)

And I love that in her divinely bestowed wisdom our Church has paired this reading from the end of the Bread of Life Discourse with Paul's exhortation to spouses from Ephesians 5.  Sitting in Mass today we went directly from "For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.  This is a great mystery, but I speak in reference to Christ and the church." (Ephesians 5:31-32) to "This saying is hard; who can accept it?"

I find this pairing particularly appropriate on two different levels.  Everywhere we turn today we find people who look at the Church's teachings on marriage and sexuality and respond with "This saying is hard (and ridiculous, out-dated, oppressive, hateful, etc.); who (in their right mind) can accept it?"  How many of Jesus' 21st century disciples have walked (or drifted) away from his words of everlasting life because they are hard? 

On an even deeper level, hearing these two readings paired highlights the beautiful connections between marriage and the Eucharist.  St. Paul tells us at the end of today's reading from Ephesians that the maritial union of a man and woman becoming one flesh is a great mystery--and it is to be understood in relation to Christ and his Church.  Alex and I chose this passage as the second reading at our wedding Mass.  We did so for several reasons (one of which may or may not have been an attempt to scandalize some of our guests with the very non-PC language of submission), but primarily because we felt this one passage most clearly summarized the wedding vows.  The mystery of truly becoming one flesh in marriage requires the mutual submission about which St. Paul writes (although you may have missed the mutual part if you got the shortened version at Mass today).  As a wife, I submit to Alex.  Not as a doormat, not as a slave, not as someone whose ideas or preferences or dignity is somehow less important than his.  Rather, I do so as someone who has chosen to place herself under his mission.  In short, I submit to Alex as I do to Christ.  And I am called to do this because he is also called to submit.  This can be easy to miss in reading Ephesians 5--we hear about wives submitting first and it can be hard to get past that to fully consider what husbands are called to do in turn.  But the role of husband being discussed second actually places a stronger emphasis on the way in which he is called to sacrifice.  It's not exactly the same way--in fact, in my opinion, it's an even harder way.  As a husband, Alex is head of our family as Christ is head of the Church.  That means death--death to self for my sake, just as Christ died for the Church.  Alex is called to submit everything for my good.  That makes it pretty easy (at least in theory) for me to submit to him.

But this is still a hard saying--because I'm fallen I don't always want to submit, even when it makes sense in theory.  Thank God for the grace of the sacrament of marriage, and for the grace of the Eucharist--the sacramental marriage feast between Christ and his bride, the Church.  And just as real physical union is necessary to the sacrament of marriage, so also in our marriage to Christ we experience real physical union with God through receiving Jesus--body, blood, soul and divinity--in the Eucharist.

John is relating the reaction of many of Jesus' followers upon hearing the shocking claim that Jesus' flesh is quite literally true food and his blood is true drink.  Some of them simply cannot/will not accept this and they leave.  But Paul's sayings about marriage--both between a man and woman here on earth, and between Christ and his Church for all eternity--are also hard. 

I don't know about you, but I desperately need the first to live out the second!

Live and Let Die: Why the Catholic Church can't endorse same-sex "marriage"

Both leading up to and in the wake of the approval of the North Carolina amendment banning same-sex “marriage,” I've seen any number of posts on Facebook calling on Christians to be "real Christians" and live and let live, stop discriminating, etc.  I want to address two main points concerning this type of argument to show how for a Christian to endorse the homosexual lifestyle would actually be to "live and let die" rather than "live and let live."  The first is to give a simple explanation of what the Catholic Church actually teaches on homosexuality, and the second is to take a quick look at what it actually means to ask Christians to accept and support the homosexual lifestyle.

This is not an argument for the Catholic Church's position on homosexuality and same-sex "marriage."  That is a much longer conversation which I am willing to have with anyone who is interested, but it is not my purpose here.  

Let me say first that I have several friends and family members who have identified themselves as homosexuals, and I love you each oh-so-dearly.  I'm making every attempt to say this in a way that will not be offensive to you.  I am not judging you.  In fact, although the Church makes definitive judgments about the morality of certain acts, the Church also prohibits me (or anyone else, from the Pope on down) from making a particular judgment about the state of your soul (Catechism of the Catholic Church 1861).  I just want to say something about what the Catholic Church teaches about the homosexual lifestyle.  Maybe you've heard this before, but if not then I'm sorry it has taken this long for someone to tell you!

In a sense, the call for Christians to “live and let live”—insofar as it means to treat others with respect and dignity—is valid.  The Catholic Church calls us to love every human being, whether we agree with them or not.  In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states that, "The number of men and women who have deep-seated homosexual tendencies is not negligible. ... They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.  These persons are called to fulfill God's will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord's Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition" (CCC 2358, emphasis mine).  So acting on homosexual tendencies is a sin, but failing to treat homosexuals with love and respect is also a sin.

The confusing part for so many people is that there is a difference between loving and respecting a person who thinks differently and ignoring or discounting that difference in belief altogether.  The Church calls us to love and respect one another, but at the same time not to ignore what Scripture and Tradition teach about marriage.  Loving someone doesn't necessarily mean endorsing their lifestyle.  In fact, when you see that someone you love is acting in a dangerous or self-destructive manner, you won't encourage that behavior!  The Church loves her children, and so does not want them to remain in the self-destructive pattern of sin--she will not simply sit back and live and let die!

Believe it or not, the Church doesn't endorse the homosexual lifestyle (and cannot support same-sex "marriage") because the Church wants everyone to be really, truly happy.  This may sound bizarre, but it's true.  To put it simply (I hope), the Church believes that God created the human person with a specific end in mind--to find our ultimate happiness and fulfillment in Him (CCC 1).  All the "rules and regulations" of Catholicism aren't there to control or limit us--they are more like a user guide to the human person.  The user guide for my new laptop battery tells me not to drive a nail through the battery--not because the people at Toshiba are mean and power-hungry, but because they want my laptop battery to function correctly and not explode (or whatever it would do if I hammered a nail through it... anyone know?).

In the same way, the Church tells us--based on God's revelation through Scripture and Tradition--that there are certain correct "operating conditions" for sex--among them that it must be within a marriage between one man and one woman, and that it must be open to bringing forth new life.  Not because the Church hates homosexuals or polygamists or people using contraception, but because--according to the world-view which is inherent to the Catholic Church's identity--sex outside of these correct "operating conditions" is intrinsically damaging to the persons involved.  This is why living a homosexual lifestyle is (and always has been, see Leviticus 18:22 and Romans 1:26-28, for example) considered a sin (a "rejection of God and opposition to him," CCC 386)--it is a rejection of God's "operating instructions" for human sexuality.  (It’s also important to note, however, that just as experiencing the temptation to any other sin is not itself sinful, so also experiencing homosexual tendencies is not sinful if they are not embraced or acted upon.)

Now remember, this is not an argument for whether the Church is right or wrong.  This is also not a comprehensive examination of the Church's teachings on the human person, human sexuality, and marriage.  But when you boil it down, the Church teaches (and always has taught) that God created man.  He created man to be happy.  Man can only be happy by attaining the goal for which he was created.  A homosexual (or promiscuous, or contraceptive) lifestyle works against the goal for which man was created.  Therefore, regardless of the emotions in the moment, man cannot ultimately be happy in that kind of lifestyle.

You might disagree with the Church's teachings on homosexuality, and that's fine.  You're welcome to disagree.  But hopefully this helps you know more accurately with what exactly it is you're disagreeing.  The Catholic Church neither promotes nor condones hateful words or actions toward anyone, including homosexuals.  The Catholic Church calls for an attitude of love, respect, and compassion toward those who experience homosexual tendencies, regardless of whether or not they act on them.  The Catholic Church recognizes that it can be a huge burden to have homosexual tendencies and chose to live in accordance with Church teaching--and yet she still calls people to this life out of a sincere desire for their well-being and happiness.

I know that a lot of Christians fail miserably at loving and respecting those living a homosexual lifestyle.  Some of you reading may have experienced this firsthand-- I hope I've never been the source, but I want to apologize if I have, and also on behalf of all those who have failed you.  But while you have every right to demand that Christians treat you with the dignity that you fully deserve—please understand that asking Christians to endorse same-sex "marriage" is essentially asking us to change what we believe about 'life, the universe, and everything' (to steal a phrase from Douglas Adams).  Literally.  If marriage doesn't have to be between one man and one woman, then 2000 years of Christian Tradition are wrong.  Scripture isn't really inspired by God and inerrant.  The Catholic Church isn't who she says she is.  Being Christian doesn't really mean what we've always said it means.

You might agree with all of those statements--and you're welcome to try to convince me of them.  Know the Church's position, argue against it logically, and let's have a discussion!  But please, don't expect me to buy the line that “real Christians will support homosexuals in their lifestyle because it's the loving thing to do.”  Whether you believe that the Catholic Church receives her identity directly from God or not, at the very least she has the right to define her own identity.  The Catholic Church has defined what it means to be truly Catholic, and that includes adhering to a worldview in which marriage cannot be other than between one man and one woman.  Those who are demanding that Christians support same-sex "marriage" should at least acknowledge that they are asking Christians to redefine what it means to be Christian. 

Because if we truly believe what the Church teaches about 'life, the universe, and eveything,' then we as Christians are failing miserably if we do not share that message (always with love--no matter how tempting it is to beat someone over the head with it).  We say we believe that we know the Way, the Truth, and the Life--the key to ultimate happiness.  We also say we are called to love everyone.  So if I believe I have the key to ultimate happiness, and I say that I love you, and yet when I see you living in a way contrary to what I firmly believe to be your best interests and I say nothing (or worse, I encourage you in that behavior)--I am a complete hypocrite.  This is no excuse for sharing the truth without love (or misrepresenting the truth, such as claiming to know that all homosexuals or any other specific person/group is going to hell).  It is simply an explanation of why I, as a Christian, cannot stand by and live and let die.  From the Christian worldview, there is no "live and let live" option in this sense.
For the Church, this actually isn't an issue of "letting" same-sex couples get married.  It's simply a matter of what marriage actually is or is not.  The Church is neither the author nor the editor of marriage--therefore the Church has no authority to redefine marriage to mean something other than what God has defined it as: a permanent union between one man and one woman.

I welcome your input--but please keep all comments civil!