Tag Archives: theology

Consummatum Est: Eucharist As Marital Act

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When a man and woman marry each other in the Church, they are not joined sacramentally until the marriage is consummated, that is, until they partake of sexual intercourse. Most people think of the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony as only being administered once. I believe they are mistaken. The sacrament is enacted every time a married couple makes love. A husband’s seed is given to his wife, in whom it might "take root" and grow into another human being, another member of the domestic church.

Christ is the bridegroom of the Church. The marriage was not consummated until Christ died on the cross for our sins. Some people think that this sacrifice was manifested only once. I believe they are mistaken. The sacrifice is enacted every time a member of the Church receives the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. God’s seed, grace, is given to members of the Church, in whom it might take root and grow into faith, a faith that enables us to go and make new disciples, new members of the Universal Church.

Porn Sucks

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rape-patch.jpg If anyone can articulately explain why pornography is bad, please tell my friend Robyn. Since MySpace is a crappy blogging service and you might have to be on her friends list to view the post, I'll reproduce it here.

"Has anyone else heard about this attempt by a religious faction to heal those who have been 'overcome' by porn? Of all the things in this world to focus your energies on, I have to just shake my head. Granted, extreme porn (such as that involving 'snuff films,' people under the age of 18, etc) makes me less than comfortable, I fail to see this as an epidemic of sorts."

"Sex, in its consentual form, is a perfectly natural, pleasurable thing. People have varying predilections that not everyone will understand. But, that's just the thing. You don't have to understand it. Some prefer a traditional approach with no real experimentation, and that's all fine and good. As long as no one's getting hurt (who doesn't want to be), everyone should be entitled to express their sexuality on their own terms. If that involves putting your sex life on video or in photographs, so be it."

"I just don't see porn as a real problem in society. I think one of society's problems is that society is a little too uptight. We're all naked underneath our clothes, and I'm sure we all have sexual cravings. To say that someone is wrong, or is going to Hell because of something so non threatening as viewing or creating porn, is just asinine to me. That may be your take on the subject, and sure, you're welcome to your opinion. Just don't try to force your ideology on me."

"I have a rather small collection of these aforementioned videos, I'm interested in trying different things sexually, and to be perfectly honest, I probably desire sex 90% my day. At the same time, I've had less than a handful of lovers because I'm what you'd refer to as a 'relationship girl.' Though I have no problem with others partaking in casual sex, it's just not for me. What's my point? Being sexual does not make you a bad person. It makes you human."

"That being said, I believe that in honor of this Porn Sunday, the other Adam and I need to be taking a trip to a little place on McKnight Road ;)"

"*I ask that in reading this you keep in mind that I'm referring to sex in the strictest of consentual terms*"

I'd respond at length myself, but I'm too hurt by her insensitivity. Porn has really screwed me up and I'm too emotionally raw to explain why it's such an evil thing, so I'm relying on my loyal readers. Please lend me your brains and your keyboards.

Addendum: Here are some previous posts about porn and its effects.

Not Just For Jews
Disordered Apetites
Monkey See, Monkey Do
Virtual Red Light District

Addendum #2: Here are some news stories about the "religious faction" Robyn refers to.

National Porn Sunday October 9
Mesa man hopes his story will warn of cost of porn addiction

We Are ChurchHeresy

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"Oct. 04 (CWNews.com) – The international dissident movement ‘We Are Church‘ is issuing an appeal to the Catholic bishops, gathered in Rome for the Synod, to confront the ‘real’ problems relating to the Eucharist. At an October 4 press conference in Rome, the dissident group called for reconsideration of the key Catholic doctrine on the transubstantiation, an end to the ‘hierarchical monopoly’ on the sacraments, and approval of shared communion with other Christian denominations."

….

"Specifically, the dissident group called for abandoning the notion that the Eucharist is a sacrifice, and instead saying that the mass is ‘in memory of the entire life of Jesus.’ The group called for ‘full freedom of philosophical and theological interpretation of that mystery.’ We Are Church argued that the dogma of the transubstantiation– the teaching that the bread and wine at Mass are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ– is unacceptable to Protestants, and thus impedes ecumenical unity. The group decried traditional forms of Catholic piety, such as Eucharistic adoration and processions, as tending to make an ‘idol’ of the Blessed Sacrament."

*rolls eyes* This is infuriating and comical at the same time. To paraphrase the Big Lebowski:

"Your revolution is over, Ms. Heizer et. al. Condolences. The heretics lost. My advice is to do what your intellectual forebears did; become Protestants, folks. The heretics will always lose."

Purgatory Pickle Redux

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A fellow by the name of Charles recently commented on an old purgatory post of mine that has long since sunken below the horizon. He says:

“Why do Catholics use 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 to prove Purgatory? It couldn’t be plainer in the text that the fire will reveal all works on ‘the Day’. The Day of Christ at judgment. ‘ The Day’ is too obvious but surprisingly overlooked by Catholics.”

My first reaction would be to say that Catholics believe in two judgments, personal and universal. We are faced with personal judgment when we die. The universal comes when Christ returns to Earth to judge all of mankind. On “the Day”, that is the day of our judgment, our works are tested by fire. That fire is not literal, of course, but suffering of some kind is implied. I see no contradiction whatsoever regarding purgation and judgment.

What are your thoughts?

Forgiveness and Anger are NOT Mutually Exclusive

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Would one of my astute readers please tell Adrian why Blink is wrong?

[ireneQ:] ‘How can God not be angry when we sin? He hates sin!’

[Blink:] ‘When Jesus died on the cross, He took upon Him the consequences of sin. One of those consequences is God’s anger. Therefore God cannot be angry with us any more.’

I like this Blink guy……

Here’s some starter material from the Catechism.

"1849 Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as ‘an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law.’"

"1850 Sin is an offense against God: ‘Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.’ Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become ‘like gods,’ knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus ‘love of oneself even to contempt of God.’ In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125 "