THE DIVORCE MENTALITY AND THE CHURCH OF WHAT'S HAPPENING NOW

Each time I lead a couple during their wedding in responding to the marriage vows, I wonder if they really get it. "I promise to be true to you for better or for worse, in good time and in bad, in sickness and in health for as long as we both shall live." The vows compliment the Church's sacramental understanding of Holy Matrimony as a public sign of the permanent commitment Jesus, the Bridegroom of the Church has made to His bride which is the Church. There will be no divorce between Christ and His spouse, the Church and thus the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony precludes the same.

But let's talk about divorce and the events that lead to it. Normally there are a series of events, adultery, disinterest, lack of communication, arguing, fighting and other interests.

What we see today in the Church mirrors so often what we see in marriages and family life. Catholics just don't seem to get it. The call of Christianity is perfection that only God can establish and does so at the end of time. In the meantime imperfect, sinful creatures are asked to live sacramental lives, imitate their Lord and Savior, go to Mass each Sunday, goes to confession regularly, eat meals in the home together and do all the other things that build up the Body of Christ and the Body that is the family which is the Church in miniature.

With the scandals in the Church which could easily indicate the bad times, the for worse and the sickness of our commitment aspect to Holy Mother Church of which we are members by the way, there are one of four ways we can react.

1. Become vitriolic and divisive and get people to our side of the argument and trump the bad old nasty side with rhetoric and mean spirited actions

2. Pray for the Church, be supportive of the good things that are happening and seek constructive and unifying ways to deal with the bad, in other words be Christ-like

3. Separate from the Church and become ambivalent

4. Divorce the parish or the Church

I like option #1! Pray the following prayer everyday for your bishops and priests:

Prayer for Priests


O Jesus,

I pray for Your faithful and fervent priests;

for Your unfaithful and tepid priests;

for Your priests labouring at home

or abroad in distant mission fields;

for Your tempted priests;

for Your lonely and desolate priest;

for Your young priests;

for Your dying priests;

for the souls of Your priests in purgatory.

But above all I recommend to You the priests dearest to me;

the priest who baptized me;

the priests who absolved me from my sins;

the priests at whose Masses I assisted

and who gave me Your Body and Blood in Holy communion;

the priests who taught and instructed me;

all the priests to whom I am indebted in any other way.

O Jesus, keep them all close to Your heart,

and bless them abundantly in time and in eternity.

Amen.