tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post2019056169481366286..comments2024-03-28T09:14:32.869-04:00Comments on southern orders: AS THE DUST SETTLES WE ARE STARTING TO GET SOME SANITY WHEN IT COMES TO "THE JOY OF LOVE" AND FROM HIGH PENITENTIARY PLACES!Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-52369500270219619462016-04-20T21:36:19.315-04:002016-04-20T21:36:19.315-04:00“In order to avoid all misunderstanding,” Pope Fra...<i> “In order to avoid all misunderstanding,” Pope Francis writes... </i><br /><br />Yep, that worked out well.GenXBenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15298459502431357489noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-49250898440567450462016-04-20T15:03:53.315-04:002016-04-20T15:03:53.315-04:00Bottom line: a properly formed Catholic conscience...Bottom line: a properly formed Catholic conscience recognizes that Our Lord's words matter: a valid marriage cannot be sundered by any power on earth and thus divorcing one's true spouse and marrying another person is adultery, period.<br /><br />It may be a cross to leave one's new spouse or live as a sibling rather than a spouse but the properly formed Catholic conscience will recognize that the 2nd spouse is not in fact one's true spouse so one cannot behave "as though this person is a spouse" (i.e. and have sex). If one can't return to one's true spouse, then one can't go on living as though they're dead. <br /><br />Separation is not the same thing as divorce and remarriage. <br /><br />It may take time for a pastor to accompany the untold millions of victims of the sexual revolution back to this properly formed conscience that calls people to live up to their wedding vows. It may require a gradual process of maturation in the spiritual life and a gradual building up of virtuous habits of prayer and community support, but that's the path back to the Father's original plan for humanity.<br /><br />We cannot pretend that any convoluted "journey" will allow us to pretend a true spouse is dead merely because they are civilly divorced and out of the picture. We cannot allow any long 'process' to obfuscate the reality that before God a person is bound to their true spouse and consequently any other person they are sexually intimate with is objectively a sinful relationship insofar as it is an affront to their covenant made before God.<br /><br />Now we can be kind and gentle and hold their hands and support them in their loneliness and emotional trauma...but we cannot pretend that adultery is somehow a blessing to be blessed or that knowingly committing adultery in bad conscience is something to be 'treated' with the medicine of Eucharistic communion.<br /><br />If we truly love people we will seek their union with God in Christ, not just telling them what we think they want to hear to 'feel good' about themselves.Jusadbellumnoreply@blogger.com