local parish bulliten

[janet1025]

I attended mass with a friend last week and this was preached from the pulpit and in the weekly bulletin. My friend said this priest has been contacted by parishioners on multiple occasions and the cardinal has been contacted but he only gets more belligerent in his homilies. I’m told he is friends with the cardinal. How is it that a priest can be allowed to preach that two mommies is the same as any other 2 parent household? Since when do we as Catholics preach to our children is is acceptable behavior to peruse a homosexual relationship and to raise children in it? Am I over reacting? Also the cardinal is one of the folks assigned to assist the pope on Vatican reform what can we expect?

From the Pastor’s Desk December 29, 2013
“Leave it to Beaver” and “The Ozzie and Harriet Show” were weekly shows in the early days of television that depicted fam-ily life in a more or less idyllic way. June Cleaver and Harriet Nel-son were stay at home moms who always looked as if they had just come from the beauty parlor. Ward Cleaver would come home from work every day, exchange his suit jacket for a comfortable sweater, sit down to a nicely prepared supper and impart some fatherly wis-dom to his two sons Beaver and Wally. Ozzie Nelson had much the same routine with his sons David and Ricky. To say the least, these were very entertaining shows that unrealistically presented family life as a bowl of cherries. An occasional ethical challenge would teach the four boys some important lessons about life but for the most part they were just human interest stories devoid of the real pressures and tensions of the families in which most of us came of age.
This weekend, dedicated to the Holy Family, invites us to reflect on family life in our own day and age. And the first thing we notice is how different and difficult family life must have been for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That very first Christmas had to be a night-mare for Joseph and Mary. Imagine having traveled all that distance and not being able to find a decent place to spend the night! We have to believe that Mary’s first born child came a bit early and probably caught them off guard. Maybe the long ride on the back of a donkey convinced Jesus that it was time to make his appearance. Whatever the reasons, the birth of Jesus did not take place in idyllic circumstances. It really took place in abject poverty.
And of course, Mary and Joseph were not the ideal couple either. Mary was pregnant before being married and obviously faced more than a few raised eyebrows as her pregnancy became known. And God bless Joseph who was open to what had to be the most unnerving and mysterious experience of his life: being told in a dream to put aside his concerns about the pregnancy of his fiancé. The circumstances surrounding the first family were a light year from “Leave It To Beaver” and “Ozzie and Harriet”.
It is very easy to forget that Mary would have been an un-wed mother were it not for Joseph. It is also easy to forget that Jo-seph was not the natural father of Jesus but became his foster father and protector, along with his new bride Mary. And the circumstanc-es surrounding the birth of Jesus should fill us all with a deep respect and empathy for the poor and unwed mothers of our day. Taken all together, the first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal. Every family is different and this means that we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. What is most important is that we continually hold up the family as the instrument that God has chosen to communicate God’s uncondi-tional love to the youngest and most vulnerable members of our so-ciety.
The feast of the Holy Family invites us all to reflect upon the graces that have been ours through the love of our parents. It invites us to work doubly hard for things like food stamps for the poor and adequate health care for our children. It invites us to sup-port all heads of families who struggle every day to be good role models for their children. It invites us to recommit ourselves to the defense of unborn life. And most of all, it invites us to thank God for the yes(es) of Joseph and Mary that have completely changed our world though the gift of their Son, Jesus.
God Bless! Msgr. Paul

 

[zab]

I attended mass with a friend last week and this was preached from the pulpit and in the weekly bulletin. My friend said this priest has been contacted by parishioners on multiple occasions and the cardinal has been contacted but he only gets more belligerent in his homilies. I’m told he is friends with the cardinal. How is it that a priest can be allowed to preach that two mommies is the same as any other 2 parent household? Since when do we as Catholics preach to our children is is acceptable behavior to peruse a homosexual relationship and to raise children in it? Am I over reacting? Also the cardinal is one of the folks assigned to assist the pope on Vatican reform what can we expect?

From the Pastor’s Desk December 29, 2013
“Leave it to Beaver” and “The Ozzie and Harriet Show” were weekly shows in the early days of television that depicted fam-ily life in a more or less idyllic way. June Cleaver and Harriet Nel-son were stay at home moms who always looked as if they had just come from the beauty parlor. Ward Cleaver would come home from work every day, exchange his suit jacket for a comfortable sweater, sit down to a nicely prepared supper and impart some fatherly wis-dom to his two sons Beaver and Wally. Ozzie Nelson had much the same routine with his sons David and Ricky. To say the least, these were very entertaining shows that unrealistically presented family life as a bowl of cherries. An occasional ethical challenge would teach the four boys some important lessons about life but for the most part they were just human interest stories devoid of the real pressures and tensions of the families in which most of us came of age.
This weekend, dedicated to the Holy Family, invites us to reflect on family life in our own day and age. And the first thing we notice is how different and difficult family life must have been for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That very first Christmas had to be a night-mare for Joseph and Mary. Imagine having traveled all that distance and not being able to find a decent place to spend the night! We have to believe that Mary’s first born child came a bit early and probably caught them off guard. Maybe the long ride on the back of a donkey convinced Jesus that it was time to make his appearance. Whatever the reasons, the birth of Jesus did not take place in idyllic circumstances. It really took place in abject poverty.
And of course, Mary and Joseph were not the ideal couple either.** Mary was pregnant before being married and obviously faced more than a few raised eyebrows as her pregnancy became known. And God bless Joseph who was open to what had to be the most unnerving and mysterious experience of his life: being told in a dream to put aside his concerns about the pregnancy of his fiancé. The circumstances surrounding the first family were a light year from “Leave It To Beaver” and “Ozzie and Harriet”.
It is very easy to forget that Mary would have been an un-wed mother were it not for Joseph. It is also easy to forget that Jo-seph was not the natural father of Jesus but became his foster father and protector, along with his new bride Mary. And the circumstanc-es surrounding the birth of Jesus should fill us all with a deep respect and empathy for the poor and unwed mothers of our day. Taken all together, the first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal**. Every family is different and this means that **we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. **What is most important is that we continually hold up the family as the instrument that God has chosen to communicate God’s uncondi-tional love to the youngest and most vulnerable members of our so-ciety.
The feast of the Holy Family invites us all to reflect upon the graces that have been ours through the love of our parents. It invites us to work doubly hard for things like food stamps for the poor and adequate health care for our children. It invites us to sup-port all heads of families who struggle every day to be good role models for their children. It invites us to recommit ourselves to the defense of unborn life. And most of all, it invites us to thank God for the yes(es) of Joseph and Mary that have completely changed our world though the gift of their Son, Jesus.
God Bless! Msgr. Paul

There are a few things wrong in what he said. Among them are:

1. “Mary was pregnant before being married.” WRONG. Mary and Joseph were married but before they were living together as was their custom, when Mary was visited by the angel and upon her “yes” she conceived by the Holy Spirit…

2."The first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal." This also is not true. There are many normal families, father and mother never divorced with children. Every family does have some difficulties and may even have teenage or adult children who have strayed. That does not mean that they are not a normal family or should not have an ideal to look forward to.

**3.“we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. **” The trouble is that it has been decades since a “normal” family has been depicted in a TV sitcom. The only examples being depicted for young persons to look up to are dysfunctional families.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

I attended mass with a friend last week and this was preached from the pulpit and in the weekly bulletin. My friend said this priest has been contacted by parishioners on multiple occasions and the cardinal has been contacted but he only gets more belligerent in his homilies. I’m told he is friends with the cardinal. How is it that a priest can be allowed to preach that two mommies is the same as any other 2 parent household? Since when do we as Catholics preach to our children is is acceptable behavior to peruse a homosexual relationship and to raise children in it? Am I over reacting? Also the cardinal is one of the folks assigned to assist the pope on Vatican reform what can we expect?

From the Pastor’s Desk December 29, 2013
“Leave it to Beaver” and “The Ozzie and Harriet Show” were weekly shows in the early days of television that depicted fam-ily life in a more or less idyllic way. June Cleaver and Harriet Nel-son were stay at home moms who always looked as if they had just come from the beauty parlor. Ward Cleaver would come home from work every day, exchange his suit jacket for a comfortable sweater, sit down to a nicely prepared supper and impart some fatherly wis-dom to his two sons Beaver and Wally. Ozzie Nelson had much the same routine with his sons David and Ricky. To say the least, these were very entertaining shows that unrealistically presented family life as a bowl of cherries. An occasional ethical challenge would teach the four boys some important lessons about life but for the most part they were just human interest stories devoid of the real pressures and tensions of the families in which most of us came of age.
This weekend, dedicated to the Holy Family, invites us to reflect on family life in our own day and age. And the first thing we notice is how different and difficult family life must have been for Jesus, Mary and Joseph. That very first Christmas had to be a night-mare for Joseph and Mary. Imagine having traveled all that distance and not being able to find a decent place to spend the night! We have to believe that Mary’s first born child came a bit early and probably caught them off guard. Maybe the long ride on the back of a donkey convinced Jesus that it was time to make his appearance. Whatever the reasons, the birth of Jesus did not take place in idyllic circumstances. It really took place in abject poverty.
And of course, Mary and Joseph were not the ideal couple either. Mary was pregnant before being married and obviously faced more than a few raised eyebrows as her pregnancy became known. And God bless Joseph who was open to what had to be the most unnerving and mysterious experience of his life: being told in a dream to put aside his concerns about the pregnancy of his fiancé. The circumstances surrounding the first family were a light year from “Leave It To Beaver” and “Ozzie and Harriet”.
It is very easy to forget that Mary would have been an un-wed mother were it not for Joseph. It is also easy to forget that Jo-seph was not the natural father of Jesus but became his foster father and protector, along with his new bride Mary. And the circumstanc-es surrounding the birth of Jesus should fill us all with a deep respect and empathy for the poor and unwed mothers of our day. Taken all together, the first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal. Every family is different and this means that we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. What is most important is that we continually hold up the family as the instrument that God has chosen to communicate God’s uncondi-tional love to the youngest and most vulnerable members of our so-ciety.
The feast of the Holy Family invites us all to reflect upon the graces that have been ours through the love of our parents. It invites us to work doubly hard for things like food stamps for the poor and adequate health care for our children. It invites us to sup-port all heads of families who struggle every day to be good role models for their children. It invites us to recommit ourselves to the defense of unborn life. And most of all, it invites us to thank God for the yes(es) of Joseph and Mary that have completely changed our world though the gift of their Son, Jesus.
God Bless! Msgr. Paul

I think you are reading too much into that. He wasn’t saying that unusual family situations were O.K., he said that is what we are faced with and until we can correct it we have to make the most of it. I don’t think he was saying that we have to admire these unsatisfactory situations. Above all we cannot blame the children, we cannot close our doors to either them or their parents. And we do have to draw some lines. We cannot go to their weddings or celebrate their anniversaries, etc.

Linus2nd

 

[PTL]

It seems there is a new trend to comfort ourselves by justifying what we heard. Just like many people treat the Pope’s speech. This justify and denial is not good.

Originally by Janet1025
Am I over reacting? Also the cardinal is one of the folks assigned to assist the pope on Vatican reform what can we expect?

No, you are not over reacting at all. I will have the same concern.
What can we expect? I’ll say pray hard, really hard every day, for the Holy Father and the Church.

 

[bcuster]

There are a few things wrong in what he said. Among them are:

1. “Mary was pregnant before being married.” WRONG. Mary and Joseph were married but before they were living together as was their custom, when Mary was visited by the angel and upon her “yes” she conceived by the Holy Spirit…

2."The first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal." This also is not true. There are many normal families, father and mother never divorced with children. Every family does have some difficulties and may even have teenage or adult children who have strayed. That does not mean that they are not a normal family or should not have an ideal to look forward to.

**3.“we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. **” The trouble is that it has been decades since a “normal” family has been depicted in a TV sitcom. The only examples being depicted for young persons to look up to are dysfunctional families.

You said what I was going to say, but said it better. We can use our imaginations in thinking about what it was like for the Holy Family, but we must be careful. They were real people with real life events. We can’t just make up a new reality to fit our likes and dislikes.

 

[Country_Gal]

Good grief, pushing a very liberal agenda with a far-fetched interpretation of the Gospel.

I was hoping he was going to say how the media has deteriorated, and has no good role models for a healthy family life anymore.

 

[corsair]

Almost as bad as the happenings in some of the German Dioceses.

 

[Elizium23]

I think you are reading too much into that. He wasn’t saying that unusual family situations were O.K., he said that is what we are faced with and until we can correct it we have to make the most of it. I don’t think he was saying that we have to admire these unsatisfactory situations.

I disagree. When we are asked to “applaud the virtues of family situations … with two mommies or two daddies” then that is beyond the pale. There is no virtue in fornication and homosexual relations masquerading as a family, particularly in the very abusive situation which introduces children to the immoral “unions”. Homosexual adoption is a form of child abuse, and it can never be permitted, we cannot raise these relationships to the same level as actual, traditional families with one man at the head, married to one woman.

When I first read the OP I thought immediately of our own pastor’s Holy Family homily. For several years he has compared Jesus, Mary and Joseph to television’s Ozzie and Harriet, Donna Reed, and Leave it to Beaver. This missive was eerily similar in all respects until I got to “extolling the virtues” of homosexual unions. That’s when Msgr. Paul (may God bless him abundantly) took a sharp turn into heterodoxy. Let us pray for this priest and let us pray for all people who believe that faux “families” coming into vogue are somehow the equivalent of the traditional family. Let us always strive to uphold traditional marriage and fecundity of the union of one man and one woman. Let us always promote the practice of adoption of children by traditional families as an altruistic vocation and may all families be built on a foundation of love and Godliness.

 

[InLight247]

In the entire human history, marriage is always between a man and a woman. A family always has a father and a mother. It is only lately the liberals are going wild to make abnormal normal and the rest of the world allowed them. Now even some clergy goes on the liberal side by giving homily in the church to acknowledge gay relationship! What are Catholics becoming?? We can sympathize with people have gay tendency but we cannot let our sympathy take away God’s teaching and His natural law.

 

[JimG]

Well, you can still watch “Father Knows Best” in reruns, and the episodes are still enjoyable. I’ve never had the urge to complain that there was no divorce, fornication, or adultery depicted.

 

[TheDoctor]

When we are asked to “applaud the virtues of family situations … with two mommies or two daddies” then that is beyond the pale. There is no virtue in fornication and homosexual relations masquerading as a family, particularly in the very abusive situation which introduces children to the immoral “unions”.

In fairness to the Priest, there is nothing in his reflection that specifically talks about homosexual relations - that is only what people are inferring from the “two mommies or two daddies” comment.

If I have a child with my girlfriend and then marry another, and then die, my child will have two mommies but there will be no homosexual relations. Since we don’t know if this is what Father was referring to or if he was specifically calling out homosexual unions, doesn’t charity ask that we give him the benefit of the doubt until he clears it up?

 

[Country_Gal]

I think we all know what a family with two mommies is. Let’s not be naive …

 

[robwar]

Op,
you started out your thread with comments about this priest which really are more rumors than not. Stuff like you heard he is friends with the Cardinal and he allowed to get away with it is listening to rumors. I take it this isn’t your regular parish or priest. You can do one of a couple of ideas here. You can contact the Church and politely say you were visiting, read this in the bulletin and find this rather confusing and on edge as a visitor and then let either the priest explain his point. He probably was not meaning that he supports gay marriage or same sex-couples, but I think he was trying to show that the Holy Family didn’t start out in ideal circumstances in that Mary was a pregnant unwed teenage and Joseph had to quickly take her in as his wife which I am sure at that time was pretty big scandal in their community. Instead of posting this on the internet to get outrage and comments, you should have gone to the priest. I personally don’t think the example of two mommies was the wisest choice of words given the political goings on and can easily be misunderstood but I also think that posting it on line when this isn’t your parish or priest isn’t wise either and only furthers rumors and gossip.

 

[robwar]

There are a few things wrong in what he said. Among them are:

1. “Mary was pregnant before being married.” WRONG. Mary and Joseph were married but before they were living together as was their custom, when Mary was visited by the angel and upon her “yes” she conceived by the Holy Spirit…

2."The first family of Christianity reminds us that there is no such thing as normal." This also is not true. There are many normal families, father and mother never divorced with children. Every family does have some difficulties and may even have teenage or adult children who have strayed. That does not mean that they are not a normal family or should not have an ideal to look forward to.

**3.“we need to broaden our understanding of family life beyond TV sitcoms and applaud the virtues of family living wherever we find them: two parent families, single parent families, blended families, families with two mommies or two daddies and adoptive families. **” The trouble is that it has been decades since a “normal” family has been depicted in a TV sitcom. The only examples being depicted for young persons to look up to are dysfunctional families.

If you read what the Priest wrote, he used 1950 sitcom family shows which portrayed idealized family situations. He didn’t use the junk from today. I think the priest was trying to show that the Holy Family didn’t start out in an idealize family situation. That doesn’t mean they were sinners. I think he was fighting the tendency that people have of viewing the Holy Family as stain glass characters instead of real people in very difficult situations.

 

[Elizium23]

1. “Mary was pregnant before being married.” WRONG. Mary and Joseph were married but before they were living together as was their custom, when Mary was visited by the angel and upon her “yes” she conceived by the Holy Spirit…

I found this article in the Jewish Encyclopedia very helpful to know the difference between “betrothal” as Westerners know/knew it in modern times, and Biblical betrothal.

 

[PTL]

I think we all know what a family with two mommies is. Let’s not be naive …

I think those are excuses made. They try to justify “two mommies” with some explanation so to make what “is” as if it “is not”. They comfort themselves by believing the priest is not THAT liberal.

 

[TheDoctor]

I think we all know what a family with two mommies is. Let’s not be naive …

I am sorry my sister but I disagree. Giving Father the benefit of the doubt in the absence of a clear explanation is not naive, it is charity and respect due a member of the clergy. All too often we (all of us) are quick to judge based on our own prejudices instead of digging for facts and understanding.

 

[Country_Gal]

I am sorry my sister but I disagree. Giving Father the benefit of the doubt in the absence of a clear explanation is not naive, it is charity and respect due a member of the clergy. All too often we (all of us) are quick to judge based on our own prejudices instead of digging for facts and understanding.

Sorry, my brother, but I am very weary of Catholics giving the clergy a pass. I actually don’t care much about the gay issue per se. But I am deeply troubled by the hypocrisy I’ve seen in the Catholic clergy, and very bothered to see the laity looking the other way out of “respect”.

I don’t want to pick a fight, friend, but that attitude is a big reason the sexual abuse scandal went on so long. I’m dealing with this on a personal level right now with a revelation about a local priest with a scandalous past of living a double life, it’s keeping me from fully returning to church, since everyone wanted to hear no evil, see no evil for so long, and the man was protected by the previous bishop. Frankly, I’m too disgusted to attend the church here because I know he occasionally fills in here.

I don’t think it’s healthy for the Catholic laity to just look the other way when it comes to the clergy. It’s not gossip to bring truth to light. It’s not lacking charity to expect spiritual leaders to properly lead.