Feast of Saint Thomas of Villanueva (22 Sept 2009)

This past Sunday, I looked through the social section of our daily and Sunday newspaper. And I noticed that now, it has become acceptable to publish photographs and write-ups concerning same-sex weddings either being anticipated or already having occurred. There were pictures of the two grooms in several same-sex weddings of men along with all the usual facts about their parents, their occupations, where they do or will live, and the wedding ceremony itself.

In the case of the ceremony, one of those write-ups mentioned the fact that the presiding official at the wedding was a woman who had become a minister for that occasion. I’m not sure what that means, but it obviously is a departure from the traditional way of doing things.

I suppose that some of the relatives and friends of the two women or two men who marry each other will bring young children to the ceremonies. And I further suppose that for an eight-year-old who is present at a wedding like that, it seems perfectly natural, normal, and acceptable for that kind of thing to take place. Everyone seems happy and to be having a good time, and the reception following the ceremony is probably a joyous occasion. For that eight-year-old child, one such occasion is all that is necessary to convince the child that the traditional Christian approach to marriage is no longer true or valid or relevant to today’s society and culture. A tremendous amount of religious education takes place when a young child is taken to something like that. We need to be aware of these changes in the world we’re living in, and how that world is growing more and more opposed to the principles of the Gospel.

Let us, who profess belief in the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, be aware of this situation and of the fact that our world is becoming less Christian and more secular and that if we want to form our children in the morality of Christ, we are going to have more of an uphill climb. Thank you for seeking God’s truth. God bless you. Father Victor Brown, O.P.