Bob Nicholas

So, since this is a dynamic and touchy topic I must place a disclaimer at the top: I in no way judge or condemn any person.  What I am going to say here has to do with sinful actions which we as Christians are called to admonish.  The person is and always will be a child of God, beloved.

Okay.  So CA passed a ban on gay marriage.  I am supportive of this measure.  The union of two same sex individuals is not a marriage since it fails to meet the basic requirements of a marriage; to procreate.

I was reading today on Bloomberg.com about this ban and would like to share the following excerpts from the article:

“Real people are suffering today because of the decision we made last night,'' Newsom said yesterday in an interview on local CBS affiliate Chanel 5. “I'm going to continue to fight.'' Derek Morales, a 35-year-old San Francisco resident, was so dejected that the measure had passed that he worked from home yesterday. Morales, who is gay and was raised Catholic, said he's always dreamed of having his wedding in a church some day. Now, with the vote banning gay marriage, he said that dream feels further away. “It's something I've wanted since I was little — to get married in a big Catholic cathedral,'' Morales said.  

How and when will this man’s dream ever come true?  Even if a marriage amendment was passed to allow gay unions someone please tell me how this could ever happen.  This man is so deceived that he believes one day the Catholic Church will allow him to get “married” to another man in a Catholic Church!  Does anyone else see the irony here? 

God ordained the world with certain operating procedures.  God MADE us Man and Woman.  Don’t let the world try to change what God made.  Listen even to the marital statements from the bible or in the marriage ceremony.  What GOD has joined let no man destroy.  God didn’t join two dudes. 

Why would anyone want to get unionized in a Catholic Church?  Why?  Because it’s a pretty building?  Brother Morales, I pray for you.  Honestly I do.  But my prayer is not that you get to marry another man.  My prayer is that you encounter the love that will fill your heart and sustain you in peace.

Second, read this…..

The campaign to amend the constitution drew more than $70 million to the groups involved in the issue. Apple Inc. donated $100,000 to opponents of Proposition 8. The Cupertino, California-based maker of Macintosh computers joined Google Inc. and Hollywood director Steven Spielberg in opposing the measure.

So, all of you who own and Apple computer……. No comment (I confess I covet one too, especially the really neat one at Best Buy). 

I use Gmail, which I’ll be changing soon.  As well as my usage of Picasa and any other Google based app.  I don’t continue to support organizations that blatantly attack the family. 

Steven, I’m very disappointed in you.  I don’t think ET will be phoning you anytime soon.

Lastly, there was this comment:

“The cultural acceptance of gay marriage is a long-term process,'' said Kolbert of People for the American Way.

Ms Kolbert….it will be a very long-term process because there will should never be a “cultural acceptance” of something that is soo bad for society.  But that is okay, you keep working on it.  The longer the fight for gay unions the longer we procreators have to out birth you. 

Just imagine the history books in a couple of hundred years.  Like the plant eaters and meat eaters before us we’ll be called the procreators and the cohabitates. 

All excepts from the article were italicized for identification.  The entire article can be found here: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a8KY5.jY3o6o&refer=canada

This past weekend I traveled to MI for my sister-in-laws wedding. I’m very happy to report that their wedding was beautiful and the guests enjoyed themselves. Emily is now a happily married lady and I couldn’t be more joy filled to see her smile and in love with Dave. Being present for her wedding was a close moment for me because my wife’s family has, like all families, had their moments with a teenage daughter and to see how happy mom and dad were, and to see by brother-in-laws happy, and my wife happy, was a blessing. God bless you Emily and Dave. May God richly bless you and increase your inheritance as he did Jabez. May you find true Joy in knowing your souls companion delivered by God.

 Watching them get married also brought me close to God in another way. When I first learned that they were to be married by a magistrate rather than in a church, I panicked. My sister-in-law grew up a Catholic and I feared that a wedding in this manner would present problems with God. After some searching I found, through the direction of a trusted friend and priest, that since she has chosen a non-Catholic faith and left the Church she was no longer bound by Catholic norms for marriage.

My response was not judgment, rather it was in fear that I became concerned for her. I did not want their marriage to be seen as bad by the Church. Nor did I want to subject us to the decision of supporting a marital ceremony seen as scandalous by the Church. I say this to point something out about Catholics, us, we the believers.

 The Church has a deposit of faith that is unchanged since Christ walked the earth and since the Holy Spirit first descended upon the Apostles in the Upper Room. This faith is constant and you can count on it. You and I can count on our faith.

Let me say it again. You and I can count on our faith.

You see, in my heart I knew this marriage was right. I knew that God wanted them to be married. But my lack of full understanding caused me to fear in my intellect that it would not be endorsed by the Church. I was ready, as Abraham was, to take one for the team and not go in my mind, but in my heart I was already watching them say “I do”.

“So Bob, what’s the point” you ask. The point my feathered friend is that the more we know about our faith and our Church, the better we can make decisions based on faith. I did exactly what I admonish others for doing…I made a decision about something without the fullness of truth as my guide.

How often do we do this? I can count on a calculator that has more than 7 digits the number of times I have heard, “I’m a practicing Catholic, man I try to get to Mass at least twice a month.” Or, “I believe in Abortion but I’m a Catholic and that’s okay.” Or my favorite, “The Eucharist is just a sign, that old ideal about it really being Jesus is over now.”

So here is my simple conclusion to this long post about me being a short sighted uninformed decision maker who learned his lesson.

Begin with love: If you truly believe, your heart won’t guide you wrong.

Back it up with Truth: The old ‘trust and verify’ method.

Trust your heart, verify with the knowledge of 2000 years of tradition and theology.

And lastly: ASK. My good friend Tom who has more than once said something smart told me I was crazy to not attend the wedding which affirmed my heart. Our true friends who know the desire of our heart is Christ, will always lead us to him.

So go forth, be fruitful in the Spirit, multiply if your are married, and…. Make good decisions based in faith. Until next time I’m your host…humble bob.