POSSIBILITIES OF AN "IMPOSSIBLE" SITUATION -- WE'RE TALKING MARRIAGE

This may have made you smile when you first let your eyes fall upon it.  That's OK. When I was looking for something to depict what I want to present, I smiled at this and moved on to something more "meaningful" and less humorous.  Well, as you can readily see, I changed my mind.
I changed my mind because the humor depicted here is also a part of the solution that I intend to propose concerning those Catholics who are in the "Impossible Situation" of an invalid marriage surrounded by children who are being taught to be faithful to Sunday Mass attendance.  That in itself, is half bad.  It gets worse when the children get to be eligible to approach the altar of communion while Mama and Papa must refrain.
Those who for some reason, and there are many reasons, must sit by and pray silently by themselves in the pew while many around them go to the altar for communion are certainly in a challenging position.  For some it is because they are in a second marriage after a divorce following a wedding in the Catholic Church;  for others it is because they simply did not follow the prescribed path to get married in the Catholic Church.  This writing is not intended to suggest means to rectify the situation.  This writing is offered under the presumption that the person who is not receiving Communion is in a life situation that doesn't have an immediate solution within the laws and practices of the Catholic Church for the time being.  It's like the person in the picture above. He and his load are underway and there is nothing that can be done to make the situation better except to keep it going in the hope that all will end well.

There are lines of misinformation concerning the life situation of people who for one reason or another are caught in the margin of the Church doctrine concerning the Sacrament of Matrimony. Those who live in that margin are told many things by people of all walks of life about their situation.  It is understandable  that much of the popular information about the sacrament of marriage is marginally true and exact, at best.  It takes some fairly well informed specialists to master the intricacies of Church Law and Doctrine about Marriage.
That is why Pope Francis and his pool of leaders are looking for ways to simplify the intricacies and clarify the doctrine.  This is a huge challenge not only because the Church must not change the doctrine but is must also be careful that whatever it does will be easy enough for the faithful to understand that the change is in the practice and not the doctrine.
Whatever happens will require some intense communication from the rectories of the world.  First, the priests will have to learn and fall in line.  Then they will have to instruct the faithful.  Second, the faithfull will have to learn and fall in line.  The priests must be ready to provide the truth, pure and simple. The priests will have to be far more reliable than the media outlets.
In the meantime, you who must sit and wait, must also pray and join your heart and soul to Jesus, sacrificed on the Altar for everyone's salvation.  Use the moment for intense communion of heart and soul and you will be supported by the Lord Jesus Himself.  Stay focused; Hold Jesus' hand;  You're alone with Him beside you in the pew.  Take advantage of that and talk to Him.  He's there and He never turns a dear ear to those who direct their ideas and their love toward Him.  Mostly, remember, you are not condemned.  You are loved.  Take advantage of the moment and invite Jesus to invade you in Spiritual Communion.

So get ready.  Fasten your seat belt and leave your handkerchief at home because after this you won't be tempted to cry at my funeral.

HALF A CENTURY OF GROWING A SACRAMENT

Yup, 50 years ago today a young man (he was young  then) and a young lady (she's still young, of course) walked up the aisle to stand in front of the altar to promise before God that they would supporrt one another on the way to heaven for as many years as He would give them on this earth.  So here they are, 50 years later,  still alive and still saying nice things about one another behind one another's back.  I know, it happened in front of me.
The young man is an interesting study in priesthood.  He spent four years in the seminary and then left.  He left the seminary but never left his vocation.  He never did get ordained and is therefore not an "ex opere, operato" priest.  But his entire life has been a continuous mission in the "ex opere, operantis" priesthhood.  He has helped more people to find God and to follow Jesus than a lot of priests who stand at the altar, preach, distribute communion and then run off to the race track, the golf course or the football game.  None of them has five children, one of who requires life-long, physical and emotional attention.  Now, that is dedication.  That is ordination of a different stripe, but one just as demanding as the one we all see every Sunday, protected from some very harsh realities of the "real world."
The young lady is a priest too.  How else would she be able to offer the sacrifice of her body, heart and soul to a large family, including her aging mother on the demanding altar of matrimonial vows?  She was blessed.  She had more practice in a large family  than her husband...she was (is still) the youngest of 12 children.  Who knows, maybe that's the secret.

As happy an occasion as a golden wedding anniversary can be, it also carries with it the cargo of all those years.  A mixed bag of good, bad and ugly.  A mixed bag of frustrations and consolations.  A mixed bag of miracles for and miracles for which they are still waiting.  One thing for sure is that the greatest miracle is the grace to still be supporting one another on the road to Christian perfection in view of the Eternal Prize.  It takes two saints to get this far.  It takes one constant miracle being accepted and practiced by them to make it happen.
Marriage is really a priesthood.  We don't do it for ourselves.  We do it for the other persons that it puts into our lives.  It is like the priesthood of Jesus Himself. We die to ourselves every single day.  After 50 years we remember a lot of happy things.  We look back and tell ourselves that it feels just like yesterday.  That's a miracle too.  Imagine finding happiness and consolation of having kept on the straight and narrow for so long?  Imagine finding happiness in an imperfect situation?  Imagine God filling souls with the ability to stick by Him, just like His Son did while shedding blood and being humiliated in public?  Now that, is a priestly sacrifice.

So I have to say in conclusion that I am proud to say that this young man and this young lady are my brother and my sister-in-law.  They are saintly examples of selfless sacrificial dedication to Our Father, His Son and His Holy Spirit on this very earth.  I am so happy for them and happy to be a part of them that it would be wrong for any of you to cry at my funeral...and theirs too.

Happy 50th to you and all who have known you for all these years.  I won't wish you 50 more.  I will wish you a hand-in-hand walk with God through the garden of life for the amount that He will give you. Then you will be blessed because when you get to the Pearly Gates you won't have to put up with the grouchy gate keeper.

Paul and Belle