tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30408888.post3482787990905756974..comments2023-09-04T08:51:16.091-06:00Comments on Hermano Juancito: Refrain from fornicationJohn (Juancito) Donaghyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12711543214465586727noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30408888.post-60280479074813030892013-05-06T15:34:24.579-06:002013-05-06T15:34:24.579-06:00God is the one who joins a couple. The sacrament o...God is the one who joins a couple. The sacrament of marriage is an acknowledgement of Jesus as the lasting bond that holds them together. The one who holds that the sacrament is higher than the Creator has engaged in idolatry. <br /><br />If a couple's relationship is wrongful, then they-- not those who pretend to judge them-- will suffer the penalty. So what good does judging them do? Does it bring them toward a life of righteousness, or does it alienate them from it? If the latter, then how does such behavior conform to Christ? <br /><br />It is one thing to say, "If your marriage is based in love, then celebrate it before the community and acknowledge your joy in one another as a gift from God. And if it is not based in love, then acknowledge that, too, so that your children know that they have something better to look forward to." It is another to say, "I know your hearts and God's." <br /><br />This situation is simpler than it may seem if one just remembers the two highest commandments... and that we are not God. <br /><br />Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04761044906837521471noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30408888.post-82747595611912272992013-05-05T09:29:05.199-06:002013-05-05T09:29:05.199-06:00I don't know enough to know whether using the ...I don't know enough to know whether using the word fornication in Honduras would be pastoral or not. I do, however, wish the word was used more in America. I think there's a serious issue with a society where a word denoting a sin becomes more offensive than the sin itself. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12345891202347274863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30408888.post-55890330338966621512013-05-05T08:59:37.070-06:002013-05-05T08:59:37.070-06:00In Bolivia we struggled with this same issue frequ...In Bolivia we struggled with this same issue frequently, it sounds eerily similar to what you were describing. I think that the idea that "we have to minister pastorally, with compassion and understanding" (I'd add with love) is an important one that the sisters that we worked with needed to have presented to them.<br /><br />As far as why there are so many people in long-term relationships, but still unmarried, we found two major issues. <br /><br />- If you get married it needs to be with a large (expensive) party, and this symbolizes a lot of commitment. For this group, it seems the church just needs to do a better job at reaching out and teaching what marriage means.<br /><br />- Many of the women we (more Laura than me) worked with explained that they didn't really like the men that they were with, but they needed someone to support their children (often from a different father). For this group, I would not even begin to judge (not that I'd judge the others) these women as their situation in life is incredibly difficult, with absolutely no easy answers. All I can point to is that the church's fire-and-brimstone talk about fornicators didn't seem to work when these women were teens and had their first children...maybe we need to try another tact to help keep people off of this path?Tom Kenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00443552278549079958noreply@blogger.com