I'd rather watch "Death to Smoochy"

Robin Williams in a collar... cannot possibly be a good thing.

That was the first thought I had when I heard about Mr. Williams' upcoming comedy License to Wed.

Despite the fact that he's playing a Protestant Minister, it was inevitable that the movie would inspire some serious Catholic bashing. As Shelray of Cosmos~Liturgy~Sex points out, Williams himself has fired the first shot...

In refernce to his character...

"In the big picture that’s why he’s a Protestant and has been married and has
some perspective on sexuality. Because it must be very difficult being a priest
and having to talk about sex — kind of like Quasimodo is a chiropractor. I guess
it works."

Well that's certainly a Jr. High view of sexuality if I've ever heard one. If Williams had a clue, he would know that sexuality is much more than just sex. It defines us and guides us to love. It leads us to God. It emerges out of our person as either male or female and dictates our purpose in life.

A celibate man does not neglect his sexuality, he embraces it. By refraining from the intimate union of woman and man, the priest is actually living out his sexuality, recognizing that he is destined for God. His sexuality is a major part of his decision to answer the call to priesthood, and not because he must decide "to have sex, or not to have sex." He must decide to respond to God's call to love, discovered in his body, by mirroring His Love in union with a wife, or by witnessing to the eternal Love of God as a priest.

At least this is what the Church says, but they've only been around for 2,000 years. Maybe they should heed Robin's advice...

"It might be something you look at for the Catholic Church to think about –
maybe losing the whole celibacy thing. It’s a difficult thing when you realize
that first of all you have to give up sex and then they say, “Okay. We’re going
to put you in a small box and every week people are going to come and go “Bless
me father for I have sinned.” “What have you done my son?” “Last night I was
with two Philippine twins and it was slip and slide.” “Oh really? Keep going.”
And then they’re going to take you from that and then put you next to pubescent
children. It’s like getting out of Jenny Craig and saying “Where you gonna
work?” “Haagen Dazs.” "

No kidding it's difficult. That's what makes the celibate vocation so important. If it was easy than there would be no point in it. In a world where sex is thrown in our faces everywhere we go, THANK GOD that we have men (and women - God Bless our religious sisters) that live lives that literally point to us towards something greater. They are saying "Yes, I believe in God and His Eternal Kingdom. And it is so good, that I would give up the wonderful joy of marriage and sexual intercourse just to prove to people how good it is." That witness is crucial in today's world.

Of course Williams doesn't think that way though. He's too busy imagining Phillipine Twins. His words.

Co-habby together?

Some very good conversation happening over at the Curt Jester's Blog about cohabitation... here.

It's a shame that so many magazines call themselves Catholic and yet print such garbage.

Cohabitation has become common place in today's culture. The Church continues to recognize the danger of a couple living together (and assumedly having sex) prior to marriage in the midst of this. And so, many people get turned off by the Church's "old fashioned" teaching. Unfortunately the response by many Catholics is to give in to society's pressure and find excuses and loopholes to justify what deep down we all know is wrong.

Let's be real, if you're living together you're having sex. There's probably 1 in every 100 cohabitating couples that isn't. And a couple might have all the best intentions in the world, but they cannot hide from the fact that if they are engaging in sexual intercourse before marriage, they are not giving of themselves fully. You cannot give yourself to someone freely, totally, faithfuly, and fruitfully if you can also leave the relationship at any time with no recourse. It's that simple.

Still, I'll play along. Say a couple is not having sex but living together, maybe for financial reasons (although most co-habitators I've met just wanted to get away from their folks). Even if they remain chaste, they're setting themselves up for a difficult time. This idea of a "trial period" in order to see if you can live with the person is ridiculous. PEOPLE ARE NOT OBJECTS TO TRY-OUT! News flash... there will never be a person you can live with in perfect harmony. The only person you are capable of living with in absolute harmony is Christ. As long as we are human beings flawed by original sin, we will always butt heads, step on toes, and rattle cages. If you think you're going to find someone to marry you who won't do all three, you're sadly mistaken.

A healthy couple knows that each is not perfect. They know there will be times when their spouse does something that just ticks them off. And they know that we all have our strange little quirks that are normal to us and yet so foreign to others. Yet the healthy couple marches down the aisle having made the decision to love this person from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and health, until death do us part. Despite all the crazy things that come up, all the surprises, and all the "oh, you do it that way" moments.

We need to stop making excuses and call a spade a spade. I have many friends who are cohabitating. I love them each very much and pray that they are an exception to the statitics that spell doom for couples living together prior to marriage. After all, God is certainly powerful enough to work through our own errors.

Nobody is trying to condemn here. But we need to stop trying to make sins okay in order to accomodate good people. Instead, we need to love the sinner and hate the sin.

Love the cohabitator, hate the cohabitation.