I was standing in the kitchen when all of a sudden the house was flooded with the sound of contemporary music, rudely interrupting my peaceful morning. I knew who the culprit was: my five-year-old son, as this was his usual morning routine. I called out to him to “please turn that down” and went back […]
Recently, I was speaking to a group on the virtue of chastity. A highly charged topic, for sure. One woman raised her hand and offered that what she was most afraid of was being alone the rest of her life. She felt she was in a Catch-22 of sorts. She was afraid that if she committed to […]
I will never forget the feeling of isolation I felt when I was going through my divorce. I turned to my parish and there were no programs for people who were separated or divorced. I tried to talk to my Pastor, and while he tried his best, he could offer me nothing more than the simple […]
“I hope he rots in Hell!” the woman (let’s call her Marge) sitting in front of me said, her voice filled with bitterness. I sat and listened attentively for the next fifteen minutes as she described in vivid detail all the nasty things her ex did and all the pain he brought into her life. Listening […]
When (or if) to take off your wedding ring is an interesting question. There are many different perspectives, for sure. Here’s mine: I remember very well the words I said to my wife (and she to me) on our wedding: “Monica, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity.” A wedding […]
No matter how many divorced Catholics I talk to, I’m always filled with a sense of pain for them. I’ve been through a divorce and know how difficult it is. What hurts more are the Catholics that leave the Church after their divorce. I know the very thing they are searching for, peace and joy, […]
October 1, 2014 Dear His Holiness, Pope Francis; His Eminence, Walter Cardinal Kasper; The Synod of Bishops, and the Catholic Church at Large, I am a divorced Catholic. In fact, I have been divorced twice. I have also been annulled and remarried twice in the Church. I am in a sacramental marriage to Monica, a […]