Archive for the 'Family' Category
Posted by Eric (September 5, 2006 at 5:09 pm)
I came upon a post recently by one Father Joe, priest in Maryland, in which he criticized the notion husbands and wives confront a demonic struggle in the midst of their marriage, and that to be victorious in this struggle they would do well to employ fasting, singled out by Jesus as particularly effective for casting out demons. Fr. Joe writes:
“Marriages are not principally about powers and principalities, they are about dirty diapers, crying babies, doctors’ bills, making beds, fixing the car, going to church as a family, sleeping as husband and wife naked together under the covers, and so much more.”
Unfortunately, my comments in reponse to this passage were removed from the blog. I offer them here—not to give new life to my dispute with Fr. Joe about what he wrote, which was in response to a particular set of circumstances, but because I wish to share what I hope are a few worthy thoughts.
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Posted by Eric (August 22, 2006 at 3:11 pm)
Nothing is more tedious to read than a blog entry on why the blogger hasn’t bothered to post anything in a while, except possibly the list of ingredients on the side of cereal box. Then again, the dubious substances disclosed therein might produce a degree of anxiety in the reader that is incompatible with tedium.
Who cares why the blogger hasn’t blogged? Such a post is of intest—if at all—only for a day or two. Who really looks at the dates of archived entries anyway? One post apologizing (self-indulgently, of course) for not posting in a while is pretty meaningless in the midst of hundreds of posts with actual content.
Then again, not to say something after a hiatus of three months seems almost obscene. So here goes.
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Posted by Eric (April 29, 2006 at 1:24 pm)
No, this isn’t a post on cycling. But further reflection on the Torode Affair and the real difficulties of practicing NFP put me in mind of a particularly challenging climb I managed this week on my mountainbike despite feeling weak and wobbly that day.
Not only is this particular hill steep and long, but it’s rooty and rocky. The only way to manage it—and I’ve failed to reach the top as often as I’ve made it—is to focus on the trail right under the front wheel. This helps you navigate around the ruts and rocks and keeps you from being discouraged at the sight of how very, very far you have left to go.
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Posted by Eric (April 28, 2006 at 4:49 pm)
Today I was told that Sam and Bethany Torode have issed an “Open Letter about Open Embrace,” more or less recanting the opposition to contraception that they articulated in their influential 2002 book, Open Embrace: A Protestant Couple Rethinks Contraception. My first reaction on hearing this report was incredulity; I didn’t believe it until I had verified it. Turns out it’s true.
This is disappointing news on many levels. The Torodes write:
[O]ur personal experience in the past five years has shown that we had a lot to learn about NFP, and that there is a dark side we weren’t aware of. . . . [S]trict NFP reaches a point where it is more harmful for a marriage than good.
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Posted by Eric (July 7, 2005 at 12:00 pm)
I set up this blog a couple of months ago when the world was watching the final days of Pope John Paul II. I’d wanted to start a blog for years but never got around to it. I figured the opportunity to reflect on the life of John Paul and the personal influence he had on me as a young Catholic, an apostate, and finally as a “revert” was a good reason to start blogging. But I didn’t have the time then either.
Now I’m finally writing my first entry. We’ll see if I ever find the time for a second. But the inspiration for this one is the birth of my daughter, Mary Macrina. She is my fifth daughter in a row, after my two boys. We were expecting a boy. I was sure she would be a boy. I was praying for a boy. But God gave me another girl.
She’s adorable. I just spent most of the last hour holding her at the hospital, where her mother, my wife April, is recovering from the unexpected C-section required to deliver her. The honest truth is that I’m disappointed not to have a boy. I’m a little sad that my dream of my two sons—Nate (13) and Sam (11)—getting to play with and mentor a little brother will never be fulfilled; even if we were to have another boy these two would be teens by then.
But I am not disappointed that Mary Macrina is a girl. Does that make sense? I’m delighted that she is who she is—a sweet, adorable, calm, tiny little creature that God in his great mercy has deemed me worth to father.
May God grant her many years!
