Searching for Truth in the Oddest Places

As Catholics we believe that Truth is a 'Who,' not a 'what.' Through a series of events I was led to read a the writings on an atheist website called "Why Won't God Heal Amputees?" It is a question I have heard before. Now before I jumped in there to start firing off dumb replies, I read for awhile to see if my points had already been made, and what points other Catholics had already made. Two words: dismal failure. Catholics were trying to make the same old tired arguments. The author(s) of the site already had their commentary shooting down the theory of Intelligent Design, at the ready. I stopped to pray to wonder how these people were going to proven wrong, and if so, what was my part in it? I got one very clear answer: NOT. MY. JOB.

My job is not to be understood, but to seek to understand. Those words of St. Francis rang in my head again. The people at that site do hold some truth. If they didn't, they would cease to exist! My job is to find the Person of Truth everywhere. My job is seek out Christ in every person and every situation. My job isn't to change minds. My job IS to seek humility and deeper understanding of my fellow man.

How am I to be the face of Christ if I don't know what He looks like through the fog? I have to know the face of Christ better than my own if I am to show Him to the world. I asked myself, "Could I describe myself to a sketch artist?" My answer is a resounding "NO!" I have no idea what I really look like, only my perception of myself. So too, is my understanding of the face of Christ. I cannot describe Him well enough yet.

So I will continue to read what my fellow man has to say about the non-existence of God. I will read it with the continued belief that these people are wonderful creations of God and worthy of my respect and understanding.

But of course I couldn't finish this blog post without answering the question here, "Why won't God heal amputees?" I answer this question the same way Forest Gump answers the question,"Have you found Jesus?"
He answers, "I didn't know I was supposed to be looking for Him!"

Why won't God heal amputees? I thought He already did. I might have missed the memo that says amputees continue to gush blood for the rest of their lives, but I think they actually mean, "Why won't God regrow the limb?" My answer is: "Because they don't need it." If they actually NEEDED that limb, they would die without it. For me the question falls under the, "why do we have two arms and not four?" and the "Why do we have appendices?" categories. Why does that amputee need that limb back?

The atheists on the the site go into great detail of the inefficiency of the design of the human body. (That is their commentary shooting down intelligent design that I referenced earlier.) Again, I have heard it all before, "What Intelligent Designer would put a waste management facility so close to an amusement park?" (For those who miss the joke it is a reference to the close proximity of anus and the sexual organs.) They say the design is bad. They actually believe the design is bad. I simply disagree. The design works quite nicely. It is just how you look at it.

I tell my children when they are only using one hand to pick their toys up, "God gave you two hands for a reason. Use them both!" When I was in college I asked a friend who was born with only one hand, "How do you tie your shoes?" and "How do you button your shirt with only one hand?" His answers? "Very carefully. Wanna see?" and "How do you button your shirt with two?" We started dating shortly afterward. I learned a lot about God by knowing that atheist.

So, what is in the atheist message that I need to learn? I think there are many things. But I think the most important is to better understand what Christ looks like in everyone.

My Mother-in-law is Coming Home!!

To anyone but a Catholic that title means something different than it says. To the secular person it sounds like the person has been away from home and is now moving back. Well, to the Catholic it also means that someone has been away from home and is now moving back. But from a Catholic perspective, "coming home" doesn't have to do with the location of your "stuff." It has entirely to do with the location of your soul.

After many years of prayer, my mother-in-law (God has blessed me with this amazing lady!) has decided to start going to Mass. Praise be to God!! It will be a long journey for her. Her marital situation will have to be resolved before she can be received into the Church, but she has her foot on the path.

With God, ALL things are possible. Thank you Jesus!!

Have to '86 the Negative

I keep wanting to blog, but I just can't stay away from the negative articles right now. I don't know if they are finding me or I am finding them. I think the articles are getting so outrageous that we read them so we can protest them.

The latest, that I don't want to write about... (like that ever stops me...) is an article by a Jewish Rabbi who hosts a show called, "Shalom in the Home." I think he means well; um er maybe not. I actually don't think he means well. The article was found on a religious belief type website. I don't want to link to it, because I am hoping never to see it myself again. I honestly kept praying it was actually from the satire news source, "The Onion." It wasn't.

In a nutshell: He says breast-feeding is bad for marriage. He says that it destroys the man's erotic feelings for his wife when he sees her as the mother of his children. The Rabbi recommends that if she feels she absolutely must breast-feed, then she should cover it up around her husband. ACK!!!!

Again, like the previous book I reviewed, this goes completely against everything I stand for. And on this one, I do mean EV-ER-Y-THING! There was not a single point this man made that I can even agree with. He wants husbands out of the delivery room because the birth canal is just "not sexy." (Though he does brag about being there for all eight of his wife's labors.) Again, backwards to me. I was fine with my husband being in and out of the room during labor, but I wanted him and only him present for the delivery. We made that baby together, we sure as heck were bringing it into the world together!!

I just won't go into much more. It is all negative. His opinion came to light because of a couple where he said that the wife was ignoring the husband and nursing the baby and giving all of her attention there. The Rabbi very snidely said she was nursing, "well into the eleventh month." Oh dear!! *GASP* Eleven months! How could she? How dare she give her child such a perfect food for the first year of its life when she should be making her body the erotic, recreational playground for her husband! GoodNESS!! [/end sarcasm]

As I said, the rabbi had nothing good to say. My husband is a very involved parent from day one. Since he was so caring for our children and so attentive to me, it was a great source of joy for us to be intimate. I was more than happy to fill my role as a wife. But I can certainly say, if he had made me cover up while I nursed at home or, worse yet quit entirely, our marriage would not be intact today. I haven't read the article to my husband because I know what he will say about the author. One word: "Idiot!"

The advice this rabbi gives is nowhere rooted in fact. And it is actually a hold-over from a very prudish, recent time, the 1950s, when breast-feeding was nearly lost in our culture. Marriages start breaking up right and left as breast-feeding declines. His horrible opinion needs to be thrown out and never heard from again. How to destroy your marriage in one easy step: Stop viewing your wife as a whole person and instead look at her as a collection of erotic parts placed there for your personal entertainment. Worst. article. ever!