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Hi, Linda —
Thanks for the question.
RE: Your family situation and your
thoughts.
Situations like yours are difficult
to deal with. One thing that all
family members have to accept is
each other family member's free will
to do dumb things, whether knowingly
or unknowingly.
In difficult situations, like these,
one has to prudently weight:
- what has to be said, charitably,
to a person
versus
- a prayerful silence for the sake
of family unity.
I've heard of so many families who
irrationally get into arguments with
other family members over the smallest
of issues and what they are losing
out on is so important: family unity!;
a family unity that should reflect
the Trinitarian nature of God Himself:
family members helping other family
members.
You may
reply: I've burnt
the bridge! It's too late.
My
reply: No it's not.
If you pray with confidence
and really want that family
unity, it will come back over
time, with one small, but important
ingredient: humility.
Humility
destroys the evil one in our
life.
Pray that your brother will be
open to allowing his sons to see
their grandparents. This assumes
there is no good, logical reason
why he shouldn't.
We all have these thoughts or conversations
in our heads from time to time. Bring
this issue and your situation to
your confessor when you go to Confession
next time. They are not sins, per
se, but he will be able to guide
you and give you good counsel.
You said:
- On a different issue, wouldn't allowing priests to marry increase,
not only the number of Catholics in general
but, the number of men who choose to become
priests?
- Doesn't it stand to reason that
if priests (and nuns, for that matter)
were allowed to marry (not that
they have to, but that they would
have the option to) that
their offspring would also have a
strong calling to the Church?
It may, but the problem is:
we can't merge two different vocations
in hopes that a third type of vocation
will fix the real problem:
- a lack of proper catechesis
and love for the Catholic Church in parish CCD classes and
within family life.
The end result of merging two vocations would be that priests and nuns now have to care for two separate families: their physical, biological family and their spiritual family. This can bring on stresses for which the Lord never intended us to have.
Talk to any married Protestant Minister. They will tell you that the Roman rite would be crazy to adopt a married clergy disciple.
I think your question implies that
since Catholic parents in the pew
are either:
- rejecting living a Catholic
lifestyle, or
- having a difficult time instilling
the values and teachings of the
Church into their children
that married clergy and religious, whether they are priests or nuns, as Catholic couples
would do a better job.
I personally don't think so for the previous reasons I've given. (For example: What does a married priest do: celebrate the Mass and distribute Holy Communion or take care of his very sick wife, son, or daughter?) The resolution to this problem is raising faithful Catholic men and women and catechizing them faithfully. The fruit of a good, solid catechesis program with be big Catholic families having anywhere from 5 to yes, 12 children or more!
Vocations are unique callings that
we discover with the help of the
Lord over time.
One could be a:
- father
- mother, along with being a
- nurse
- teacher
- nun or sister
- brother or priest
- doctor
- scientist
- Catholic apologist and/or evangelist,
like us.
- etc.
The unique vocations of a nun and
a priest are vocations that are
mainly geared to Christ and Her
Church, respectively.
The nun's spouse being Christ; the
priest's spouse mainly being Holy
Mother Church — (some priests are married, but if
their spouse dies, they cannot re-marry.)
Hope this helps.
Mike
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