Enough Is Enough!

President Joe Biden blasted the “radical” leaked draft of the Supreme Court opinion that would throw out the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion-rights ruling that has stood for a half-century and warned that other rights including same-sex marriage and birth control are at risk. And Joe Biden continues to receive Holy Communion? I believe the bishops should begin to show some courage and excommunicate the man. If not now, when?

 Jack Wolock

 Worthington, Ohio 

 

Gratitude for Matrimony

Regarding “Valentine’s Day Catholic Love Connection: 15 Quotes on the Beauty of Marriage” (NCRegister.com, Feb. 11):

Most, if not all, that were quoted in your article about marriage spoke of holy matrimony. This distinction is more than a case of my quibbling semantics. God, wanting to be sacramentally invited into a union of man and woman, in my 45 years of gratitude for same, has gotten my husband and me through many darker years.

To start with, St. Paul says, “It is better not to marry, for you will suffer affliction, and I would like to spare you that” (1 Corinthians 7:28). For the young, as Mother Angelica said so honestly about loving our enemies, “People don’t want to hear that.” But Jesus is clear: “One’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:36). And yet, for our hope, Matthew 10:39 follows, “Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”  

So we are not destined to be married in heaven. We each have our own mansion. We can be happy to depend on another throughout life in this world, but heaven is something much freer. No one is tied to anyone else.

A long marriage gives a person a more mature attitude that rejects co-dependency, in favor of the fullness of truth. Humorously, like the cowboy ballad says, “I got spurs that jingle, jangle, jingle. As I go walking merrily along. And they say, ‘Oh, aintcha’ glad you’re single?’ And that song ain’t so very far from wrong.”

Marriage sacrifices individual independence for the collective good. It is a test, and holy matrimony is the answer key from God.

Young unmarried people need to hear often about the importance of the holy sacrament of matrimony. Otherwise, without this sacramental help, marital woes can easily overwhelm human capabilities. God’s hand in everything will often become clear to us only with retrospection. Thank you, Most Holy Trinity. You satisfied needs I did not even know I had at the time. God be praised.

 Joan T. Murtaugh

 Palos Hills, Illinois

Learning Catholic History

Regarding Joseph Pronechen’s story “Incense: Heavenly Fragrance for Worship” (April 24, “Travel, History & Saints”): I’m a lifelong Catholic and have always wondered about incense, and I never knew. I’ve asked people 10 years older than me, and they didn’t know. I read the story three times this morning. It’s fantastic! I’m so excited to share this at Mass! Joseph Pronechen deserves a commendation for the article.

Regarding the Register: I love reading it! Well thought out and informational. 

 Phone call from John in Colorado

 

Correction

Regarding “‘She Completely Changed the Dialogue’ About Abortion: Remembering Project Rachel Founder”: Vicki Thorn became a mentor to Jamie Rathjen, who established the Cedar Valley Guiding Star health center in Waterloo, Iowa. The May 8 issue incorrectly stated the center’s name and location. The Register regrets the error.