Sometimes the Truth hurts, but it always sets us free

I just got an email from someone about a blog, wanting to know what I thought about it. I had to do some searching to find it, but I did! (Fric from Catholic Maniacs wrote the entry titled "Thoughts on Marriage, Divorce and Declarations of Nullity" on 12/8/2004. )


I am impressed with the original poster, and with the DRE that he was speaking of. 'Fric' understands that marriage is until death. Sure, it 'is not fair', but as the old song says, "I never promised you a rose garden' even in marriage. Life isn't fair.

There are three saints that are patrons of those of us who were forced into this civilly divorced state, though I did not know that. MANY in the history of our Church have been 'put away' by philandering spouses, by someone who wanted to 'find themselves', 'be fulfilled', or 'found their soul mates'. We of this generation are not the first. We are, however, the first to be left behind even by our Tribunals when we firmly believe that our marriage is valid. ALL marriages are to be considered valid ...ALL marriages. Those that we can KNOW are not, are few... for a Catholic to marry outside the Church (in a courthouse or another Church) without permission of the Church is a matter of form, and is not valid in the Church, no matter how many children may result, or how many years they may be together. A Catholic MUST be married in the Church, period, or have permission to be married elsewhere.

Those patron saints of divorced people are:

• Fabiola
• Guntramnus
• Helena

SECRET TO WEDDED BLISS for 80 years

Long ago, when I was in tears asking why someone could not just forgive me for whatever it was that I had done, a wise counselor said, "If he forgives you, he has no more excuses, he has to come home".... forgiveness is the secret, but it begins with saying, and meaning, "I am sorry" without any justifications or adding the usual... 'but if you...'. It is I AM SORRY for.... because it has hurt you.... please forgive me. This couple learned it, long ago....

It is NOT seeking fulfillment of one's self, or one's 'soul mate'... it is being responsible and working toward the salvation of your spouse. That is what is primary. The Salvation of your spouse. Eternal salvation. Witness Elizabeth Leseur and her husband Felix, later Fr Felix Leseur as a result of her faithfulness and sacrifice through all of their difficulties. Love is a choice. Forgiveness is a choice. It begins with .... me. Witness this couple, married 80 years...and God bless them both. Well done, good and faithful servants!

SECRET TO WEDDED BLISS - SAYING SORRY
British couple holds record for longest marriage at 80 years

Reuters
June 1, 2005

LONDON - A British couple -- the record holders for the world's longest
marriage ? said on Tuesday their success was down to a glass of whisky, a
glass of sherry and the word "sorry."

Percy and Florence Arrowsmith married on June 1, 1925, and celebrated their
80th anniversary on Wednesday.

The Guinness World Records said on Tuesday the couple held the title for the
longest marriage and also for the oldest married couple's aggregate age.

"I think we're very blessed," Florence, 100, told the BBC. "We still love
one another, that's the most important part."

Asked for their secret, Florence said you must never be afraid to say
"sorry."

"You must never go to sleep bad friends," she said, while Percy, 105, said
his secret to marital bliss was just two words: "yes dear."

The couple have three children, six grandchildren and nine
great-grandchildren and are planning a party soon.

"I like sherry at lunch time and whisky at night and I'm looking forward
very much to my party," Florence said.

Copyright 2005 Reuters
© 2005 MSNBC.com

More on Stem Cell Research

In addition to my own comments from the other day, Fr Rob has two VERY good posts about Stem Cell Research on his Thrown Back blog to read, and he leads back to one he wrote last year.

In the one from last year, he had found an article from David Prentice, Professor of Life Sciences at
Indiana State University, which is excellent, and written by someone who knows what he is talking about. If you agree that Embryonic Stem Cell Research is unethical, immoral and should not be taking place, you will like the post. If you disagree and don't think it is wrong, and think it is THE ANSWER to all our health problems, read what David Prentice has to say about it-- you may learn something while reading it.

'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies at 99

Three things struck me as I read this article and many others about an actor that I enjoyed watching, some that I already knew:

1. Had his mother been living today, in today's society, he may never have been allowed to have been born, as she was not married when he was born. Instead, he may have been aborted.

2 Had he never been born, all those guys he helped to save as he earned his Bronze Star may not have survived... He also did not 'live one the laurels' of his military career and Bronze Star, just like most real heroes.

3 The man was a COMMITTED man, marrying in 1945 and staying married through the years until his wife died forty years later, in spite of Hollywood atmosphere and lifestyles... MANY today could learn from some of the actors of his day.

One I did not know is that he had an adopted child... and that, among other things about this man makes him even more special to me.
May he rest in peace.

Excerpts from the full article:
'Green Acres' Star Eddie Albert Dies at 99

By BOB THOMAS LOS ANGELES (AP) - Eddie Albert, the actor best known as the constantly befuddled city slicker-turned-farmer in television's ``Green Acres,'' has died. He was 99.

Albert died of pneumonia Thursday at his home in the Pacific Palisades area, in the presence of caregivers including his son Edward, who was holding his hand at the time.

``He died so beautifully and so gracefully that literally this morning I don't feel grief, I don't feel loss,'' Edward Albert told The Associated Press.



Albert's mother was not married when he was born, in 1906. After marrying, she changed his birth certificate to read 1908, the younger Albert said.



The actor left Hollywood and appeared as a clown and trapeze artist in a one-ring Mexican circus. He escaped his studio contract by joining the Navy in World War II and served in combat in the South Pacific. He received a Bronze Star for his heroic rescue of wounded Marines at Tarawa, his son said.



Edward Albert, 54, who became a prominent actor in ``Butterflies Are Free,'' ``40 Carats'' and other films, said he put his career on hold for the past eight years to aid his father, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

On Friday, he remembered a moment several years ago in which the two sat in a garden together.

``I said to him 'You're my hero.' I saw him struggling to put together the words, and he looked at me and said: 'You're your hero's hero.' I'll take that to my ... grave.''

Albert was married to the dancer-actress Margo for 40 years until her death in 1985. In addition to his son, Albert is survived by a daughter, Maria Albert Zucht, and two granddaughters.