Dear God, Why....

I was sent a prayertoon today that just has the very question that has been asked by many people over the past thirty years of no fault forced, unilateral divorce. Though I am not sure at this time who the artist is, I will give credit when I find out.

As the Synod is ending....

You can read this entire article here, but these thoughts below interested me. While I normally don't read the Nat'l Catholic Reporter, this was the first article I have come across about the possible final report on the Synod of Bishops in Rome. It will be interesting to see the final outcome of this Synod, and how it compares to the reporting at the NCR, as well as how the National Catholic REGISTER writes the article:

Proposition 40 treats the divorced and remarried.

"According to the tradition of the Catholic church, they cannot be admitted to Communion, finding themselves in conditions of objective contrast with the Word of the Lord who returned marriage to its original value of indissolubility," it says. Nevertheless, it says, divorced and remarried Catholics "belong to the church," which "welcomes them and follows them with special attention," encouraging them to participate in the Mass, though without receiving communion.

If such Catholics cannot obtain an annulment, and "objective conditions" exist why their new marriage cannot be dissolved, the proposition says, they are to be encouraged to live their new marriage "according to the exigencies of the law of God, transforming it into a loyal and trustworthy friendship." In effect, the language means that these couples should not consummate their relationships.

"But blessing these relationships should be avoided," the proposition says, "so that confusion does not arise among the faithful regarding the value of marriage."

The proposition also calls for effective functioning of marriage tribunals for Catholics seeking an annulment, "taking account of the emerging problems in the context of the profound anthropological transformation of our time, from which the faithful risk being conditioned, especially in the lack of a solid Christian formation."

Skip large section:

The Synod of Bishops issues a message to the world in addition to its propositions for the pope. Release of the message, scheduled for 1 p.m. today, was pushed back due to last-minute debates over its content, especially focused on the section on divorced and civilly remarried Catholics.

Several members of the synod, including Cardinals Edmund Szoka of the United States, governor of the Vatican city-state, and Alfonso López Trujillo, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, argued Friday morning that the message needed to be more clear that the Catholic church considers divorce and remarriage without an annulment a sin.

As reported by NCR yesterday, the language on divorced and remarried Catholics had already been strengthened before Friday morning's session to better reflect such concerns. Where the first draft, circulated on Oct. 15, referred to "irregular" family situations, the penultimate draft mentioned situations that "do not conform to the commandment of the Lord." In stating that nobody wishes to exclude such Catholics from the church, the revision added that the bishops "do not share choices they have made." A line that the suffering of divorced and remarried Catholics "can be transformed into a precious involvement in the Christian community" was removed, and the new text invited the divorced and remarried to listen to the Word of God for their life of faith "and their conversion."

As of press time, the final draft of the message was scheduled for release Saturday morning.

A report from the Synod

An article, from Oct 19, and not yet final, then a longer one also from CWNews is here:

Synod proposals back existing Church policies
Rome, Oct. 19 (CWNews.com)

Rome, Oct. 19 (CWNews.com) - The 50 draft propositions presented to the Synod of Bishops for approval on October 18 place a heavy emphasis on priestly vocations, close the door to married priests, and maintain the Church's teaching that bans divorced and remarried Catholics from receiving Communion, according to a report based on a leaked copy of the Synod document.

The Synod on the Eucharist is now discussing the 50 propositions, and suggested amendments, before a final vote on each proposition, which is scheduled for October 22. The full list of propositions in their approved form will then be submitted to Pope Benedict XVI.

Although the propositions currently being discussed by the Synod are regarded as confident, Catholic News Service-- the agency operated by the US bishops' conference-- obtained a copy of the list of propositions.

The CNS story revealed that proposition 11 says that a proposed end to priestly celibacy is "a road not to follow." And proposition 40 affirms that, despite the difficulty the Church's teaching may cause, Catholics who are divorced and remarried cannot be admitted to Communion. Proposition 46 says that there is "no Eucharistic coherence" if Catholic politicians who support abortion receive Communion-- but says that individual bishops should "exercise the virtue of prudence" on that issue.

© Copyright 2005 Domus Enterprises. All rights reserved.

Runs in the Family.....

Came home from work tonight to find my son online, and wanted to catch up on emails, etc. So I did not hail him, because I knew he could see me, and both of us would be up for awhile yet.

He IM'd me after a reasonable time to let me know that he can't get his website to do what he wanted to do, so ... he now has a blog! So my oldest has a yahoo 360 site, and my youngest has a non functioning at the moment website and... his blog. He is Irisheyes and his site is Irishmade... because someone already had Irisheyes, apparently.

My middle one? She has not joined us... and has no puter!!! There's always gotta be one, huh? lol

I love my kids tremendously. All three of them. And their families (or family to be).

Prom Excess

As a parent who was shocked to find that in two different cities, two different Catholic schools, parents actually were paying for their teens to have hotel rooms "to go swimming" all night at fancy hotels in our areas, I can relate to why this decision was made.

I rarely caved in on anything having to do with health, saftey, faith and morals, but am ashamed to admit that I, being alone, in both of those two schools, did not have the stamina to refuse to let my girls go with their friends. (These were seniors, both 18. In this day and age, they are told EARLY that when they are 18, they can do what they want.... etc. That did not apply in my home... until I was 'reassured' repeatedly that there was no way that anyone could... yeah, right....

Anyway, it made it worse that these were CATHOLIC schools in my mind. Infinitely worse, though I would have felt the same had my kids been going to ANY school.

Hat tip to Janjan for this, and to GenXRevert for his more complete blog piece on this. And hats OFF to GenX for the rest of the story in hyperlinks in his posts on this topic.

Update on Cheryl Ford's Mom and Cheryl Eckstein

Sincere thanks for your prayers for my mother, and an Update re: Cheryl Eckstein Tuesday, October 18, 2005 1:00 PM PT Dearest Friends, This is a quick note to tell you how very much I have appreciated your prayers and best wishes for my mother. Many of you know my mother was seriously injured in an automobile accident on Friday, October 14th when her vehicle was struck in an intersection after a man had run a red light and t-boned the passenger door on her vehicle. My mothers neck was broken, now requiring her to be in Halo traction for the next 4 months. Compounded by the broken neck, she developed a blood clot in the back of her airway, 5 broken ribs and several breaks in her right arm, along with several lacerations in her head from the glass. This weekend was very rough. My mothers condition became very unstable on Saturday night, requiring the need for her to receive a blood transfusion due to her hemoglobin dropping. Her blood pressure had increased into very critical numbers, and she then spiked a very high temperature. She has not been awake since Friday because she remains on a ventilator in ICU under very heavy sedation. There is not a doubt in my mind, the prayers you have all been saying for her has now brought her temperature down and has stabilized her hemoglobin. Her blood pressure has also come down significantly. Today, Tuesday, the physicians are planning to take her down for another Cat Scan to see if the large blood clot sitting directly behind her airway has decreased in size. If it has, they will make an attempt to remove the tube from her airway that is attached to the ventilator. Her physicians tell me this will be a time for much needed prayer because if they pull the ventilator tube, and the clot expands, it could potentially obstruct her airway. In the event of such, Anesthesia will be standing by right next to her, prepared to reinsert the tube and place her back on the ventilator. We are praying and ask that you please continue to keep her in your prayers. In addition to the above...many of the Terri supporters like myself, who reside in Florida along the Gulf coast, now have the newly forecasted Hurricane Wilma on its way. Your prayers will also be appreciated for the many Floridians living along the Gulf coast who will be facing Hurricane Wilma soon. On a more HAPPIER and most THANKFUL note, Cheryl Eckstein's husband Bryan called me on my cell a bit ago. Many of you know Cheryl Eckstein from her dedicated work with http://www.chninternational.com/ ...The Compassionate Healthcare Network (CHN) Cheryl is out of surgery and in recovery. Her surgery went very well. The mass they removed was benign. Thanks and praise to the Lord. Cheryl Eckstein is not expected to be discharged from the hospital until this Friday or Saturday. For those wishing to send cards, she is at: Royal Columbian Hospital 330 E. Columbia Street New West Minister, British Columbia V3L3W7 Canada 1-604-520-4253 or send to: Cheryl Eckstein 11563 Bailey Cres., Surrey, B.C. V3V 2V4 Canada Once again, there are no words that can really be conveyed to you with regard to how much I have appreciated the prayers and good wishes that you have sent to my mother and my family. For those of you who have sent me an email requesting that I keep you posted about Cheryl Eckstein and my mother, I will do my best to post an update at the end of the week. Until then, my warmest regards and best wishes to you. Inhale the beauty of LIFE~ Respectfully, Cheryl Ford RN www.Fight4Terri.com

Please pray for Cheryl's mother

Moving this to the top, so that Cheryl's prayer request is not missed.
Again, 7:50 AM 10/18/05
1:28pm 10/15/05

5:17:00 AM I just got this a bit ago, and it does NOT sound good at all... please pray. Sorry, but this one is very important. Cheryl Ford had fought with the Schiavo family very hard for Terri to live, through her Fight4Terri blog, a book, etc.

-----Original Message-----

From: Fight4Terri@aol.com
Sent: Saturday, October 15, 2005 1:56 AM
Subject: Please pray for my mother

I am going to be flying to Las Vegas.

My mother was in a serious auto accident today ...... someone ran a red light and t-boned her car. My mother is on a ventilator in ICU..her neck is seriously broken, C2 ondontoid, a large hematoma has developed behind her airway, she has five broken ribs, a broken wrist a, broken hand and arm...plus many lacerations and sutures in her head. They had to put her into Halo traction. I don't know when I will be back. Please, if you will, say a prayer for my mother. The neurosurgeon says that right now, it does not look good for her.

Thank you so much,

Cheryl

I have been following Dr Charles' blog for awhile, as he writes very well, and I can relate to much of his experiences in my many years of nursing, working in hospitals, including ICU, OB/Gyn/Nursery, Peds, etc. Now, he has some of his stories in a book, reasonably priced! Best wishes on the sale of your book, Dr Charles!

Legends of the Examining Room The collected tales of a young family physician's first year in medical practice. Read about the hidden poetry, the hilarity, and the heroic resilience of ordinary people as they filter through an otherwise unremarkable examining room. At times reverential, pithy, and humorous, LEGENDS OF THE EXAMINING ROOM will keep you riveted with its moments of unforeseen danger and times of merciful laughter. 'Dr. Charles' is also author of the blog The Examining Room of Dr. Charles, which has been profiled by the LA Times and The Guardian among other media. While often based upon real life experiences, all characters are fictional. From: $7.97