Sexy Sex

This is part 3 in a series on sex (because I promise that talking about sex will not turn you into a porn fiend. It will probably do the exact opposite). Part I. Part II.

So, sexy Catholic sex. This is the middle ground, the liberal and pure as opposed to the libertine or puritan. This isn't even really Catholic sex insomuch as it is HUMAN sex. Like I said last time, sex is marriage, and marriage is what we call a "natural" sacrament, that is it comes from our nature and was ratified by Jesus as a sacrament (as opposed to the Eucharist or Ordination which was directly instituted by Him as a new thing).

So Sex. Marriage. Love. There are so many ways to get it wrong, how do we get it right?

Puritanical Sex

At the insistence of a friend who complained that Popular Sex was too short (I blame the estrogen in the water), here is part two, wherein we take a look at our Puritan heritage in sexual mores.

Last time we dealt with crappy sex. How do I know it's crappy? Gotta be, come on! It's gotta be! Why? I’ll tell you why. Here we are. All of us are basically alone, separate creatures just circling each other. All searching for that slightest hint of a real connection. Some look in the wrong places...

Ten points if you correctly identify the source of the above line.

Popular Sex

There was a bit of a kerfuffle on the interwebz a few weeks ago surrounding the Grammy awards. Unfortunately, it was over the wrong song.

While far too many Christian outlets were concerned that Katy Perry had performed witchcraft on stage (she didn't), there seemed to be less outcry over the much more insidious lyrics in Jay-Z's portion of his wife's song "Drunk in Love," where he puts himself as Mike Tyson (convicted rapist) biting off Holyfield's ear and Ike Turner the Abuser (Google "Eat the cake, Anna Mae" if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Memento Mori

Shut up! Shut up, you American.
You always talk, you Americans.
You talk and you talk and say
'let me tell you something' and
'I just wanna say this'.
Well, you're dead now, so shut up!

Memento Mori. Remember your Death, for on that day,

The written book will be brought forth,
in which the whole (record of evidence) is contained
whence the world is to be judged.

Therefore when the Judge shall sit,
whatever lay hidden will appear;
nothing unavenged will remain.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, aren't you?

Well that was off topic...

Ahh, the long arm of the internet... There's a neat little video that talks about the chemicals used to make the smoke from papal ballots burning turn black or white. The top two comments?

"Why bother with a new pope anyway? Do we really need a 70+ year old silly hat wearing virgin to tell us what to do with our genitals and to discriminate against gays?"

"I feel bad for those people. Its the ones who survive because of science then attribute it to god who make me mad."

Laborers in the Vineyard

As I begin this post on humility, allow me to say that I called it. That is, from almost the beginning, I had a sense that Pope Francis would be very challenging to us Catholics, to all of us Catholics. Challenging in a good way, calling us out into greater holiness and spiritual maturity, but nonetheless challenging.

I was right.

The Day of the Mothers

Happy Mother's Day! In honor of this occasion, I thought I'd write a letter.