The attack on marriage is really an attack on the human person, and his dignity, for the devil seeks to pervert our true purpose, to pervert God's holy design. For many of us, we cannot march in protests or write dozens of letters or call numerous times to urge legislators to vote for the Truth. But one thing we can all do is pray and fast. We have designated one day each week to fast for these intentions:

1. That marriage may be preserved, promoted, and understood as God's plan for creation.

2. For all marriages that they may reflect the love of the Trinity.

3. For broken marriages that Christ bring healing and conversion to the spouses' souls.

4. For those who are married, for the sanctification of their marriage and their spouse. For those who are single, for their future spouse and vocation.


Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Propriety is not Prudish

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JMJ


In the great epic Gone with the Wind, the mild and gentle Melanie is an outstanding model of many virtues (whether prudence is one of them is a subject for another post.)  One of these is modesty, not only as pertains to her dress but also to her speech.  During an exchange with Rhett Butler in which he goes into detail about his married life with Scarlett, Melanie implores him to cease speaking of such things as "it is not fit" for her to hear of such intimate matters.  She still strives to comfort him without inquiring after any sordid details.  Melanie's actions reveal a much-needed virtue in our society: modesty in speech.


Men and women speak freely in mixed (i.e. co-ed) company about intimate matters in their own lives or in their marriages.   Long ago, the veil was torn away and the innocence of the intimate was left out to be spoiled in the public sphere.  The consequences have been dire, but we need not contribute to this forced comfortability in speaking openly about private and intimate subjects.  Conversing in this manner greatly wounds the relationships of men and women.  Prudence and propriety do not equal prudishness.  One may think this analysis only pertains to secular society, and yet it is a problem found everywhere.  Many Christians believe it is normal to speak of marital and personal matters in mixed company as long as its done in a positive or pro-life manner.  Even in single-sex company, women may prattle about intimate things, speaking about them to complete strangers.


Part of encouraging traditional and strong marriages is reclaiming and promoting the sacredness and beauty of marriage.  We must strive not to profane marriage by removing the curtain of mystery that surrounds it.  In the Tridentine Mass (i.e. the old Latin Mass), the priest speaks inaudibly during the most mysterious and sacred part of the Mass: the consecration of the bread and wine into Christ's body and blood.  In the same way, men and women (whether married or not) can and should keep the most mysterious aspects of the marital union sacred by rediscovering the silence that is owed to its beauty.
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