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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No. Those who denigrate marriage are those who insist that most people are cut out for it. ASJ recognizes that only a very small percentage (around 20%) of people are called to do no less than raise and nurture the rest of the human race. Throughout the history of the Church, its leaders and teachers have struggled with how to give each virginity and celibacy its due without disparaging marriage.
For whereas both are errors, either to equal marriage to holy virginity, or to condemn it: by fleeing from one another to excess, these two errors come into open collision, in that they have been unwilling to hold the mean of truth: whereby, both by sure reason and authority of holy Scriptures, we both discover that marriage is not a sin, and yet equal it not to the good either of virginal or even of widowed chastity. Some forsooth by aiming at virginity, have thought marriage hateful even as adultery: but others, by defending marriage, would have the excellence of perpetual continence to deserve nothing more than married chastity...
[St. Augustine On Virginity]
No faithful Christian or sane human being can seriously malign marriage. But in today's Church, the opposite error of which Augustine warns is widespread, namely, marriage and virginity are being seen as equal. This is the erroneous view that we rightfully combat, for no Catholic is permitted to believe this.
Yes he did, but he didn't want to. The Church today tries to cover up the severity of Jesus' rebuke of His Blessed Mother. But we have no reason as Catholics to hide Jesus' stern words, "What is this between you and me?" Mary was indeed sinless, but that doesn't mean she did everything perfectly. Clearly, the will of the Lord called for no miracle that day. But this is a lesson for us: God permits things that were not in His original plan.
The story of Cana is actually perfect for understanding the nature of marriage. Just as Jesus would rather have not worked a sign that day, but relented at the insistence of His mother, so God would rather not join his children together in matrimony. He would rather see His sons and daughters continue as lifelong virgins, but at the persistence of those He loves, He grants their wish. He knows that He can bring good even from what is less perfect, the wine of children and family even from the common water of carnal intercourse.
That's not a question. But truly this is one of the stumbling blocks for many when trying to digest the theology we promote. If you think about it though, it's really just the logical extension of the Resurrection. St. Paul tells us that we will have spiritualized bodies in the resurrection. Well, why do our bodies have to be transformed in the Resurrection? It's because they were de-formed at the tree.
Uhhh...no. In the same way Christ bore the wounds of the cross in triumph after His resurrection, so we bear the disfigurement of Original Sin though we have been washed clean and regenerated in baptism. Through our mastery of our fallen nature, we manifest the strength of God's grace and its power to overcome sin.
Were Christians to mutilate themselves they would show a lack of faith in God's power to transform our sinful nature. God has laid out for us a path to recovering our original nature. It is celibacy lived through the sacraments. It is not further damaging that which was Originally damaged at the Tree.
It is interesting though that the very first canon of the Council of Nicaea condemns the practice of castration. The fact that there were enough people doing this that the Council felt moved to act supports our point that an emphasis on purity existed in Ancient Christianity that is absent today.
Well, since you brought it up, yes. In this aspect, ASJ plays the role of prophet in bearing bad news. But really, the evidence of this sad phenomena is all around us. As is evidenced by the divorce rate and other statistics, more people find marriage unfulfilling than find it satisfying. Half of marriages end in divorce and forty percent of married people say they are not happy with their lives. We suspect about half of those are not being totally honest.
What startles ASJ is that the Church today thinks it has to "cover up" this fact. When in truth, the Church has always recognized celibacy to be more fulfilling than marriage, both in this world, and in the next. This is no doubt why in heaven, the people of the resurrection "neither marry nor are given in marriage."
ASJ argues for and defends the position that the Church would be healthier and more vibrant were there fewer people getting married. A small percentage of married couples having large, Catholic families would be more than enough to keep a stable, growing Catholic population. And this would provide for an army of celibates, who have always been the dynamo in creating a more Catholic world.
If it seems like that we apologize. Of course we don't support homosexual acts and like the Church ask people with a gay inclination to remain celibate.
However, on a lot of issues, it is true that we are often "strange bed-fellows" with homosexual advocates. The gay lobby in America feels that marriage is being over-emphasized, undermining their rights. We feel that marriage is being over-emphasized in the Church, and is undermining the efforts of celibates and virgins.
We think that they have some valid gripes in some areas, and we know that our beliefs are in line with Catholic doctrine and the Scriptures. So, we hope you can see that while we don't support them, we often end up on the same side of an issue. Hey, justice is justice, regardless of a person's genital inclination.
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