By Fr. Charles, Pennington. When the phone calls start coming in to the parish office of couples wanting to set dates and begin the preparation for their big day, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the answer I never want to here. I try to ask the question face-to-face when I first meet with a couple, not over the phone when they call for the appointment. I fear the couple has been duped by the deception of liars when it comes to the Sacrament of Marriage and the intimate marriage act itself.
As I write, I realize there is no way I can do justice to this topic in one column, but I trust the Holy Spirit will fill in the holes. Today, I dare to say 4 out of 5 couples seeking marriage within the Church are now living together before marriage.
How did we get here? I want to ask: Where are the parents, grandparents, siblings, extended family and Catholic friends of those seeking to be married in the Catholic Church? Have they not also heard the truth as to what the Church, in her wisdom, has taught?
Have we lost kitchen table morality where our faith and our actions are formed and rooted in the home? It may seem to make sense on paper that living together before marriage is a wise choice. Why spend money on two different living spaces, for example? To compare a human person to a manufactured chunk of metal with four wheels completely disrespects the dignity of the human person and the gift of our sexuality, the marriage act and the Sacrament of Marriage itself!
It is an insult to God, the Creator. What if I announced I would be presiding at Mass a month before my ordination. I think all Catholics would agree that such a thing cannot happen because I am not yet a priest.
