Blogging Around: Inspiration in Trying Times

It turns out you’re the only one who thinks your family looks like a mess.
JD Flynn talks about how simply going to Mass as a family inspired a woman to not have an abortion.

We often feel self-conscious at Mass. We’re like a circus act. Three kids, two of them with Down syndrome, singing loudly off key, intoning the priest’s parts, talking about Elmo, throwing things, farting, bickering, occasionally bolting for the sanctuary. ...

It turns out you’re the only one who thinks your family looks like a mess. And God is using the messes of our families to love other people, even when we don’t know it

Via Elizabeth Scalia.

The Hard Slog of Sanctity Starts Here
I don't know faithful Catholics who are saying "I'm done" because they are demoralized and overwhelmed, but I know they are out there. I know that the clergy in our parish are hearing from them and from those who are very angry. So I'm lucky in my friends that way. And I know this is when we need to get our second wind and remember that St. Paul talked about the faith as a race in which we shouldn't fall by the wayside, that we would need endurance to get to the finish line. And that's where we are now.

Elizabeth Scalia is hearing from these tired out, faithful Catholics also. She's got some encouragement that is bracing. Here's a bit but read it all.

These are difficult, challenging days, and the utter fury roiling through our guts, our hearts, and our minds as we read these stories is understandable. The rage is righteous, and its energy is real.

Still, all of our anger will count for nothing if we do not channel that energy into action that goes beyond venting on social media and declaring that we’re “done.” Rather than walking away, we—each one of us—will have to roll up our sleeves and teach the institutional Church how to actually be a church again.

Dear Gay Catholic Priests,
Jennifer Fitz hits it out of the park with this open letter (the way she always does). Go read it. Here's a bit to tempt you.

I’ve been reading about your plight in the New York Times. So let’s go ahead and clear something up right now: Most Catholics don’t give a rip who it is you’re not having sex with. ...

I have good news for you: There are other Catholics who want to be faithful to our vows — whether that be the vows of ordination, or marriage, or baptism, we’re all in this together. We’ve all made the commitment to do our best to order our actions to our state in life, and no you are not the only one who faces fierce temptations to act on urges that are not consistent with our human dignity.

So if you want support in keeping your vows, we’re out here. ...

You are made for eternal glory. God who loves you wants you in Heaven forever with Him, and so do all sane men.