Now before you all get exited about my likes or dislikes of animals, I have to tell you that I have and have had in the past many good dogs who shared my house with me and my friends. That being said, a note came to me the other day from Zenit.Org that made me smile, after seeing what the Holy Father said about cats and dogs in preference to children.
He was lamenting the fact that some couples, especially in the modern generation have chosen not to have children, but to have a pet instead. Now to be sure, Good Pope Francis has nothing against pets. All you have to do is watch him around animals. What he was trying to do is in a subtle way, let young couples think before they get married. The Church has as one of the grounds for invalid marriages is the intention of not having children when physically there is noting wrong with one of the couples in so far as the ability of having a child.
This goes along with the purpose of marriage – the intention of having children and a mutual companionship for both the man and woman involved. This is one of the primary reasons why the Church is against gay marriages – there can be no intention of having a child. When God created the world he also created the wonderful fact of man and woman.
Now during your visitations of couples not attending Mass and receiving the Sacraments, you might run across a couple that admits purposely intending not to have children and yet rather have a cat or dog or whatever instead. To them the whole complete idea of marriage, tainted by what they hear on TV, their friends etc. is the companionship of marriage and that is all – when you get tired of the companionship with the other person it is time to change and get someone else. After all, no children are involved.
Not all couples are able to have children, either due to age or some physical problem and since they realize that a child is a good building block for a family, they choose to adopt a child. True, a child can be inconvenient at times and I guess God intended it that way, but look at the continued love that the couple has – the wonderful self giving in their love to share with another little person and bring that person the gift of their love and chance to get to heaven.
Yes, dogs and cats or gold fish or horses may have a place in our lives, but they can never fulfill the human love that the Sacrament of Marriage can give. If they could, why did God create male and female?
© Fr. Louis Schlangen
He was lamenting the fact that some couples, especially in the modern generation have chosen not to have children, but to have a pet instead. Now to be sure, Good Pope Francis has nothing against pets. All you have to do is watch him around animals. What he was trying to do is in a subtle way, let young couples think before they get married. The Church has as one of the grounds for invalid marriages is the intention of not having children when physically there is noting wrong with one of the couples in so far as the ability of having a child.
This goes along with the purpose of marriage – the intention of having children and a mutual companionship for both the man and woman involved. This is one of the primary reasons why the Church is against gay marriages – there can be no intention of having a child. When God created the world he also created the wonderful fact of man and woman.
Now during your visitations of couples not attending Mass and receiving the Sacraments, you might run across a couple that admits purposely intending not to have children and yet rather have a cat or dog or whatever instead. To them the whole complete idea of marriage, tainted by what they hear on TV, their friends etc. is the companionship of marriage and that is all – when you get tired of the companionship with the other person it is time to change and get someone else. After all, no children are involved.
Not all couples are able to have children, either due to age or some physical problem and since they realize that a child is a good building block for a family, they choose to adopt a child. True, a child can be inconvenient at times and I guess God intended it that way, but look at the continued love that the couple has – the wonderful self giving in their love to share with another little person and bring that person the gift of their love and chance to get to heaven.
Yes, dogs and cats or gold fish or horses may have a place in our lives, but they can never fulfill the human love that the Sacrament of Marriage can give. If they could, why did God create male and female?
© Fr. Louis Schlangen