Did I Commit A Big Sin Here?

[Nihil Obstat]

[quote name='tinytherese' date='06 February 2010 - 03:04 PM' timestamp='1265490245' post='2052132']
Winnie the Pooh

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_YH_2Y1Azor8/Sig6DftbM_I/AAAAAAAAAE8/77zO9aQsiVg/s400/winnie_the_pooh.jpg[/img]
[/quote]
Winnie the Pooh is one of the most underrated literary/cartoon characters ever created.

[southern california guy]

[quote name='tinytherese' date='06 February 2010 - 12:12 PM' timestamp='1265483548' post='2052053']
So over a year ago I attended this one event at my liberal and secular women's college hosted by the pride alliance club on campus. They welcomed everyone regardless of their opinion to come and share their views on homosexuality, watch a documentary on "coming out," and discussed it. We slit up into groups to discuss our views and I brought with me a paper that I had previously written and used some of it to help me explain the Church's views on it. At no point did I use offensive speech or claim that "All the gays here are going to hell." I was trying to clear up confusion, pointing out that the Catholic Church was definitely not for living this lifestyle, but that we are still called to love persons with same sex attraction because they are human beings just like us. This didn't go over all that well with everyone in my group, but I seemed to have gained respect from at least some of the people who disagreed with me.

After this we watched the documentary and then as a big group people discussed it. I felt that it was best for me to listen to what they had to say and I must say that I came to understand persons who go through same sex attraction more. Not that my opinion about how the lifestyle is contrary to what God wants of us, but I listened to what my peers had to say regarding what it was like, how their family's reacted, and what their experiences were with having friends who had same sex attraction. I could tell from what I heard that what I wrote in my paper (including the philosophical parts of my essay,) just wouldn't do much of any good for them. It would be like talking to hearts of stone on the matter. I thought that by listening to them, trying to understand them, and to befriend them would be a good way to show love to them and be a witness to them. I remembered the quote from St. Francis of Assissi which was, "Preach the Gospel at all times and if neccessary use words." I seemed to get a better picture of what their hearts were like and I could see what they were really looking for--unconditional love, friendship, to be treated with dignity, and weren't sure what it really meant to be a woman or what it really meant to be a man. It inspired me more than ever to study the theology of the body. I hope to read the original texts someday and since then I have had a great desire to understand the feminine genius.

Yet at the end of the discussion, a girl spoke up. I didn't realize who she was at first, truth be told I forgot who she was. She had been told by someone that I was from the same city as her and we had exchanged emails, but hadn't had a proper introduction to each other. One of the things I shared with her was the name of my high school, which was a Catholic one. Now she had gone to a public school. She pointed in my direction and said that she was so glad that I came to this event, claiming that she thought that someone from a Catholic school wouldn't have an open mind on the subject, (meaning that they would be "homophobic.") She praised me and even ran over to give me a hug. I was just so shocked by what she said and did. I wasn't sure what to say. The people in my small group however knew what I thought about the matter, but because of this might have thought that I changed my opinion. I had the reputation at this school for being the devout Catholic girl on campus and speaking and writing about my faith in my english classes was known. So to many people, it would have looked like I was for gay pride or that Church teaching was evolving from its previous one and would be more "accepting" of persons calling themselves Catholic and being openly gay. I got to thinking about this incident recently, how I may have to answer to God for this, thinking, "Oh no, I unintentionally caused scandal. This is really serious."

I'm nervous about this. I'd like to go to confession today about it.
[/quote]

I don't think that you committed any sort of sin. It sounds like you were conscientious an considerate of everybody. But the fact that you attended might get some people gossiping that you're a closet homosexual yourself. People love to gossip like that.. I think that's why most people would avoid a meeting like this.

[Ephrem Augustine]

Tinytherese, I think it took a lot of courage for you to do what you did.
I know I would be afraid of being ripped apart the second I got in their.
I am glad that these people got to experience this side of the Church that they never do, as is often they case, many people cling to false images of terror and hate, that they never experienced in real life.

Thanks for doing the right thing

[Ora et Labora]

[quote name='tinytherese' date='06 February 2010 - 03:32 PM' timestamp='1265488371' post='2052111']
Thank you everyone. Sometimes I can get scrupulous about stuff like this. It wasn't as if I was prepared for what that girl did and what with my introverted personality and not wanting to say something before I thought it through in my head I wasn't sure what to do. I got to thinking about scandal when I was reading yesterday in [i]Christian Courtship in an Oversexe[/i][i]d World: A Guide For Catholics[/i], about some couples who had done such things as sleep in the same bed, room, or to live in the same place but in different rooms, but didn't actually fornicate and the author of the book, a priest talked a considerable amount of time about the scandal that they were unintentionally causing for others and how serious scandal is. It just reminded me of what I did earlier and I got concerned.
[/quote]

I was reading that book the other day at a Catholic bookstore! ! It looks really good...and I agree with what it says about scandal.
And I do not believe you committed a sin at the conference, either.

[Winchester]

[img]http://firebreathingchristian.files.wordpress.com/2009/09/monty-python-spanish-inquisition.jpg[/img]
We'll see about THAT!

[Veridicus]

[quote name='Winchester' date='06 February 2010 - 02:31 PM' timestamp='1265488281' post='2052109']
But He did not eat with Canadians.
[/quote]

According to the Book of Mormon...



[quote name='hot stuff' date='06 February 2010 - 03:22 PM' timestamp='1265491366' post='2052139']
Did you eat a turkey Panini at this event?
[/quote]

Edited February 7, 2010 by Veridicus

[allis-challmers]

In my opinion I don't think that you did anything wrong but if you want to go to confession I don;t see anything wrong with that ether. I have always been told that you can go to confession just to talk to a priest and disscuss stuff.

[saline_queen]

<quote>I was trying to clear up confusion, pointing out that the Catholic Church was definitely not for living this lifestyle, but that we are still called to love persons with same sex attraction because they are human beings just like us.</quote>

I agree so much with this. We love the people, but hate what they are doing. Why do they call it homophobia? We're not afraid of them!

And, going to confession may not be a bad idea, however, I don't see why you think God will be mad at you for this. He knows your heart, knows your intentions. You weren't there, sticking up for them, or saying bad things about the church.

God Bless you! I understand this post so well, lol. I almost feel bad for some (definitely definitely not all) gays. I just wish they'd open their hearts to God.

[MithLuin]

Ummm...some do?

Opening your heart to God's grace doesn't make you straight, any more than it means you won't have to struggle with depression or diabetes. I'm not saying God [u]can't[/u] heal any illness, because he can, but I think sometimes those of us who [i]don't[/i] struggle with this tend to trivialize the experiences of those who do.

This isn't a 'get over it' kind of thing. It's a pretty significant cross to bear, no matter [i]what[/i] lifestyle you live.

[Totus Tuus]

[quote name='Nihil Obstat' date='06 February 2010 - 02:16 PM' timestamp='1265483760' post='2052058']
You may be right about it having "caused scandal", or you may not. However it was entirely unintentional on your part, even if it did. In my opinion, if scandal was caused, which is still a big if, it was not through full knowledge and deliberate consent, so I don't think you should worry.
[/quote]

Agreed.

[tinytherese]

[quote name='MithLuin' date='07 February 2010 - 09:56 AM' timestamp='1265554595' post='2052457']
Ummm...some do?

Opening your heart to God's grace doesn't make you straight, any more than it means you won't have to struggle with depression or diabetes. I'm not saying God [u]can't[/u] heal any illness, because he can, but I think sometimes those of us who [i]don't[/i] struggle with this tend to trivialize the experiences of those who do.

This isn't a 'get over it' kind of thing. It's a pretty significant cross to bear, no matter [i]what[/i] lifestyle you live.
[/quote]

Definitely agreed. Some spend all of their time supressing their same-sex attraction and pray to be straight, but this only makes it harder. They often get tired of it and can even start or revert back to what the world would want them to do.