The past few days I have been sick and am so sorry that I haven’t made my blog rounds in recent days. I felt better today so Kevin and I took the opportunity to travel to Steubenville, OH (about a 45 minute drive from where we live) to attend a Rick Santorum rally. I had been wanting to see him in person so it was awesome to be able to see Rick today.
I just have to share this--it hearkens to my own experience just a few short weeks ago here in MN, just before the "sudden Santorum surge" all over the country--which my state led the way on, by the way:). God is definitely good all the time. Blessings to Teresa Rice for this post!
I also wish to take this President's Day opportunity to share something I discovered lately, and that is the real meaning of Rick Santorum's last name. I do so because certain folks, in the name of satire or crass humor, have misused it mercilessly in the past few years. But it is Latin for the "Holy of Holies." And whatever you may think of his political views, this man is arguably one of the holiest and yet down-to-earth Catholic Christians out there by anyone's standards. I am proud to share his first name, and would be equally proud to share his last one as well. I support him all the way.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]
The image below is the Sancta Santorum in Rome, Italy.
[caption id="" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Image via Wikipedia"][/caption]
I am constantly amazed at the mercy of God, and how He answers prayers in totally unexpected ways. Earlier this week I learned that Rick Santorum, who as many of you know is running for President of the United States, was going to be making a pre-Caucus stop today in Minnesota (MN). He also made one last week. In both cases, Santorum fan that I am, I was a bit frustrated as they were each on two opposite ends of my fine state, and would have required a 6-8 hour round trip drive, with no guarantee of even shaking his hand once I arrived.
But I have had a message for him that I wished to deliver, and have several times prayed for some way to share it, whether by email, voice mail, or in person. I wanted him to know that he was not alone in his support for traditional marriage values, and also that there were some if not many of us from SSA (same-sex attraction) backgrounds who had come to agree with his stands. Incidentally in the interest of full disclosure, I did not always do so, even after returning to the Church. I hurt very much for my actively LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) friends and family who simply want to be left alone and to live and love as they choose. And many within that community feel exactly that, sincerely wondering why the Church is making such a fuss over it. As a result, a message such as Rick brings can at times appear to be harsh and unyielding, and therefore many stop then and there, listening no further to him or others with his views, no matter how kindly they are expressed. I do get that.
But I also get the fact that the unraveling of marriage, not just in the same-gender realm but also within opposite-gender couples who cohabitate (or, as is the newer trend, continue to maintain their own residences while carrying on with semi-permanent relationships that supply none or at least very little of the full committment and stability marriage is meant to bring) is utterly and progressively destructive to our already fragile society. The looming crisis is larger and more insidious than we realize.
Same-sex “marriage” is, in practical terms, just another step in that redefinition process which has gone on for years now, pretty much since the sexual revolution of the 1960s, and we have now more than an entire generation who has grown up without fully realizing the import and need for a father and mother within each home. For these and many other reasons, not the least of which is my commitment to the Lord through the Roman Catholic Church and her core beliefs on the family and marriage, I have come to strongly support the concept of “one man and one woman.” Rather than prejudice enshrined in law as some think, it is meant as a protection for those who choose the narrower path. And Senator Rick and others who promote this view have made it clear that they do not wish to eliminate the basic rights of any couple, married or not. But they want “pride of place” reserved for traditional marriages. It is not unreasonable in reality.
Back to Rick–I found out yesterday, thanks at least indirectly to my good friend Michael Blissenbach, a young 20-something Catholic warrior from the Twin Cities who blogs at http://bbachsbeat.com/author/mpblissenbach/ and is tirelessly fighting for both marriage and Santorum as well, that an extra stop was going to be made before our Minnesota Caucus this week, and that it would be only 30 minutes from my home. Earlier in the week he had told me about the stop today in Bemidji, MN, and I realized that somehow I was not “in the loop” as I had not heard about it. So, due to this chat with Michael, I had emailed and joined “Team Santorum” and found out via their email about this additional surprise event only yesterday. So again thanks Michael and also to Team Santorum MN!
Thus this morning I was privileged to briefly speak with Senator Santorum, and to shake his hand. I want to word-paint the scene a bit so you will know why it was so much a “God event” in my view. First of all I woke up late. The church service he was attending, which was held at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, MN, was to be at 9:30 AM. My goal was to arrive an hour early and hopefully get a seat at least. Instead I woke up at 8:30 as I had not been feeling good due to some new diabetic meds I am taking. Plus (and this is no doubt the SSA side of me speaking now) my hair looked really, really bad!!! All of the reasons not to go were looming, and besides I didn’t have a ghost of a chance to actually meet him, right?
Not exactly…and I will just say this next point to us all, me included. When that many things go wrong or seem to be obstacles, it means one of two things: you should either “can the plan” or go for it anyway with full trust that the God of the impossible is right there with you. And the discernment of which to do can be difficult when both sets of voices are looming readily. And they certainly were to my sleep-weary head this morning. In any case I smashed down my hair as best it would smash, put on my best “Santorum looking” sweater, and was out of my apartment in 15 short minutes. That in itself would probably qualify as a miracle of sorts, but that was only the beginning. When I arrived at Grace, with 10 minutes to spare in fact, and no speeding I might add, I found a seat in the 9th row of the middle section of the huge sanctuary, which I am guessing holds 1500 people or close at least. “Not bad,” I thought. “At least I will see him clearly.” By now I was getting excited. Would I somehow, someway, actually meet the man? He was scheduled to speak early, and then had to fly out quickly to his next stop in Bemidji MN where the Santorum sweater vests are being made proudly in the USA and our lovely state. So I expected him to be quickly escorted out after his talk and then that would be that. Still at least I was there, and getting pumped.
I had an aisle seat, and when he entered from the side he was placed in the front row of the same section I was in. Good sign. When he was done, numerous people got up to leave, going out through the same entrance he came in from, assuming no doubt that it would be the best way to perhaps catch him when he made his final mad dash.
Now I have been to enough large events to know that he was not likely to leave by the same door where he had entered, especially if his time was limited and it was to the extreme. So I hung tight and kept my eyes open. His entourage seemingly left, but he quietly remained seated. And it was offering time so only the ushers were moving. After hesitating for at least 1.5 seconds my course was clear. I simply got up, walked those 9 rows to that stage area, and suddenly I was standing, bad hair and all, in front of our humble and heroic Presidential candidate.
Image by Talk Radio News Service via Flickr
What happened next was the most important moment, and the reason I believe I was there today. I looked at him, he shook my hand (with a vice-grip grasp), and I said “I just want you to know that I am SAME-SEX ATTRACTED (and yes I nearly yelled it, as the music in Grace is notoverly quiet even during the Offertory) and that I am living for God through the Church. I support you all the way.” That was all I said or needed to say. The hand grip never ceased, in fact it may have been a bit tighter, and he simply looked at me intently and softly said “thank you.” Maybe it was the light or perhaps just the look on his face, but I knew that my words were somehow needed and meant to be said at that exact moment as a personal encouragement to him. If he was not “tearing up” he seemed very close to it. I pretty much doubt he gets 10 people a week from my background who personally tell him that they are standing squarely on his side. And he definitely hears constantly from those who do not, or who even hate him for it.
But God in His Mercy allowed me to impact, just a little, the good and honorable Senator from Pennsylvania who loves God and all people very obviously. And I doubt he will remember my bad hair. I doubt too that I will ever forget this Super Bowl Sunday, regardless of who wins, or this coming election either for that matter. And lastly, I plan to stump for him at the MN Caucus this Tuesday. I hope, if you are reading this and from MN, you will join me, whoever you are supporting. We need to be involved during this crucial time in our history.
Blessed Sunday to you all!
LATE BREAKING ADDED TREAT!!! HERE IS THE VIDEO IN ITS ENTIRETY FROM THIS MORNING’S SERVICE AT GRACE CHURCH. THEY DID IT IN THE STYLE OF AN INTERVIEW, AND KEPT IT SUFFICIENTLY NON-PARTISAN SO THAT IT IN NO WAY WOULD VIOLATE ANY CHURCH ENDORSEMENT REGULATIONS OR LAWS. AT THE END WE ALL PRAYED FOR HIM TOGETHER AS WELL. THE WHOLE VIDEO IS AROUND 8 MINUTES, AND WORTH EACH OF THOSE TO WATCH. ENJOY!
OKAY time for me to tackle the “big one…”meaning BIG ISSUE that is!!! So here goes… how can I as a same-sex attracted man ever support this guy–and why would I want to? Even before listening to this video clip my heart told me that Rick Santorum was not anti-gay, at least not on a personal level, in any way at all. I believe he would break bread with me as his brother in Christ any day, campaign or no campaign. His concerns are the very same ones that the Church and traditional Christianity raises (in a less blunt way however) but nevertheless real ones, I believe. He clearly takes the time to separate the acts from the feelings, and for that one statement he was smeared viciously by columnist Dan Savage, whose despicable action apparently was “just fine” in some people’s minds. It is that kind of supposed activism that is not activism at all–just childish maliciousness. I found Savage’s campaign disgusting then and I do now. Call me naïve on my views but I do not think I am. I have been around enough radical activists within the LGBT community to know how what is sheer “campiness” if said within the community becomes utter character-shredding when printed outside of it. And Savage knew this well when he started his attacks. I lived within the LGBT world for 15 years. Unbridled “gay liberation” did not help my life. I let it wreck my marriage and the “greener pastures” did not turn out to be so, at least for me. And no I do not wish to lose hard-earned rights to employment or “living and letting live” which are appropriate to all people. Nor do I think that, as President, the rights of the actively LGBT would suddenly or even slowly disappear under Santorum’s watch either, whatever his personal views may be. What he would and does oppose is PROMOTING the lifestyle and the issue today is “gay marriage.” That is what he was addressing here. No more and no less. And on that topic I have come to agree with him long before deciding to support his growing campaign. I have written extensively about this on my blog so please be free to look up my articles on the topic. John King actually does him a favor here, in that he allows him to answer each of his “questionable” statements and Santorum does so with dignity and clarity. Will he win? I do not know nor is that even the main issue here. Does he have my support? You can bet on it and I do not plan to ease up. And, if you know me at all, you will realize I am not a bigot nor a hater. I have friends and family on all sides of these issues. But this is my view.
Having lost 4 children to miscarriage and having to argue all my adult life with people about whether they were “real children” or not causes me to carry some unmitigated disgust towards Alan Colmes in this debate about, again, Santorum. Even Obama said to keep the children out of it when Sarah Palin‘s kids were being accused and criticized in 2008.
GET ACLUE, HOLMES…Anyone who has read of this knows he did not bring the deceased child home to “play with it.”
They brought it home so the other children could have the one chance in their entire life to see and love that child, hold it, and pray for it. Isn’t that what funerals are for? But oh I forgot–our society does not care enough about dead babies to have funerals. You will not see me say this often about anyone but Alan Holmes is an true and total ASS. I hope he is fired and soon.
If you honestly wish to see how “kooky” Rick Santorum is, watch this YouTube video. If you can watch it without a tear I feel sad for you. And pray that, like Alan Colmes, you too may get a heart.
[/caption]
[/caption]
