Just let me eat without having an ulterior political agenda!

In our day and age, it seems everybody and their mother has to make their stance on gay marriage public. Starbucks, and more recently, The Muppets and Oreos, have announced their support for same sex marriage. Even more recently, Chick-fil-A spoke of their support of traditional marriage.

I really hate this debate, because there are many people I know and love who are gay, and I want everybody to be happy. Are you ready for the truth? I don’t support gay marriage.

Some people are surprised, others aren’t. Some are Catholics who are nodding their head in agreement and some are ‘friends’ who are about to spew out about how I’m a brainwashed Catholic who can’t think for herself.

On the contrary, dear ‘friends’. When I was in eighth grade, I stood before the auxiliary bishop, taking the name Therese and being confirmed in the Catholic faith. I know a lot of people don’t take the sacrament of Confirmation very seriously, but I did, and I still do. Let’s look at the word: Confirmation.  According to dictionary.com, to confirm means to acknowledge with definite assurance. So, when you are confirmed in the Catholic faith, you are acknowledging with definite assurance that this is THE faith. 

I made the choice to be confirmed in the Catholic faith, and by doing so, I made the choice to follow her laws. Actually, by doing so, I really made the choice to follow God’s laws.

In the last year or so, I’ve seen the Catholic Church attacked so much, and I’m not just talking about the HHS mandate. I’m talking about the “Why I hate Religion but love Jesus” video and the “How to suck at your religion” comic put out by the Oatmeal. When I first saw these, I felt anger. Then I felt sorrow, because both claimed to love Jesus, but then said they hated the Church He founded. Yeah. That makes sense. The Church is the body of Christ! You can’t truly love Christ fully without belonging to His body.

The way I think that people see the Church is as that crazy overprotective parent. You know how you had that one friend who had this ridiculously overprotective parent (in my case, my mother) that everybody groaned and moaned about but appreciated when they were older? For example, my mom taught me to dress modestly at a young age.  Now, as an upcoming college freshman, I’m thankful for that lesson. She taught me to see my body for what it is: the temple of the Holy Spirit, and not something to gain attention by.  I hated it when I was younger. All my friends got to wear these cute tank tops and short shorts and I was stuck scowling in jealousy in my capri pants and t-shirt. I think the Church is that parent. Maybe you’re bitter because of the rules now, but later, you’ll appreciate them and it’ll all make sense.

Unfortunately, I do not live near a Chick-fil-A. But if I did, I would be going there to get a chicken sandwich. I’d also go to Starbucks (which I do have nearby) and get myself one of those delicious frappuccinos. Then, maybe the world would explode and I’d be the coolest walking contradiction ever.