As the synod approaches, defenders of traditional marriage may take heart: the Church will uphold Her teaching on marriage and family vs. the onslaught of a secular understanding of the institution, this is the face of growing speculation that the bishops--and ultimately the Pope--will change certain rules, in particular, allowing divorced Catholics who have remarried without first getting an annulment to receive Communion. Nor is She likely to allow for a non-celibate clergy....
In 1941, Tolkien wrote a masterful letter to his son Michael, dealing with marriage and the realities of human sexuality. The letter reflects Tolkien's Christian worldview and his deep love for his sons, and at the same time, also acknowledges the powerful dangers inherent in unbridled sexuality. From the letter: This is a fallen world…. the dislocation of sex-instinct is one of the chief symptoms of the Fall. The world has been 'going to the bad' all down the ages. The various social forms shift, and each new mode has its special dangers: but the 'hard spirit of concupiscence' has walked down every street, and sat leering in every house, since Adam fell….The devil is endlessly ingenious, and sex is his favorite subject. He is as good every bit at catching you through generous romantic or tender motives, as through baser or more animal ones. Tolkien advised his young son that the sexual fantasies of the 20th century were demonic lies, intended to ensnare u...

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