Saturday, August 20, 2011
Gay or Straight, Love is Sufficient of Itself
"Love is sufficient of itself, it gives pleasure by itself and because of itself. It is its own merit, its own reward. Love looks for no cause outside itself, no effect beyond itself. Its profit lies in its practice. I love because I love, I love that I may love. Love is a great thing so long as it continually returns to its fountainhead, flows back to its source, always drawing from there the water which constantly replenishes it." - St. Bernard of Clairvaux (Father Alex reminds me today is his feat day.)
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37 comments:
Send this to your good friend Bobblehead Thierry and/or Ron Angle..2 of the biggest bigots, racists in the county!!!And voting on decision for our constituents!! Sinful..We are all human regardless of your race, religion, ethnicity, sexual preference. Preach it to them..bigots!!!
A bigot is a person who makes up her mind about other people without knowing the facts. Sound like you qualify. Yes, you can be a lesbian and still be a bigot.
Good news Bernie. It looks like you and Angle can make it official.
Tim & Earl are really neat people.
Their home in Easton was a dump when they bought it; they have renovated it into an absolute show place, and they contribute a lot to Easton.
I wonder how many of the "Anonymi" can say the same thing.
Nice clip, Bernie - thanks.
UT
And one other thing...
Any relationship that lasts 33 years says a lot about the people in it.
UT
UT, Thanks for the perspective on Tim. I only know Tim, and only know Tim a little. I had no idea he was even gay until I saw this clip. The only Earl I know is a Vietnamese pot-bellied pig who likes watermelon rinds. This Earl looks nothing like that Earl.
Bernie:
I only know them peripherally - I am a big fan of Mercantile Home and have met them socially through Ron & Ken. I've emailed a few times with Tim - I want to interview them about their house for the blog I write on Patch. He was very kind in our email exchanges.
I've never had a relationship that lasted 33 years, so I am alternately envious and thrilled for them both.
UT
"i saw these two in the pet shop buying gerbils"
Typical Gracedale Goon statement.
Bernie
Why did you decide to write about this couple now? Did something happen?
Bernie
Want to ask you something on Musikfest but won't spoil this beautiful piece. Have several friends who have been together three decades and more.
Trudie:
Could you point out where it mentions, alludes, infers, shows or states anything about them "doeking" each other?
When you see 50th anniversary notices in the papers, is this first thing out of your mouth "Whee-o! I wonder if they're havin' blazin' hot heterosexual geriatric sex?"
This has nothing to do with "doeking" each other and everything to do with love, commitment and devotion.
I *swear* to God the one thing that will make me leave this area will be the backwards thinking, small-minded jerkwater morons like you.
"Trudie" the troll will be deleted and so will all homophobic remarks. Nothing hapened. The point of this post is that, gay or straight, love is sufficient of itself
O'Hare shows ther kind of person he is by blaming Gracedale supporters for homophobic remarks
Since the hard core teabaggers hate the idea of gay and lesbian rights you could have insulted thgem but you didn't. That says a lot about you. Hypocrite!
sorry, typing errors corrected:
The acceptance of homosexuality in the mainstream of culture is what it is, and I am sure the two gentlemen in the video have lived self-fulfilling lives according to the code they live by.
However, while St. Bernard's is a wonderful quote of love, I do think it is wrong to take out of context from a sermon on the relationship of God as the bridegroom to our individual souls as the bride (along with reference to the title "Father") in order to create a perception of religious sanction of homosexuality. All the more ironic is that St. Bernard used a heterosexual bridegroom/bride analogy in the larger context of the quote source (e.g., "What then of the bride’s hope, her aching desire, her passionate love, her confident assurance?"). However, sexuality was not the purpose of his sermon but as the very next sentence after your quote continues: "Of all the movements, sensations and feelings of the soul, love is the only one in which the creature can respond to the Creator and make some sort of similar return however unequal though it be......"
There is no doubt in my mind that the homophobic comments come from a particular Gracedale Goon whose tell is that he will repost the deleted comment over and over, as he did here. He also likes to send pictures of dead Nazis.
Bernard's context is germane. He faithfully believed homosexuality was an abomination; a sin to be avoided. We are called to despise sin, but love sinners, as we all are.
Anonymous @ 6:09
If people want to hate the perceived sin - that's one thing. However, you rarely see that, and you certainly haven't seen it thus far on these blog comments.
If heterosexuality meant having a blue horn in the middle of your forehead, and homosexuality meant having a green horn in the middle of your forehead, no one would have an issue with it.
I believe the Bible (and other religious teachings) have a lot to say about spouse/child abuse, infidelity and other sins in heterosexual marriages, yet those rarely are harped on, either.
Thanks for your thoughtful posts - it's more than you usually get on Lehigh Valley area blog comments (the Express Times and Morning Call included)
UT
Bernard was a deeply religious man, enlightened for his time, but was still a product of his age, which actually preceded Richard Coeur de Lion. Among the more intolerant of his messages was a sermon justifyingvthe massacre ofceveryone deemed an enemy of God. His justification is God would sort it out. My patron saint could be very intolerant and doubtless would be repulsed by seeing his words used to justify homosexual love. But I'd like to think he'd view it a littlecdifferently today bc, despite his fiery words, he was at heart a charming and gentle soul.
I agree that twisting Bernard's words to justify an abomination before God is quite scandalous (in the Franciscan context). Loving sinners and justifying their sins are two completely different things. I appreciate thoughtful comments from homosexuals who are tolerant of others' views.
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