Divorced and remarried Catholics remind us of something the church doesn’t understand about Eucharist. It is Christ’s gift to all of us, especially to those whom life has hurt and whom the church punishes for being hurt. If there is not food at the great feast for “the crippled, the blind, and the lame” Luke 14:15-24, the church is not a family but a country club.

via Close canon law books and open doors of love | National Catholic Reporter.

Michael Leach’s Aunt Mary, Uncle Louie, Ronald and Genevieve in 1948

Michael Leach has a gift for getting to the heart of the matter. The above article for the Soul Seeing column at National Catholic Reporter shows how cruel and unjust the letter of the Canon Law can be in the midst of a life lived. The story of his Aunt Mary describes the suffering of divorced and remarried Catholics in a more effective way than any theological treatise ever could. The ensuing discussion board has several heart-wrenching and thought-provoking personal stories and reflections on this issue.