Topsy and Tuptim discuss Chapter Five at the top of the bleachers

Chapter Five Paragraphs 165 - 198

Lord, please make Topsy and Tuptim stop it.

In order to work off their frustration, Topsy and Tuptim meet at the track after their Amoris Laetitia class with Fr. Jimmy and Sr. Joanie. They bring water to drink while walking and also a thermos of coffee to share while sitting in the bleachers (they like to sit at the very top) after their exercise. At the top of the bleachers they are free to discuss Chapter Five where no one can overhear them.

Tuptim: Whew! That was great! (Pouring coffee in styrofoam cups and offering one to Topsy)

Topsy: (Taking it and frowning.) No cream?

Tuptim: Oh, don't be a whiner....(Laughs and throws a napkin at her) I needed that workout after listening to Sr. Joanie earlier. She's upset that the Pope continually referred to "mother and father", "maternal and paternal" and "male and female" instead of also including two parents of the same sex.

It began when I raised my hand and said that Paragraph 172 - The love of a mother and a father - made an excellent point. Pope Francis says that "respecting a child's dignity means affirming his or her need and natural right to have a mother and a father." But then he goes on to say that the mutual love of the mother and father is "perceived as the source of one's life..." That is a very profound statement!

Topsy: Umm...(thinking) Why? because a child has the right to know that the source of his or her life is the love of his parents?

Tuptim: Correct! ...and that it was the LOVE between his mother and father that created him. He came from LOVE.

Topsy: Wow! Love with skin on!...At the beginning of Chapter Five in paragraph 166 the Pope made another statement I thought was interesting. (Turning to the page)...He said that God "allows parents to choose the name by which he himself will call their child for all eternity." Gosh, I really never thought of that before. It gave me chills.

Tuptim: That in itself is a good reason not to name any child silly or embarrassing names!

Topsy: (Laughing)...I was on a website the other day on the worst baby names. We're expecting a new grandbaby which always gets me thinking about names. Somebody actually named their little boy "Hashtag."

Tuptim: You're kidding!

Grandparents help to pass on the faith. They create a bond
across the generations.

Topsy: I'm serious. You can look it up. A girl got "Phelony." Sounds like she's already got a rap sheet! Crazy! (Shaking her head)...What are those parents thinking of? Saints names for me!

Tuptim: Me too!

Topsy: I really liked the section on the importance of fathers and the lovely description of the mother's role. The part on grandparents was inspiring too, you know urging children to honor their parents and talking about the importance of grandparents and the bond between generations. I love this! (Flipping pages and reading)..."Very often it is grandparents who ensure that the most important values are passed down to their grandchildren, and "many people can testify that they owe their initiation into the Christian life to their grandparents." Of course, that wasn't the pope talking. It came from the final document of the Synod.

Tuptim: (Rolling her eyes)...The pope's comments are often not that positive.

Topsy: You got that right! I stopped short at paragraph 182. (Reading)...He targets "some Christian families" for "harping on the same two or three issues" and being "remote" and looking down on others and judging them. It was a deja vu moment. (Raising her eyebrows)...Now who, exactly,  do you think he means?

Tuptim: (Tapping her cheek in mock thinking pose)...Hmm...I wonder...well, actually I don't. You know it's those old rigid Catholics who can't get beyond abortion, contraception, and same-sex sodomy. As a matter of fact, Sr. Joanie harped on that paragraph and about traditionalists who oppose any "development of doctrine" that will make the Church kinder and gentler.

You cling to your guns; I'll cling to religion.

Topsy: Sheesh! She sure doesn't have anything in common with the nuns I had in grade school. (Going back to the document)...But even worse, in paragraph 186 the pope says this: (Reads)...."When those who receive it turn a blind eye to the poor and suffering, or consent to various forms of division, contempt, and inequality, the Eucharist is received unworthily." Of whom is he speaking?.... "Inequality?" We hear that used over and over from gay activists. "Division?".... Does he mean all the "haters" out there who don't honor diversity?  This is one more ambiguous statement that seems to reinforce his past criticisms of rigid Catholics who cling to their guns and Bibles. Oh, wait...that wasn't the pope. No....Catholics who rigidly cling to the letter of the law. I admit it, that's me. I cling to doctrine because in these stormy seas, unchanging doctrine is an anchor. That and the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. (Pulls her rosary out of her pocket)...This is what I cling to!

We're waitin' for Topsy and Tuptim. We want their
views on the brews (and the news)!

Tuptim: So those who consent to "division, contempt, and inequality" aren't fit for Communion but
adulterers and fornicators living in sin are a-okay. (Shaking her head)...This pope is driving me to drink....Let's go to the brewery and get a beer!

Topsy: (Waggling her finger in mock horror)...Wash your mouth out with soap. We don't use that nasty language about living in sin any more. You are judgmental and unmerciful....(laughing) as for enjoying a beer at the local tavern...Chesterton would definitely approve. Let's go.

To be continued....






To be continued....