On May 23, 2015, Ireland's popular vote supported the legalization of gay marriage by a margin of 62 to 38 percent. [1] In little over a month, on June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court ("USSC") handed down a 5 to 4 majority opinion in Obergefell v. Hodges that made official the right to marry for all individuals, gay and straight, in all 50 states. Exactly two years earlier on June 26, 2013, only in states allowing two individuals of the same gender to marry were married couples permitted to have full federal rights under the US Constitution and all the state rights, see United States v. Windsor. [2] The background, majority and dissenting opinions of today's case published by the USSC can be read here. [3]
This entry continues where the USSC Justices left off, with questions that lie outside of the US Constitution and are not part of the majority and dissenting opinions. They are whether the Blessed Virgin Mary would have attended with Her Son a wedding between two individuals of the same gender, whether the Blessed Virgin Mary would have let Her Son know that the wedding had run out of wine and whether Jesus would have turned water into wine [4], a tacit endorsement of gay marriage.
Like the US Constitution, the Gospels do not specifically sanction or prohibit same-sex marriage or same-sex sexual acts, but unlike the US Constitution that addresses religion in general, the Gospels talk about God and Satan [5], and the secular government [6], with specificity. The question then becomes whether marriage is a topic under God and Satan or under the secular government? Under both is the answer.
Marriage is not merely an insular act evidenced by a certificate issued by the government; it is also an expression of love and commitment and a sexual bonding. If marriage is solely a legal status conferring certain legal rights to individuals in a union, then God has nothing to do with it. [7] However, since marriage is more than merely a recognition by a government, the part that is sexually intimate has everything to do with God because the mind, body and spirit belong to God--they are God's Creation.
The motives of a sex act can be complex. The two basic ones are procreational and recreational. Procreational sex is the only kind of sex between two married individuals that the Catholic church permits; any other kind of sex, whatever the reason or motivation, is deemed sinful.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus forgave the woman who slept with a married man and asked her to go and sin no more. [8] What was her sin, having recreational sex or for committing adultery, or both? It is unclear. In order to have some insight and clarity, it is necessary to resort to natural law.
Natural law is the strongest argument for classifying homosexual sex as sinful since it is never procreational and always recreational, supported by the fact that the human male sexual organ, the penis, is designed specifically for the human female sexual organ, the vulva, and no other orifice, naturally present on the human anatomy of a male or female or artificially constructed, and by the fact that the result of an act of sexual union between the male and female sexual organs is conception in accordance with Nature.
Anatomy is a part of man's nature. Sexual desires are also a part of man's nature. Thus, man desire for sexual relations with another of the same gender or both genders is within the bounds of Nature. Natural law, if applied equally to both man's anatomy and man's desires, is therefore not the best argument against homosexual sex. Thus, it is appropriate to look to God, the Creator of man, to see if homosexual sex ought to be considered a sin against Creation.
God made man not as a biological robot but in the image of God with Free Will. The driver of Free Will is desire, and desires are subject to temptations. To generalize, all temptations by the Devil lead man away from unconditional selfless love to conditional self-centered love.
It is important to note tangentially that acts, sexual and non-sexual, that are unconditional and selfless elicit more personal pleasure and satisfaction than acts that are conditional and self-serving. Accordingly, every action taken that has at its core the love for God and the love for neighbor [9] is good for the mind, body and spirit and is not a sin. As such, the decision to be married to another of the same gender and the inclination to have homosexual sex with the married partner is each to be evaluated in light of the two greatest commandments [10] according to the teachings of Christ.
Anything that is pure and good and is supported by the teachings of Christ has the approval of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In conclusion, if there is a marriage that is out of love for God and love for each other, then it is reasonable to assume that the Blessed Virgin Mary would attend and would let Her Son know should the wedding run out of wine, and that She would expect Her Son to ultimately listen to Her and carry out Her intentions in the same way She expects all to listen to Her Son and do whatever He says. [11]
[1] http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/24/world/europe/ireland-gay-marriage-referendum.html?_r=0
[2] http://www.scotusblog.com/2015/06/in-historic-decision-court-strikes-down-state-bans-on-same-sex-marriage-in-plain-english/ and http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/12pdf/12-307_6j37.pdf
[3] http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/14pdf/14-556_3204.pd
[4] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A1-11
[5] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%204:1-11
[6] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+22:15-22
[7] Ibid.
[8] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8%3A1-11&version=NIV
[9] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:36-40
[10] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022:36-40
[11] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+2%3A1-11
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