AmericanPapist Comments
I just collapsed in giggles at the "fortune" thing. This is actually very, very sweet. I hope this was a happy marriage. Certainly lots of brain power in the DNA of both parents, evidently!
As far as I know, the Holy Father said on many occasions that his parents' marriage was a very happy one. But I must correct one mistake: neither the Holy Father nor his brother were surprized by the news but knew about the fact for a long time already. BILD (which is, btw, one of the worst German tabloids) just found the original ad in the archives.
Today many people, even catholic, think they have to live together for several years before they are sure they "fit" together. They forget that it is not we who have to find the match - it is already made for us by God. Obviously, Joseph Ratzinger sr. and Maria Peintner did not lack trust in the Lord. Four months of courtship were enough for them to know God had matched them.
And yet something else: isn't it great that a "bastard's" son can become pope? It just shows how great God works...
What a riot!
I think that is *awesome*. My husband and I met thru Catholic Match and have been well married for two years now (no children yet, we're praying). I think Catholic Match and the services like it are very helpful, and this just reminds one that it's never "easy" to find a good Catholic spouse, no matter what time period you live in or how "Catholic" the country you live in. But God can work through these things, *especially* if we're praying about it!
"Today many people, even catholic, think they have to live together for several years before they are sure they "fit" together. They forget that it is not we who have to find the match - it is already made for us by God." - Very true, Victor! My husband and I lived 2,000 miles apart but married a year after we began seriously communicating, because we'd been seriously praying about it separately and together, and asking everyone we knew to pray for us to know God's will in this! And once we were both sure, we went for it - God will show you the way IF you ask him!
I think I might actually try that someday.
In working with annulments, one of the questions I hear all too often is, "If my (or my child's or my sibling's) marriage is annuled, won't that make the children illegitimate."
My gut response is always, "No child is illegitimate in the eyes of God, regardless of the situation of his parents." Then I launch into an attempt at a canonical explanation that all children born into a putative marriage are legitimate, even if that marriage is subsequently determined to have been null.
Now, I can add to my screed, "If the child of an unwed mother can become the mother of the Holy Father, perhaps your concern about 'legitimacy" is a tad misplaced."
What a riot, indeed...
That's so cute. :)
Wow, I didn't realize his parents were "late vocations" to marriage! It must have been very, very unusual in those days. No wonder they gave in and turned to singles ads! Well, God will work with us wherever we are.
(Also, I bet some feminists would have a cow over Mr. Ratzinger's request for a "pure girl who can cook and sew". But anyone who finds that offensive is probably just jealous because they are not pure and can't cook or sew!)
Pleasant change from:
'Male 43, married, professional, good looking, 6ft 2in tall, seeks woman 25-35, slim, attractive, for discreet affair.' That's the secular norm, anyway.
I remember one from Vienna in 1897:
'Widower, 40, 2 boys, seeks unmarried woman or childless widow 20-30 . . .'
Desiring purity (when apparently professing it yourself) is one thing. Wanting a woman to look after your children while refusing to take responsibility for the orphan children of another man is quite another.
:) He, he, he.
You say Papa and his brother were surprised?
I think it's sweet...and it really takes stereotypical German efficiency to a new level. :-)
I think the only real issue would be getting the right women to read the ads. When the personals section is characterized by the example Salome gave, why bother reading it?
I can see it now: "American Papist Singles: Not Your Average Catholic Dating Blog"
love the ad bennie's old man wrote ... wonderfully efficient ... clean house, cook well. i assume, but don't know, these are the people who encouraged the pope-to-be to join a nazi youth club.
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