Chelsea Clinton, daughter of ex-President Bill, and Secretary of State, Hilary, married Marc Mezvinsky on July 31, 2010.

A sort of “mixed” marriage — a protestant marrying a Jew.

Otherwise it was a fairly traditional, sensation-free wedding — awful for those media columnists who survive by exposing sensational scandals about “celebrities”.

One commented, “Despite growing up in the White House, Ms. Clinton appears to have emerged ‘relatively normal’. People can’t quite believe it.”

* * *

Another “celebrity”, Julia Gillard, caretaker-Prime Minister of Australia, is famously un-married — living with a de facto male housemate or whatever.

Much more newsworthy.

Much better media.

* * *

Many Australians might shrug, saying mixed marriage isn’t a problem. Living together unmarried isn’t a problem. The only real problem is if somebody stands in front of the TV when I’m trying to watch it.

Yet, deep down, does something tell us that marriage is MORE than a photo-opportunity and/or ego-trip . . . that marriage has something to do with God?

Might God, indeed, have something to say about believers marrying non-believers etc?

* * *

Has confusion about marriage crept even into today’s Church?

The up-dated 1997 “Catechism of the Catholic Church” says:

“A case of marriage . . . between a Catholic and a non-baptised person . . . does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what they have received from their respective communities . . . But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated . . . .”

Two bob each way?

* * *

Before the 1960s, “modernisation” of the Church, the position was clearer:

“From the very beginning of its existence the Church of Christ has been opposed to such unions. As Christ raised wedlock to the dignity of a Sacrament, a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic was rightly looked upon as degrading the holy character of matrimony . . . .”

In practice, however, such marriages happened even then – with the Church trying to insist that the children be brought up Catholic . . . .

Was that already the thin edge of the wedge?

Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, is highly regarded for his life spent fighting race hatred.

On becoming President, he said, “The task at hand will not be easy. But you have mandated us to change South Africa from a country where the majority lived with little hope, to one where they can live and work with dignity, with a sense of self-esteem and confidence in the future.”

No doubt his words were applauded. But were they right?

Is self-esteem the secret to a better future?

Self-esteem will, without doubt, increase our “confidence in the future”. But sometimes confidence can be misplaced.

* * *

Self-esteem is, at best, a two-edged sword.

Research shows that the very persons who do acts of race-hatred typically have high self-esteem.

The researchers comment that:

“The pursuit of self-esteem has short-term benefits, but long-term costs — ultimately diverting people away from fulfilling their fundamental needs . . . self-esteem isn’t really worth the effort.  Self-control is much more powerful.”   (www.racematters.org/deflatingselfesteemsrole.htm)

Does not everything good in your life ultimately derive from outside yourself? Pride (self-esteem) is out of place, inappropriate, not very honest.

* * *

Today’s gospel in traditional Catholic churches is a story Jesus told showing what he thinks about self-esteem:

Two men went up into the temple to pray: one a Pharisee, the other a publican.  The Pharisee, standing, prayed thus with himself: ‘I thank you God, that I am not like the rest of men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, as also is this publican. I fast twice in a week: I pay tithes of all that I possess.’

The publican, standing afar off, would not even lift his eyes towards heaven; but struck his breast, saying: ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner.’

This man, I tell you, went down into his house justified rather than the other. Everyone who exalts himself, shall be humbled: and he who humbles himself, shall be exalted. (Luke’s gospel, chapter 18)

* * *

If you do something good, be pleased about it.

Just as pleased as if somebody else had done it.

Be pleased because it is pleasing to God.

If you receive credit for some good act, be aware that without God’s help you could not, would not, have done it.

The statistics show that about 8 percent of Australians go to church every week.

About 12 percent go once a fortnight to once a month.

About 20 percent go at Christmas and Easter, but hardly any other time.

Which fits in with the other things we know about human nature.

* * *

Much of what we do we really don’t do — we have machines, gadgets and short-cuts which sort of do them for us.

Most workers don’t really go to work. They sit in a machine that goes to their workplace: then they get out.

Most meals today are not prepared, so much as unwrapped.

Most people’s only hope of catching a fish is to get the fish-and-chip man to chuck the pre-cooked, pre-wrapped, pre-greased, pre-over-salted parcel across the counter for you to “catch”.

They say today’s young people do less communicating using their vocal cords than with their fingers on keyboards — another way of saying they don’t communicate at all.

To worship God together with other people is a logical duty, but you might say, “I can worship God at home . . . .”

To which God replies, “No you can’t. I have told you that you must do it together.”

* * *

The Law of the Catholic Church is that, “Sunday . . . is to be observed as the foremost holy day of obligation in the universal Church . . . on Sundays and other holy days of obligation, the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.”

Yes, bound.

The Bible warns against non-attendance at Mass — against trusting in second-hand religion, religion by remote control, making up our own rules etc.

The Epistle to the Hebrews (chapter 10) spells it out:

“Brothers, since through the blood of Jesus we have confidence of entrance into the sanctuary . . . let us hold fast to our confession that gives us hope, for he who made the promise is trustworthy.

“Let us consider one another, how to rouse one another to love and good works — not forsaking our assembly together , as some have become accustomed, but encouraging one another, and so much the more as you see the great day approaching.”

The World Doping Agency removed caffeine from its list of substances banned in sport six years ago.

But the president of the agency, John Fahey, has been quoted as being still unhappy about caffeine overuse in some sports — AFL footballers in Australia being mentioned in this context.

Some experts would like caffeine re-listed as a banned substance above certain levels.

* * *

How much caffeine is too much?

People consuming 300mg of caffeine per day get withdrawal effects if they stop using it – so perhaps that’s too much.

300mg is what you get from 4 cups of medium-strength coffee or 6 cans of Coca Cola or about 3 cans of “energy-drinks” like Red Bull.

Coca Cola Company is now trialling a more worrying product, called “Mother”, containing over 100mg in the small 250ml can.

Caffeine-containing drinks are misused by juveniles who mix it with alcohol.

This is dangerous. Some of the effects of alcohol are masked.

People consuming the mixture are reported to be 3 times more likely to indulge in anti-social acts – in particular, driving with above-limit blood alcohol levels.

* * *

Coca Cola is also bad for teeth, partly due to the heavy load of sugar, but exaggerated by its content of phosphoric acid.

Coca Cola is the world’s largest single corporate buyer of sugar.

Tooth decay is now the commonest disease in the world.

Before 1886 it is said to have been rare – that being the year John Pemberton invented and started selling Coca Cola.

If you are ever put in a situation where you cannot avoid drinking Coca Cola, rinse your mouth with water as soon afterwards as possible.

Preferably never drink it – or its clones (Pepsi etc.)

* * *

Last year, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ordered Coca-Cola to run “corrective advertisements” in Australian newspapers.

One of their celebrity-featuring magazine advertisements had claimed that the ideas that Coca-Cola could make children fat or harm their teeth were “myths”.

Using so-called celebrities is a dirty trick if you are flogging a health-endangering product to gullible youth.

Falsely disputing links between a product and ill health is something we might expect of the vermin who manufacture and sell cigarettes.

If Coca Cola Company behaves that way, people should avoid their products.

Today’s Gospel reading in traditional Catholic churches is about sin and judgement and — by implication — hell.

Hell isn’t a frequent theme in the Gospels, but it’s one that we can’t ignore.

Our Lord talked most about how God wants to save us into his Kingdom.

Once in a while he reminds us what the alternative is.

* * *

Saint Luke’s Gospel, chapter 19:

As Jesus drew near, seeing the city of Jerusalem, he shed tears over it, saying: “If you had only understood in this day the things that make for peace; but now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days shall come upon you when your enemies shall encircle you, and hem you in on every side, and beat you flat to the ground, together with the children within your walls, and they shall not leave one stone upon another: because you did not recognise the time of your visitation.”

Then, entering into the temple, he began to drive out those who were buying and selling there, saying to them: “It is written: My house is the house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves.” And he taught every day in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the rulers of the people, meanwhile, were seeking to put him to death.

* * *

In world history, that prediction came true when, in the year 70AD, Jerusalem was reduced to rubble by the armies of Rome.

Having once definitively rejected and killed God’s visitation in Jesus Christ, the city’s fate was sealed.

It was just a matter of time . . . .

Beyond history, sin has even more serious consequences — enough to make the loving God weep.

* * *

The Christian doctrine of God’s judgment and hell worries many people.

Rightly so, in the sense that we should be concerned about ensuring that we do not end up there.

It would, however, be more of a worry if there was no hell.

If everybody wound up in heaven, no matter how little love they had shown to God or other people, then their existence would have been a sham.

If your way of living made no difference to your eternal fate, you would be a robot.

The Australian Federal Government in 2008 set up a National Centre for Excellence in Islamic Studies.

The Centre has run workshops — and now published a booklet—on the theme of “Bringing Muslim Perspectives into Australian Schools”.

All paid for by you and me out of our taxes.

* * *

Their booklet complains that Australian school textbooks mostly have “a western or European perspective”.

Why not? Our system of government is based on ideas brought here from Christian countries in Europe — and Islamic refugees arrive here by the boatful seeking to escape the “benefits” of Muslim culture, hoping instead  to reside somewhere with a western, Christian-oriented, worldview or perspective.

The booklet does NOT mention that in many Muslim-majority nations women are stoned to death for adultery and young girls undergo female circumcision.

* * *

The booklet claims that Muslims worship “the same God that was worshipped by Abraham, Moses and Jesus.”

This is false. The God of Catholics is a Trinity. God, who is one and unique in his infinite nature is three really distinct persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

This understanding is unacceptable to Muslims who dismiss it as blasphemy.

* * *

Don’t hold your breath waiting for the  Australian government to fund a Centre for Excellence in Catholic Studies.

When Mr Abbott yesterday merely said his coalition might enable parents of Catholic school children to claim school fees as a tax deduction, there was a “furious” response from the Australian Education Union, which called the plan ”regressive”.

Australians need to understand that any education not explaining our world in terms of being created by a Creator, who created us and all things out of love, and who has come to this world in the incarnation of Jesus Christ, who is both God and man . . . .

Any education leaving out this foundation for all other knowledge is a form of child-neglect, cruelly unjust to the young.