3-13-07
Greetings!
-Catholic Marriage
"I want to see the radiant happiness of young lovers blossom into the mature love of husband and wife, and reach the crowning glory of fatherhood and motherhood. I want to see their castle of dreams materialize in the sanctuary of the Christian home, where love, peace and happiness abide. I want that home to be a little bit of heaven on earth, a foretaste of that eternal home where love abides and enraptures the soul." -From Courtship and Marriage, by Rev. John A. O'Brien, Family Life Center Publications.
Isn't that a beautiful quote??? It's something I share with our engaged couples. This is what the Church desires for every couple, and indeed, it is what every couple wants in their heart of hearts. As one priest stated, "the church is in the marriage promotion business." Amen!
Tertullian expresses it such: "How can I express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church, strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and ratified by the Father?" (CCC #1642) Announced by Angels! Try finding a wedding planner that can accomplish that!
More and more protestants are rediscovering God's teaching on contraception and family size. It is striking that the protestant reformers, Martin Luther, Calvin, Wesley, etc, were unanimous in their opposition to contraception. Yet, rarely is such a thing spoken of in non-Catholic churches today. Yet this ancient teaching seems to be making a modern-day comeback. I note also that the divorce rate of those who don't use contraception is less then 5%. Maybe there's something to this?
Protestant Group Advocates Leaving Fertility in God's Hands - No Birth Control Artificial or Natural By Meg Jalsevac
SAN ANTONIO, TX, November 16, 2006 ( LifeSiteNews.com) - A pro-life trend among conservative Protestants is picking up steam in the US, Newsweek reports. In 1995, David and Suzanne Bortel of San Antonio, Texas developed a website called Quiverfull.com to lend support and encouragement to couples who are totally open to as many children as God gives them. Under the name of Quiverfull, the group encourages its members to reject all forms of birth control and welcome children as "a gift and blessing from our gracious heavenly father."
The name of the group is taken from Psalm 127 of the Bible which says:
"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, The fruit of the womb is a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one's youth.
Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them."
Members of Quiverfull reject not only birth control but also Natural Family Planning, a natural method and one condoned by the Catholic Church as a moral way, under serious circumstances, to avoid conception by abstaining from sexual intercourse during the fertile periods of a woman's monthly cycle.
Quiverfull's beliefs also do not condone any form of artificial conception, such as in-vitro fertilization. Mary Pride, a Quiverfull believer and author of the book, 'The Way Home', says, "You shouldn't be unnatural in going to a fertility clinic or in trying to avoid having children by regulating when to have sex with your husband."
The Quiverfull website is careful to emphasize that family size is not what makes one a Quiverfull believer. It says, "Whether your quiver is large or small, you are welcome." Regarding all children as blessings and leaving fertility in the hands of God is the Quiverfull mission.
Rejection of birth control is a growing trend among many denominations of Protestants. Many Protestants who previously espoused birth control methods, are becoming more and more alarmed by the contraceptive mentality that has overtaken the country. In today's society, sex and procreation of children are commonly viewed as two separate components of marriage. Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is very convicted and outspoken on the subject. He says, "If a couple sees children as an imposition, as something to be vaccinated against, like an illness, that betrays a deeply erroneous understanding of marriage and children."
Brad Wilcox, assistant professor of sociology at the University of Virginia thinks that a possible reason for the trend is that evangelical Protestants are uniting with Catholic leaders on other moral issues in today's society. He says, "The increasing cooperation of Catholic and evangelical leaders on abortion and same-sex marriage has allowed some cross-pollination where evangelical leaders are starting to become familiar with Catholic thinking on the family."
Stephanie Coontz, director of research for the Council on Contemporary Families says that anti-birth control mindsets are becoming more common but she does not think the trend will last. "It's a backlash that I don't feel will triumph. In the past, large families were helpful economically, but today, they become a disadvantage, especially to younger kids who don't get as many resources."
As they willingly leave their lives and fertility open to God, members of Quiverfull would disagree. The Bortels, and many like them, have worked to instill their beliefs in their children. They hope and pray that, when the time is appropriate, God will give each of their children a 'quiverfull' of blessings as well.
From Bishop Vasa in Oregon. He's quite the courageous bishop and his column proves it! http://www.sentinel.org/articles/2007-9/15257.html
Daniel Pipes first came to national prominence after 9-11. He was one of the first to foresee the dangers of Islamic terrorism. Here he reviews Mark Steyn's book, "America Alone." Steyn's book, which I recently read, looks at demographics around the world, and the evidence is not encouraging. Citing such numbers as the only ones having more then one child in Europe are Muslims. By 2015, half of Russia's army will be Muslim. Such statistics, and many, many more, raise many questions. Is Christian Europe to become a majority Muslim continent? And what type of Muslims will they be? Ones living in peace and harmony, or ones in the likeness of bin Laden and Hamas? Both Pipe's review and Steyn's book are worthwhile reads.
Europe is Finished, Predicts Mark Steyn
by Daniel Pipes
New York Sun
November 14, 2006
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/4121
[NY Sun title: "Steyn's New Book Combines Humor, Accuracy, Depth"]
Mark Steyn, political columnist and cultural critic, has written a remarkable book, America Alone: The End of the World as We Know It (Regnery). He combines several virtues uncommonly found together – humor, accurate reportage, and deep thinking – then applies these to what is arguably the most consequential issue of our time: the Islamist threat to the West.
Mr. Steyn offers a devastating thesis but presents it in bits and pieces, so I shall pull it together here.
He begins with the legacy of two totalitarianisms. Traumatized by the electoral appeal of fascism, post-World War II European states were constructed in a top-down manner "so as to insulate almost entirely the political class from populist pressures." As a result, the establishment has "come to regard the electorate as children."
Second, the Soviet menace during the cold war prompted American leaders, impatient with Europe's (and Canada's) weak responses, effectively to take over their defense. This benign and far-sighted policy led to victory by 1991, but it also had the unintended and less salutary side-effect of freeing up Europe's funds to build a welfare state. This welfare state had several malign implications.
- The nanny state infantilized Europeans, making them worry about such pseudo-issues as climate change, while feminizing the males.
- It also neutered them, annexing "most of the core functions of adulthood," starting with the instinct to breed. From about 1980, birth rates plummeted, leaving an inadequate base for today's workers to receive their pensions.
- Structured on a pay-as-you-go basis, it amounted to an inter-generational Ponzi scheme, where today's workers depend on their children for their pensions.
- The demographic collapse meant that the indigenous peoples of countries like Russia, Italy, and Spain are at the start of a population death spiral.
- It led to a collapse of confidence that in turn bred "civilizational exhaustion," leaving Europeans unprepared to fight for their ways.
To keep the economic machine running meant accepting foreign workers. Rather than execute a long-term plan to prepare for the many millions of immigrants needed, Europe's elites punted, welcoming almost anyone who turned up. By virtue of geographic proximity, demographic overdrive, and a crisis-prone environment, "Islam is now the principal supplier of new Europeans," Mr. Steyn writes.
Arriving at a time of demographic, political, and cultural weakness, Muslims are profoundly changing Europe. "Islam has youth and will, Europe has age and welfare." Put differently, "Pre-modern Islam beats post-modern Christianity." Much of the Western world, Mr. Steyn flat-out predicts, "will not survive the twenty-first century, and much of it will effectively disappear within our lifetimes, including many if not most European countries." With even more drama, he adds that "it's the end of the world as we know it."
(In contrast, I believe that Europe still has time to avoid this fate.)
America Alone deals at length with what Mr. Steyn calls "the larger forces at play in the developed world that have left Europe too enfeebled to resist its remorseless transformation into Eurabia." Europe's successor population is already in place and "the only question is how bloody the transfer of real estate will be." He interprets the Madrid and London bombings, as well as the murder of Theo van Gogh in Amsterdam, as opening shots in Europe's civil war and states, "Europe is the colony now."
The title America Alone refers to Mr. Steyn's expectation that the United States – with its "relatively healthy demographic profile" – will emerge as the lonely survivor of this crucible. "Europe is dying and America isn't." Therefore, "the Continent is up for grabs in a way that America isn't." Mr. Steyn's target audience is primarily American: watch out, he is saying, or the same will happen to you.
Pared to its essentials, he counsels two things: First, avoid the "bloated European welfare systems," declare them no less than a national security threat, shrink the state, and emphasize the virtues of self-reliance and individual innovation. Second, avoid "imperial understretch," don't "hunker down in Fortress America" but destroy the ideology of radical Islam, help reform Islam, and expand Western civilization to new places. Only if Americans "can summon the will to shape at least part of the emerging world" will they have enough company to soldier on. Failing that, expect a "new Dark Ages … a planet on which much of the map is re-primitivized."
Did you see these remarks from Pope Benedict on what he would say to youth?
One idea might be to encourage them in this sphere: Go ahead! Look for opportunities to do good! The world needs this desire to do good, it needs this commitment!
Then another message might be this: Have the courage to make definitive decisions! Young people are very generous but when they face the risk of a lifelong commitment, be it marriage or a priestly vocation, they are afraid.
The world is moving dramatically: Nowadays I can continually do whatever I want with my life with all its unpredictable future events.
By making a definitive decision am I myself not tying up my personal freedom and depriving myself of freedom of movement? Reawaken the courage to make definitive decisions: They are really the only ones that allow us to grow, to move ahead and to reach something great in life. They are the only decisions that do not destroy our freedom but offer to point us in the right direction. Risk making this leap, so to speak, toward the definitive and so embrace life fully: This is something I'd be happy to communicate to them.
God bless you! Phil Lawson For the latest info on St. Peter's, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
