Archive for June, 2015

Black Friday—The Supreme Court’s Pro-Gay Marriage Decision— The Darkness Has Fallen Where is the Light?

By Monica Migliorino Miller, Ph.D

I am composing this memo just hours after the US Supreme Court in a 5 to 4 decision—led by so-called Catholic Justice Anthony Kennedy—ruled that all 50 states must recognize gay so-called “marriage” as marriage according to the rights guaranteed by the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

Let me say right out—there’s ultimately only one thing wrong with the Court’s decision and it’s this: Gay marriage is not marriage. What has just happened is that 5 mere human beings have completely re-defined marriage and thus have imposed a kind of madness on our society—madness in the sense that an immoral form of sexual behavior is called the equivalent of conjugal nuptial love—and to treat such unions as the moral equivalent of marriage is madness. Welcome to the insane asylum—that’s where you are now.

What happened today is the second to the last scene in a four act sad cultural drama—indeed a tragedy. The first act was the beginnings of acceptance of contraception by society and the Christian churches, the second act, the advent of the Birth Control Pill in the 1950s, the third act, the continued breakdown of marriage in the last 40 years (sex without marriage, couples living together, divorce, no-fault divorce, artificial reproduction, and of course abortion, all among heterosexuals) and the fourth and final act, the rise of the gay rights movement and its triumph
today—that unnatural sexual unions must be regarded the same as marriage.

Why is this gay “marriage” victory only the second to the last scene in our tragic social drama, and not the last scene itself? The last scene of the tragedy is the persecution of those who do not accept the madness.

It makes little difference that the Anthony written-opinion contains rhetoric to the effect that the Constitution protects the right of people to voice their views and advocate their views that gay “marriage” is not marriage. Such rhetoric will not matter. Now that the high court has said that what gays do in the bedroom is a matter of human rights and human dignity, and has cut off the political process on this issue, a cultural, social chill is created against those who do not agree with the Court—against those who refuse to be dragged into this cultural madness.

Those who do not accept so-called gay “marriage” are already viewed as ethically backwards, intolerant, and steeped in a narrow-minded religious bigotry. It will only get worse for those of us who actually believe that marriage means something—that it is a God-designed institution.

Today the court foisted upon America a completely subjectivist, relativistic view of human sexuality. Marriage is not regarded as an objective social/moral covenant that provides culture with innate order and structure and takes civilization into the future. Marriage is completely—and I need to emphasize this—completely relegated to emotions, feelings, romance—
and that’s essentially it! Indeed, one lesbian interviewed on WWJ radio said: “I want to be married for my own reasons.” This is a good statement on what marriage has come to mean, not just for gays, but for just about everyone—as if marriage had no objective moral or social meaning. Rather it’s just something I do for myself.

Today there is much celebrating going on, with social pundits and political figures like Obama himself congratulating the gay rights movement for never giving up in the advancement of their cause!

But let’s be very clear, it’s not the gay rights movement that should be congratulated. Rather it’s the heterosexual community that deserves the most credit for this gay rights victory. The success of the gay rights movement has only been possible due to the fact that the heterosexual community paved the way for it—as much of the sexual activity practiced by the heterosexual community cannot be called marriage either! Please see a link below to my article that provides one of the most cogent arguments on the difference between gay sexual unions and marriage.

When the Court made its decision I was at Mass praying that the Court would not make the decision that it did make. When I emerged from Mass, I entered a different world. My urge was to dash home, read my emails, listen to my voice mail messages—maybe there were requests from the media for interviews (there were a few) and make some kind of response. It took a huge of exertion of will to refuse that compulsion as I thought I should instead pray the Stations of the Cross.

Thus I forced myself to drive to my husband’s Catholic School where there are outdoor (somewhat neglected) Stations. I prayed them, walking from one station to the other up the hill behind the school. When I came to the Fifth Station—Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross—I was struck with the realization that this is what God is asking of me now—perhaps asking of all of us—as if He was saying: “Help me now to carry this cross.” So in this time of darkness and madness—our Lord on the Via Dolorosa—where God Himself was deemed a criminal in the eyes of the world— asks us to help Him carry the Cross—
and this is what we must do.

Do not despair and do not be afraid. For love of Christ—let us carry the Cross of love and truth.

While the last scene of the drama is persecution—another play is being written. It is the drama in which we reclaim the culture by a new evangelization. This is our holy task. Let us go forward. The God of the Resurrection is calling us.

One final note—we can lay the blame for the Court’s decision at the door step of the Church. The weakness of Christian witness from bishops down to the last man in the pew is the reason why we are facing this moral dissolution. And yet –the light is still there—as it is really only the Church that has the ability to reverse this time of darkness.

Bishop’s letter on ‘language of love’ finds global audience

Lincoln, Neb., Jun 25, 2014 / 02:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Nebraska Bishop James D. Conley’s pastoral letter “The Language of Love” has had an international impact in the first three months since it was published.

“Sacrifice is the language of love,” Bishop Conley’s pastoral letter reads. “Love is spoken in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who poured out his life for us on the cross. Love is spoken in the sacrifice of the Christian life, sharing in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. And love is spoken in the sacrifice of parents, and pastors, and friends.”

The pastoral letter, published March 25, discusses topics like marriage and the reasons behind Catholic rejection of contraception and sterilization. It is addressed to the Catholic families and healthcare providers of the diocese of Lincoln, Neb.

The letter was reprinted in several outlets in the U.S. and in other countries. In Germany, the Bishop of Regensburg cited the letter in a homily and a German-language translation was published on the popular website Kath.net.

A Danish translation of the letter was published at the website of the Denmark-based magazine Katolsk. It has also been published in the Philippines.

Last week in London, Bishop Conley spoke about “The Language of Love” at St. Patrick’s Evangelization School, a formation program for young adults aged 20-30 based at the parish of St. Patrick in London’s SoHo neighborhood.

At the time of its release, the pastoral letter was delivered to every Catholic family registered in the Diocese of Lincoln. It was also made available as a podcast on the diocese’s website.

Bishop Conley’s letter says that American culture rejects “the gift of new life,” and therefore rejects love, through the use of contraception, which “gravely and seriously disrupts the sacrificial, holy and loving meaning of marriage itself.”

Marriage is a call to “loving as God loves… freely, creatively and generously.”

The letter also exhorts Catholic physicians, pharmacists and other health care professionals to pursue the “art of healing.” It notes that contraception and sterilization “denigrate and degrade the body’s very purpose.”

In March, Bishop Conley told CNA that Catholics who reject or ignore the immorality of contraception should look to the Church and to the teachings of Christ as “a message of love and mercy,” a message proclaimed by Pope Francis.

FDA announces additional risks of Essure birth control device

By Mary Rezac

Denver, Colo., Jun 28, 2015 / 04:39 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- After receiving thousands of complaints about the adverse effects of the birth control implant Essure, the FDA announced late Wednesday that it has updated the list of risks and complications associated with the device, and that a public hearing would be held Sept. 24 to evaluate the product.

Essure is a permanent type of birth control in the form of tiny metal coils inserted into women’s Fallopian tubes. When the coils are implanted they are supposed to stay in the Fallopian tubes, where they create a chronic infection that will cause scar tissue to form around the coils, effectively closing the tubes and rendering the woman sterile.

Until this week, possible side effects of Essure listed on the product’s website included: “mild to moderate pain and/or cramping, vaginal bleeding, and pelvic or back discomfort for a few days. Some women experienced nausea and/or vomiting or fainting. In rare instances, an Essure insert may be expelled from the body.”

Angela Desa-Lynch, an administrator for the Facebook group “Essure Problems”, which protests the device, told CNA in February that the thousands of women in the group had experienced these problems to the extreme.

“Whatever they’ve put on the label, multiply it by 200,” she told CNA in February.

At least five deaths of women, and five deaths of fetuses in women who’ve been implanted with Essure, have been reported. Other side effects many of the “Essure Problems” women have experienced include perforated organs, coils lodged in colons, fetal disfigurement due to nickel poisoning, chronic pain, exhaustion, bouts of depression, and suicidal thoughts.

The group, which grew from about 14,000 to over 18,000 just since February, seeks to inform and save every woman they can from getting Essure implants. In a statement on their website, the group said they feel encouraged by the FDA’s announcement.

“We feel like the FDA has really been listening to us, to our group, and is taking some steps in the right direction to address the serious complications and problems with this device,” it reads.

“Having a large government agency paying attention to a group of women harmed by a medical device, and making arrangements to review information and allowing our voices to be heard, is huge,” the group said.

“We plan to bring with us as many of the original clinical trial participants as we can get there, along with our supporting physicians. We need every women harmed by Essure to get to this meeting. We need every media outlet there. All are welcome. Let’s fill the room and pour into the hallways. Let your faces be seen, and let your pain serve a purpose. Not one more woman harmed by Essure.”

The device was first manufactured by the group Conceptus and was pre-approved by the FDA before hitting the markets in 2002. In June 2014, Conceptus was bought by Bayer, which has continued to manufacture and distribute Essure.

In a statement released Thursday, Bayer said: “Patient safety is Bayer’s top priority. Given there has been a great deal of interest in the safety of Essure among some patients, we welcome this open dialogue with healthcare providers, patients, researchers, representatives from professional societies, and other members of the public to review and discuss available data regarding the benefits and risks associated with Essure.”

“Bayer is strongly committed to women having access to safe and effective birth control options. The only FDA-approved non-surgical option for women who have completed their families and want permanent contraception, Essure is supported by more than a decade of science and real world clinical experience.”

The announcement by the FDA and the promise of the September meeting is a step forward for the Essure Problems group, which has enlisted the help of environmental lawyer Erin Brockovich (yes, that one) in a few pending lawsuits to get Essure taken off the market.

The end of the statement from the group, which refers to their fellow members as “E-sisters”, reads: “Bound by pain, we will never stop until Essure is off the market.”

Big Families Say “Laudato Si!”

http://www.patheos.com/blogs
by Simcha Fisher

Got a big family? Then you already know that you’re crazy, a traitor to feminism, and a slave to the patriarchy; you’re neglecting most of your kids and robbing the rest of their childhood; you’re a burden on the system in general, and you probably don’t own a TV.

But wait, there’s more! Don’t forget, you’re also destroying the earth.

It’s become fashionable, in the name of the planet, to denounce large families as irresponsible, even selfish. Some politicians and a good many combox blabbermouths even say that it should be illegal for people to have more than one or two “replacement” children. Illegal!

And yet, if we can get beyond the inflammatory rhetoric, do radical environmentalists have a point? Should we slow down a little? It almost seems like common sense, especially when you’re having one of those days when you do feel a little crowded by the swarms of ravening locusts — uh, I mean, treasured offspring who share your last name.

After all, aren’t Catholics supposed to be good stewards of the earth? Isn’t it true that we “lotsas” are using more than our share of natural resources, burning more than our share of carbon, and just plain taking up too much space?

Probably not. Moms of many already know that the work of caring for, for instance, seven children is not the same as caring for one child times seven. In some ways, it’s easier. In the same way, many large families actually have a smaller carbon footprint than a typical family with one or two kids. A household of nine is not like a household of three times three. It just doesn’t work that way.

Moreover, when larger families do have an environmentally friendly profile, it often occurs naturally as a result of the family’s large size, not despite it. It’s not the numbers that count; it’s the lifestyle.

As Pope Francis says in Laudato Si,

To blame population growth instead of extreme and selective consumerism on the part of some, is one way of refusing to face the issues. It is an attempt to legitimize the present model of distribution, where a minority believes that it has the right to consume in a way which can never be universalized, since the planet could not even contain the waste products of such consumption. Besides, we know that approximately a third of all food produced is discarded, and “whenever food is thrown out it is as if it were stolen from the table of the poor.”

By necessity or for convenience, big families tend to naturally fall into patterns of behavior that would make Pope Francis proud.

How? Here are a few ways:

Cars Count

Let’s start with that enormous van we drive — could it be eco-friendly? Sure. It’s certainly not fuel efficient; it’s just that it’s usually parked in the driveway. With ten kids in tow, I leave the house as close to zero times as possible, bringing our weekly mileage to far less than the national average (and if you’re calculating PMPG or “people miles per gallon” – that is, how many people get moved per gallon of gas — large families look even greener). My husband has a smaller, more fuel-efficient car, which we use if only a few kids are on board.
And how often do we fly? Well, the stewardess is still in therapy from the last time our family boarded a plane together, about twelve years ago. We’d rather get our kicks at the beach down the road than go through the agony of air travel, which the New York Times called the “biggest carbon sin.”

Economy Size
How about electricity? Do twelve people use more than three or four? Not necessarily. Six kids playing Dinosaur Wedding do it by the light of a single light bulb, just like one or two kids would. Two or three kids fit in a bathtub at a time, and there aren’t enough hours in the day for all of us to shower daily. The oven stays on 350 degrees for 45 minutes, no matter how big the meatloaf.

Cozy Quarters
Most large families I know don’t live in energy-hogging giganto-mansions. They live in normal houses, they’re a little crowded, and they have lots of bunk beds. (They do, however, tend to go for big yards, lots of trees, and gardens. Natural wildlife preserves, you might say.)

Reduce and Re-use
Many large families also live with tight budgets. We happily trade a second or third income for another armful of babies. The quick and easy methods of saving the environment that make the news daily are hardly news to cash-strapped families: Turn down the heat, insulate, avoid anything disposable, buy in bulk, cook from scratch, breastfeed, don’t eat out, don’t waste this, don’t buy that. Turn out the light, close the door, unplug it, wash in cold water, make it do or do without. And if it does not get eaten for dinner, we serve it for lunch.
Even if we have plenty of money, the sheer clutter forces us to try and live simply and learn to do without excess stuff.
What a revelation! And so good for the earth.

Make Do
How about consumption of goods? My family and many Catholic families I know are almost complete failures as consumers. Our house is mostly furnished, from the couch to the car to the pots and pans and coffee cups, with used goods. We are not, for the most part, consuming new products, with all their attendant carbon costs in manufacture and transport. By taking in used things, we’re also preventing an entire houseful of stuff from clogging up the landfills.

Pregnancy is green
Babies perform a service to the world before they’re even born: they excuse their moms from using (and sending to landfills) pads and tampons for nine months — longer, if they breastfeed enough for lactational amenorrhea. And what about birth control pills? Catholics who refuse to use them are also refusing to excrete endocrine-disrupting hormones into the water supply.

Pass It On
Large families tend to buy used clothes, books, and toys, and we hang onto them, passing them down from child to child, even to the next generation. The thermal onesie on my baby last winter? It started life keeping my oldest nephew warm, then went on to clothe every one of my ten kids so far.

Not convinced? Still feeling some eco-guilt as you survey all the little consumers you’ve produced? Go ahead and plug your own family’s stats into one of the many carbon calculators available online (try SafeClimate.net). You may be surprised at how “be fruitful and multiply” translates quite naturally into treading lightly on mother earth.

Last time I took my family’s numbers and plugged them into the first three carbon calculators that Google turned up, we consumed and emitted less than the national average for a family of three. And we were just trying to get through the week.

But what about the future?
This is all very well, some will say, as long as your many children all live with you in your little green shoe. You may be very thrifty today, but what about when they all grow up and move out? More people is more people, no matter how you slice it.

For this argument, I have two answers.

First is that grown children of large families tend to be what you might call natural conservationists. Children who grow up as one of many are likely to have learned that they’ll survive without buying stuff, that it’s okay to share, that material things come and go, and that, like it or not, we all depend on each other for survival.

So who will I be sending out into the world? A small crowd of perfect environmentalists.

Second, children of families that are open to life also know something much more important, something that rabidly utilitarian environmentalists still don’t seem to realize: A human soul is more than the sum of how many kilowatts he consumes. This is what it comes down to. Human beings are a gift to the world.

What can we say to people who do not realize that the human family is the very seat of love, and that procreation is the ultimate human imitation of the action of the Holy Trinity? What can you say to people who somehow truly believe that everything humanity does is something to be apologized for — that the only good human is a human who was never born?

There is nothing you can say. Satisfy yourself that you’re not being wasteful, and then answer not the fool according to his folly. Love your children, and teach them to love each other; and if you and your brood feel like a sign of contradiction, then that’s a good sign.

The call of Laudato Si is nothing new. The Catholic Church has been teaching this lifestyle for thousands of years: a lifestyle of welcoming children while being careful and generous with the way we live. There is no contradiction between loving and caring for the earth and supplying it with inhabitants: We are commanded to do both.

Was it short-sighted when God the Father explained these things to Adam? Was it hyperbole when Christ asked, “What does it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul?”

‘A Great Big Yes’
Our beloved Benedict XVI said of big families:

“Their Yes to one another in the patience of the journey and in the strength of the sacrament with which Christ had bound them together, had become a great Yes to themselves, their children, to God the Creator and to the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. Thus, from the witness of these families a wave of joy reached us, not a superficial and scant gaiety that is all too soon dispelled, but a joy that developed also in suffering, a joy that reaches down to the depths and truly redeems man.”

Of course it’s Catholic to be an environmentalist. Of course it’s our job to care for the earth. But even more, it’s our job to remember, and to teach our children, that this world will not last, and to live accordingly.

“All flesh is as grass, and all its glory as the flower of grass; the grass withered, and the flower has fallen — but the word of the Lord endures forever” (Isaiah 40:6).

How will it endure, if there is no one to hear it? Let us answer the “No” of child-fearing radicals with a joyful and ancient “Yes.” The world needs big families.

For the first time in 7 years, U.S. birth rate rises

June 24, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — For the first time in seven years, the U.S. birth rate has risen, according to recorded U.S. birth certificates.

The number of births rose to 3.98 million babies born alive in 2014. It’s the most births since 2010, and the first time since 2007 that the number of annual births have risen.

Births rose during the late 1990s and hit an all-time high of over 4.3 million in 2007. But they began to plunge during the economic downturn caused by the Great Recession and the weakest economic “recovery” in memory. LifeSiteNews has noted the alarming trend of falling U.S. birth rates over the past several years.

Carl Haub of the Population Reference Bureau said rising birth rate is because of an improving economy. Laura Lindberg, researcher at Planned Parenthood’s Guttmacher Institute, said, “I think as people feel their paycheck is more stable, it feels like a safe environment to have a child in.”

Pro-life leaders, however, see other factors in the rising birth rate. Dr. Michael New, political science professor at the University of Michigan–Dearborn, explains, “A lower percentage of women facing unintended pregnancies are choosing abortion…Pro-life educational and service efforts, such as pregnancy-resource centers, have likely played a role.”

Steve Mosher, president of the Population Research Institute, has explained the rise in birth rates, “Pro-life sentiment in this country is gradually increasing,” he says, ” people who are pro-life tend to be open to life.”

Meanwhile, the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also found that birth rates for U.S. teens fell to an historic low, with 24.2 births per 1,000 –a nine percent drop. “What we have seen is quite remarkable,” said Bill Albert of the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy.

Again, secularists attribute this to one thing, while pro-lifers attribute it to another. Lindberg said the lower teen fertility rate could be attributed to better access of sex information, though she cautions, “There remains room for improvement to help teens be in charge of their own fertility.”

Pro-life leaders say their efforts in teaching abstinence before marriage has helped. Albert admitted that the decline in teen births can be attributed to to a range of factors, including abstinence.

Researcher Brady Hamilton’s balanced the widely varying opinions by noting that researchers did not collect data on why pregnant mothers and biological fathers made the choice to give life, saying that such decisions are likely due to a “cacophony of factors.”

The birth rate among unmarried women also fell one percent last year.

Launch of new encyclical by Catholic agency accused of funding contraception shows urgent need to reaffirm Humanae Vitae

June 19, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) — Carolyn Woo, President and CEO of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), spoke yesterday at the Vatican as a member of the panel that presented the papal encyclical Laudato Si to the world’s media. Woo was invited by the Vatican despite longstanding and frequently expressed concerns that the CRS is involved in funding contraception and abortion worldwide.

Research carried out by the American Life League (ALL) alleges that “86 percent of CRS’ grants to domestic groups in 2012 went to groups that promote contraceptives, in addition to, in some cases, other evils such as abortion, the abortifacient ‘morning-after pill,’ and homosexuality. In 2013, the Catholic aid organization gave a $2.7 million grant to Population Services International, which markets a ‘Safe Abort Kit’ in developing countries.” (Source)

The ALL report asserts the following:

The evidence supports that the problems are real and exhibit a clear and present danger of grave scandal. According to CRS’ IRS Form 990 for FY 2012, CRS granted over $75 million to 47 different organizations based in the United States. This report documents that $64,656,809 went to 23 organizations that promote practices and policies contrary to Catholic moral teaching. This represents 86 percent of CRS’ domestic grants for 2012. These offenses include:

• the facilitation, promotion, and in some cases, direct commission of abortion;

• dispensing and promoting all forms of modern contraception, including abortifacient drugs and devices;

• facilitating, promoting, and in some cases, direct commission of male and female sterilization.

To be clear, CRS is providing funding and partnering with organizations that directly subvert Catholic moral teaching. The activities of the CRS grantees detailed in this report are not due to coalitions, associations, or tenuous relationships—they are performed directly by CRS grantees. In all cases, these activities represent the focus of these agencies, and in many instances, they are the preponderance of the grantees’ work. This large collection of evidence demonstrates systemic problems at Catholic Relief Services.

The vice-president of CRS responsible for overseas finance entered into a “marriage” with his male partner in April 2013. When asked about the “civil gay marriage,” Woo is reported to have said that CRS is “working through this” and that so-called same-sex marriage is a “very complex issue.”

The presence of Woo at the press conference further highlights the danger noted yesterday by Voice of the Family that the lack of a clear defense of Catholic teaching on contraception in the new papal encyclical leaves Catholics vulnerable in the face of renewed efforts to control or reduce population growth, despite brief references in the document rejecting population control as a means of tackling environmental problems (c.f Laudato Si, No. 50).

In his 2009 encyclical Caritas in Veritate Pope Benedict XVI stressed the central importance of the Church’s understanding of human sexuality to her social doctrine. He wrote in paragraph 15:

The Encyclical Humanae Vitae emphasizes both the unitive and the procreative meaning of sexuality, thereby locating at the foundation of society the married couple, man and woman, who accept one another mutually, in distinction and in complementarity: a couple, therefore, that is open to life. This is not a question of purely individual morality: Humanae Vitae indicates the strong links between life ethics and social ethics, ushering in a new area of magisterial teaching that has gradually been articulated in a series of documents, most recently John Paul II’s Encyclical Evangelium Vitae. The Church forcefully maintains this link between life ethics and social ethics, fully aware that ‘a society lacks solid foundations when, on the one hand, it asserts values such as the dignity of the person, justice and peace, but then, on the other hand, radically acts to the contrary by allowing or tolerating a variety of ways in which human life is devalued and violated, especially where it is weak or marginalized.’

Neither Humanae Vitae nor Evangelium Vitae are cited in Laudato Si.

A workshop will be held in the Vatican from 13-15 November 2015 this year to discuss deploying “children as agents of change” in pursuit of “sustainable development”. Some of these workshops will be run by leading opponents of Catholic teaching, such as Jeffrey Sachs, drafter of pro-abortion sustainable development goals. These draft goals, which pose a serious threat to vulnerable human life worldwide, are under consideration by the United Nations at the same time as Sachs plays an increasingly prominent role in the Vatican.

In the light of such developments a clear restatement of the unchangeable teaching of the Church on contraception and the nature of the sexual act, as found in the encyclical letter Humanae Vitae, has never been more necessary.

“Therefore We base Our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when We are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, all direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of regulating the number of children. Equally to be condemned, as the magisterium of the Church has affirmed on many occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary.

Similarly excluded is any action which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation—whether as an end or as a means.”

(Humanae Vitae, No. 15)

Las Cuatro Llaves Para un Matrimonio Feliz y Saludable

Por: Bonnie Borel-Donohue

¿Quién podría ser el mejor ejemplo de cómo amar a su cónyuge que el Máximo Amante, Dios? Pero, ¿cómo ama Dios?

Después de haber meditado sobre esta pregunta, el Papa Pablo VI y el Papa Juan Pablo II discernieron cuatro características claves del amor de Dios. El amor de Dios es siempre: libre, total, fiel y fecundo. Cada llave es también una de las cuatro cualidades esenciales del amor conyugal auténtico. Este folleto le dará a conocer estas cuatro llaves muy importantes para iniciarse, o volver al camino hacia un gran matrimonio. A través de las gracias que vienen con el sacramento del Santo Matrimonio, junto con la oración y recibiendo regularmente los sacramentos de la reconciliación y de la eucaristía, los esposos reciben toda la fuerza y el poder para amarse uno al otro como Jesús ama a su Iglesia: libremente, totalmente, fielmente y Estas son las cuatro llaves para el amor conyugal auténtico. A través de los sacramentos y aprendiendo más acerca de las cuatro llaves para el amor conyugal presentadas en este folleto, las parejas pueden abrir la puerta a un matrimonio más satisfactorio y gratificante.1

LPurple key imagea primera llave es libre–Para que un matrimonio sea feliz y saludable, los cónyuges deben entrar al matrimonio, así como a cada acto conyugal libremente, dándose uno al otro y recibiéndose uno al otro sin coerción, manipulación, fuerza o coacción. Esta llave requiere auto-control y la posibilidad de aplazar o sacrificar los propios deseos por el bien de la persona amada. Aunque la violación marital es una violación evidente de esta llave, vicios más sutiles como la impaciencia, el orgullo y la lujuria también pueden interferir con la práctica de esta llave. Las virtudes de la paciencia, la humildad y la castidad son necesarias, asi como los esposos a menudo tienen que esperar a que el otro esté listo para amar “libremente.” Esta llave consiste en darse cuenta de que cada persona puede tener necesidades físicas, emocionales o trabajos que deben cumplirse, como por ejemplo la mujer necesita de una cierta cantidad de tiempo para hablar y compartir, o la necesidad del hombre de meterse a su cueva un rato a solas antes de que la intimidad pueda suceder.2, 3 Para que esta llave funcione bien, ambas partes deben estar libres de adicciones, incluyendo las adicciones al alcohol, las drogas, el sexo, la pornografía, la co-dependencia, etc.4

LRed key imagea segunda llave es total–El matrimonio sacramental es una vocación, un llamado de Dios y el principal medio por el cual los esposos se santifican. Este compromiso con el cónyuge debe ser total, tomando el primer lugar y viene incluso antes del compromiso con los hijos, la familia de origen, o el trabajo,–lo cual no quiere decir que estos no sean importantes.

Para que el amor conyugal sea auténtico, todo de sí mismo se da a la persona amada, y todo es recibido y aceptado del amado incluso, el cuerpo, la mente, la fertilidad, las finanzas y hasta las condiciones de salud desconocidas en el futuro. Ocultar o mantener información crítica al prometido–(a) o esposo (a) viola esta llave, al igual que los acuerdos pre-nupciales. Estas acciones indican una falta de confianza y la decisión de compartir sólo una parte de si mismo con el cónyuge. Las parejas que intencionalmente excluyen, dañan, enferman o mutilan sus órganos reproductivos, o permiten que su cónyuge lo haga, violarían esta llave. Su don de sí mismo no es total.

Esta llave no significa que los cónyuges deben perder su identidad, que se fundan el uno al otro renunciando a los límites saludables, o que se dejen abusar. Más bien, significa que cada cónyuge aporta su don total dado por Dios de su singularidad y personalidad al matrimonio.

Esta llave implica aceptar que los hombres y las mujeres son diferentes y tienen necesidades diferentes, no siendo las necesidades de uno superiores a las del otro, sólo son diferentes. Por ejemplo, los hombres generalmente tienen una mayor necesidad de ser “respetados” (es decir, no criticados por su esposa) más que sentirse “queridos”, mientras que las mujeres tienen una mayor necesidad de sentirse “amadas”. 3, 5 Algunas parejas han encontrado útil el descubrir los lenguajes del amor de cada uno o maneras en que los dos se sienten queridos. Algunas personas experimentan o sienten amor sobre todo a través del tacto, otros a través de palabras como decir “te amo”, y otros por el tiempo que comparten juntos. Otros pueden sentirse amados si se le dan regalos, o mediante la recepción de actos de servicio, o una combinación de estos aspectos.6

Yellow key imageLa tercera llave es Fiel–Para que un matrimonio sea feliz y saludable, los cónyuges deben ser fieles. Esta llave implica la promesa de proteger el corazón, los ojos y el cuerpo, reservando el don especial de la sexualidad exclusivamente para la persona amada. Coquetear con otros, que no sean su cónyuge, mirar a otros deseándolos, ver telenovelas en forma adictiva, o leer novelas románticas, ver pornografía, y tener relaciones extramaritales violan esta llave.

Una práctica importante para esta llave es evitar las ocasiones próximas de pecado cuidando de no ponerse en cualquier situación con alguien del sexo opuesto solo, donde el potencial de tentación pudiera surgir, tales como almuerzos, cenas, deportes, otras actividades, o socialmente hablar por teléfono, enviar mensajes de texto o chat en el Internet.

Green key imageLa cuarta llave es fructífero–el amor auténtico es siempre fructífero, es creativo y realmente trae más amor y más vida. Cada vez que una pareja casada se une en el abrazo conyugal, si el acto es una expresión auténtica de amor, se dicen uno al otro y con Dios (tal como lo hicieron en sus votos originales) que amorosamente aceptan cualquier hijo que pueda resultar de esta unión. Ellos permanecen abiertos al fruto que Dios quiera hacer surgir de su amor. La anticoncepción, la esterilización y el aborto evitan que un matrimonio sea fructífero. Son pecados graves, y en consecuencia, llevan a la esterilidad, la enfermedad, la infelicidad, y la muerte.7

Mientras que las parejas nunca deben intencionalmente hacer cualquier acto marital estéril, ya sea antes, durante o después de su unión, la planificación natural familiar (PNF)8 puede ser usada para evitar el embarazo por causas serias y justificadas y no viola esta llave. Una pareja puede tener razones legítimas para espaciar sus hijos, y la Iglesia enseña que el uso de los períodos infértiles del ciclo de la mujer en esos momentos no viola esta llave, ya que cada abrazo marital todavía sigue abierto a la posibilidad de crear nueva vida. Sin embargo, la PNF puede ser objeto de abuso si se utiliza sin razones de peso para evitar un embarazo, o porque una pareja egoístamente se niegan a ser generosos y abiertos al don supremo de Dios de los hijos.

La maternidad no es el único “fruto” que Dios puede traer a un matrimonio santo. En el plan de Dios, algunas parejas no pueden tener hijos, o tantos como quisieran. La buena noticia es que hay métodos científicos modernos, sin embargo, moralmente aceptables, que pueden ayudar a un gran porcentaje de parejas que sufren de infertilidad,9 pero no todos van a tener éxito. Las parejas pueden tener la tentación de tratar de “tener hijos” a cualquier costo, incluso por medios inmorales tales como la fertilización in vitro o la maternidad subrogada. Tales medios son moralmente censurables y pecaminosos porque tratan al hijo como un “objeto” o “cosa” que se crea, se compra o se vende, lo cuál es opuesto a crear un hijo por un acto de amor. A través de la oración se pide la humildad para aceptar la voluntad de Dios, y para encontrar otras maneras de dar fruto (por ejemplo, mediante la adopción, hogares de tránsito, el cuidado de los miembros de la familia y de la comunidad), Dios bendecirá abundantemente con gran fruto a todas las parejas que siguen Su Voluntad.

Notas de pie de página4 keys spanish image

  1. Ver Humanae Vitae por el Papa Pablo VI, Amor y Responsabilidad por Karol Wojtyla y Hombre y Mujer los creó: El amor humano en el plan divino por Juan Pablo II para un mayor desarrollo de las ideas presentadas en este folleto.
  2. A nivel nacional el aclamado psicólogo clínico Willard F. Harley, Jr., les dice a los esposos que planeen dar el regalo de por lo menos 20 minutos para hablar íntimamente/ compartir tiempo antes del abrazo marital, para dar a sus esposas el tiempo que necesitan para que crezca el deseo. Ver His Needs, Her Needs: Building an Affair Proof Marriage por Willard F. Harley, Jr.
  3. Para construir intimidad, es importante que las parejas aprendan a hacer un hábito de compartir sentimientos y apreciaciones regularmente y aprendan cómo manejar con seguridad los conflictos. Intimacy: A 100-Day Guide to Better Relationships, por matrimonio muy respetado consejero Douglas Weiss, PhD, es un gran lugar para comenzar.
  4. Para obtener ayuda para superar las adicciones, se recomienda hacer una confesión sacramental y buscar el asesoramiento de un sacerdote. Para encontrar un terapeuta católico que es fiel a las enseñanzas del Magisterio de la Iglesia, vaya a www.Catholictherapists.com.
  5. Es importante que las mujeres aprendan a respetar a los esfuerzos de su marido, compartiendo lo que aprecian de ellos, y aprender a lidiar con el conflicto de la manera apropiada, sin hacer que ellos se sientan criticados. Para obtener más información acerca de las diferencias importantes entre hombres y mujeres, ver El amor que ella más desea, el respeto que se necesita desesperadamente por Emerson Eggerichs.
  6. El clásico libro Los Cinco Lenguajes del Amor: Como expresar devoción sincera a su cónyuge por Gary Chapman, ha ayudado a innumerables parejas.
  7. “Porque la paga del pecado es muerte.” (Romanos 6:23) New American Bible, Edición Revisada.
  8. Para obtener más información acerca de los diferentes métodos de PNF y saber cuál es el mejor para usted, vaya a https://onemoresoul.com/marriage-children/natural-family-planning/natural-family-planning-links.html
  9. Puede Ir a www.fertilitycare.org para aprender más sobre el Modelo Creighton FertilityCareTM System y la NaProTECNOLOGIA, cuya eficacia es igual o mayor que la fertilización in vitro para ayudar a las parejas que sufren infertilidad a lograr el embarazo.

NFP Week

Birth control may keep you from sleeping and increase stress hormones in your body: Study

June 15, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – A new study shows that certain birth control pills may impair sleep and raise the level of stress hormones in women who take them.

The study examined women and girls who use combined hormonal contraceptives (CHCs) to treat acne.

To ascertain the quality of subjects’ sleep, researchers used the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a questionnaire filled out by the subject that “scores” sleep attributes including sleep duration, sleep disturbances, and daytime dysfunction.

Comparing these subjects to a group using only a topical gel for acne treatment, the study revealed that, not only did CHC-takers sleep less, but there is also an increase in the concentration of the hormone cortisol in their bodies.

Cortisol has a reputation in medical circles as a “stress hormone”; at high levels, it is associated with anxiety, depression, heart disease, weight gain, and sleep problems, among other ailments.

Only the hormone’s relationship with sleep problems was examined in the São Paolo study.

Rachel G. Albuquerque, the primary author of the study, considered the findings worthy of a warning to consumers. “Although combined oral contraceptive…is a very effective treatment for adult female acne,” she said, “it can also increase cortisol concentrations and even impair sleep. These factors impact welfare and quality of life.”

What Albuquerque called a “very effective treatment for acne” has caused multiple deaths and injuries. Complications from Yasmin and Yaz in particular, both of which utilize the chemicals tested in the São Paolo study, have brought a plethora of lawsuits against Bayer, the pharmaceutical company that distributes the drugs. For example, Yasmin killed a 24-year-old Australian woman in 2008 who was taking it for acne and caused a stroke in a British beauty queen using it for the same reason. Other hormonal contraceptives marketed as acne treatment have yielded similar results.

More generally, many studies over the years have associated various forms of hormonal birth control with a myriad of ailments, including glaucoma, breast cancer, and shrinking of the brain. Women come forward regularly with stories of deleterious birth control side-effects; one young woman was left completely paralyzed, while another had her career destroyed by “blood clots everywhere” in her lungs. Additionally, the intrauterine device Mirena, like Yasmin/Yaz, has killed and injured enough women to incur multiple lawsuits.

Yet overall, she said the study found no difference overall in sleep quality between the CHC group and the topical gel group, notwithstanding findings of reduced subjective sleep duration in the former. She said that “all patients did not exhibit a difference on sleep quality,” and “these two different approaches [CHCs and the topical treatment] did not affect sleep quality in these patients.”

Albuquerque added that while “cortisol was higher in the patients treated with the combined oral contraceptives,” the hormone’s concentration in those subjects was also “on the normal range.”

The study – a six-month customized, comparative single-blind trial by researchers at the Universidade Federal de São Paolo in Brazil – focused on CHCs containing ethinyl estradiol and drospirenone. Brand-name drugs that comprise these chemicals include Yasmin and its sister drug Yaz (the subject of a plethora of lawsuits – see below), Ocella, Zarah, Safyral, and Syeda.

German Study Says Condoms Contain Cancer-causing Chemical

http://www.dw.de/german-study-says-condoms-contain-cancer-causing-chemical/a-1220847

The Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute in Stuttgart said on Friday it had found the carcinogen N-Nitrosamine in 29 of 32 types of condoms it tested in simulated conditions.

The condoms, which were kept in a solution with artificial sweat, exuded huge amounts of cancer-causing N-Nitrosamine from its rubber coating. Researchers measured amounts of N-Nitrosamine, that were way above the prescribed limits for other rubber products such as baby pacifiers.

“N-Nitrosamine is one of the most carcinogenic substances,” the study’s authors said. “There is a pressing need for manufacturers to tackle this problem.”

The study said that the carcinogen is thought to be present in a substance used to improve condom elasticity. When the rubber material comes in contact with human bodily fluids, it can release traces of N-Nitrosamine.

No immediate health risk

But since there are no prescribed limits of N-Nitrosamine for condoms, the study hasn’t caused panic among manufacturers or mass-recalling of the products from counters.

Local government officials said condom users should not stop using rubber contraceptives based on the results of the study because N-Nitrosamine does not present an immediate health risk.

The Baden-Würtemmberg Social Ministry said it didn’t think “it posed a risk.” Authorities are also withholding the name of the affected manufacturers for fear of litigation.

Manufacturers should use alternative substances

But Germany’s Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said that daily condom use exposed users to N-Nitrosamine levels up to three times higher than levels naturally present in food.

Werner Altkofer, head of the Stuttgart-based Chemical and Veterinary Investigation Institute said that though the production of rubber usually uses chemicals that can exude N-Nitrosamine, condom manufacturers could bypass it by using more expensive alternative substances available on the market that didn’t form the carcinogen.

“We believe that it’s up to the manufacturers to use other production processes so that no N-Nitrosamine is formed in condoms,” Altkofer said.

He added that the latter was technically possible going by the fact that products of some manufacturers didn’t show traces of the carcinogen during the testing.

Beate Uhse taking no chances

Germany’s biggest erotica compnay Beate Uhse however, has decided to play it safe.

Shortly after the results of the study were introduced on Friday, the group banned chocolate-flavored condoms from its range. That was because the study had show that condoms laced with a chocolate flavoring had overwhelming high levels of N-Nitrosamine.

Basilica to Welcome Pope Francis this September

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is pleased to confirm that Pope Francis will visit our nation’s preeminent

Marian shrine and patronal church on Wednesday, September 23, 2015.

Monsignor Walter R. Rossi, rector of the National Shrine, states, “We are truly delighted that Pope Francis is following in the footsteps of his predecessors Saint Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI in visiting the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception during his apostolic visit to the United States. We are honored that the Holy Father will celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and canonize Blessed Junipero Serra, the first-ever canonization to take place on American soil.”

No further details of the Holy Father’s visit are available at this time. To receive Papal Visit updates as they become available, please click here to sign up for email alerts. Updates will also be posted on this page, on our Facebook page and on Twitter @MarysShrine.

Please join us in praying for Pope Francis and his upcoming Apostolic Visit to the United States and to Mary’s Shrine.

Updates:

 Email alerts:

http://www.nationalshrine.com/site/c.osJRKVPBJnH/b.9274545/k.9A0 4/Email_SignUp/apps/ka/ct/contactus.asp?c=osJRKVPBJnH&b=9274

545&en=bkJLK0NHKaJUJaOKK9JRJ6NUJlKPJ5NTKqK1KbOWJuJb

E

 Facebook alerts: https://www.facebook.com/nationalshrine

 Twitter alerts: twitter@MarysShrine; https://twitter.com/marysshrine

New study suggests doctors push new mothers to get an IUD immediately after birth

CHAPEL HILL, NC, June 9, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – A new study recommends that doctors implant IUDs into new mothers’ wombs while they are still in the hospital for childbirth, in an effort to increase the number of American women fitted with the abortifacient device.

Previously, new mothers were told to wait six months after birth to have an intrauterine device implanted. But a new study published in Obstetrics and Gynecology says too often women do not return to have an IUD implanted, and as a result, get pregnant.

Patients at North Carolina Women’s Hospital in Chapel Hill were studied and researchers found that women who received IUDs during cesarean sections were more likely to have them six months later than women who were told to return to the doctor’s office to receive one.

So, the professionals say, implant IUDs at childbirth.

The American Life League considers the North Carolina study’s recommendations medically irresponsible, because women who have just given birth are far more vulnerable, physically and emotionally, than after waiting six months to consider a major life decision like surgically implanted “contraception.”

“Medically speaking, this push to implant IUDs immediately after delivery is a travesty,” Rita Diller, the national director of the American Life League’s Stop Planned Parenthood Project, told LifeSiteNews. “Abnormal bleeding, one of the signs of uterine perforation, could be missed in the days following delivery, since women are already bleeding at that point.”

“It is extremely disturbing that mothers who have just delivered their babies are being encouraged to accept IUDs,” Diller said. “Uterine walls can be softer than usual in postpartum women, increasing the risk of uterine perforation and even resultant IUD migration to other parts of the body, which can cause additional internal injuries.”

The complications with surgical implantation of IUDs are magnified when implantation takes place at a new mother’s childbirth.

“IUDs also increase the risk of ectopic pregnancies and contribute to infections like pelvic inflammatory disease. More than 70,000 Mirena IUD complications have been reported to the FDA since 2000,” Diller elaborated. “In New York and New Jersey alone, there are over 1,000 lawsuits on file for IUD injuries.”

No mention was made in the study of the fact that an IUD is not “contraception” at all, but is an abortifacient. The IUD stops implantation, not just conception, up to 95 percent of the time, according to the Life Issue Institute, based in Cincinnati.

The IUD destroys the ability of the already fertilized egg – the “conceptus” – to implant in the uterine wall. Because s/he cannot implant in the mother’s womb, the conceived child dies.

“IUDs are intended to close off all hope of life developing in the womb, and take away a woman’s ability to be open to life, and to snuff out the life of any child who may begin developing while the device is in place,” Diller explained. “The womb is intended by God to be a place of life, not a tomb.”

The Obama administration’s Department of Health and Human Services admitted that intrauterine devices cause early abortions. IUDs can inflame the lining of the uterus, making implantation of a newly conceived child impossible, inducing abortion.

A government report put out by the Center for Disease Control singles out the use of IUDs, calling them “as effective as sterilization.” Brian Clowes of Human Life International puts it clearly: “All of the longer-acting methods sometimes act as abortifacients…which will actually lead to an increase, not a decrease, in total abortions,” he told LifeSiteNews.

The new North Carolina study’s recommendation follows similar recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO), which encourages the use of abortion-inducing “contraception” for new mothers around the world.

Along with the new study, the publication printed an editorial by Dr. Lisa M. Goldthwaite, who wrote, “We are meeting a woman’s needs better when they get their contraception at the time of delivery.”

Dr. Erika E. Levi, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, explained, “We need to make it easier for women to get access to the kind of contraception they want as new mothers.”

In 2010, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews found that four times as many women who get an IUD implanted at childbirth expel the device (eight percent), compared with those placed later (two percent).

Diller concluded, “It is unconscionable for medical personnel to pressure women, when they are extremely vulnerable following a delivery, to be implanted with devices that may have very negative long-term consequences on their health and actually take the decision to be open to life out of their hands.”

Love Fully and Completely: An Alternative to Unpronounceable Chemicals

Connie Marshner

A 26-year-old woman in Los Angeles nearly died last month because of a blood clot in her brain. The cause? An oral contraceptive (OC).

A 21-year-old woman in England, Fallan Kurek, did die last week after taking an oral contraceptive for only 25 days. It had been prescribed by her doctor to “regulate her periods.”

That drug was Rigevidon, a blend of ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel, manufactured in Hungary. It’s one of a new generation of OC’s utilizing synthetic hormones. The British Medical Journal reports that these new mixes are two to three times deadlier than the previous generation of OCs made from levonorgestrel.

When Enovid, the first OC, was licensed by the FDA in 1957, it was with the warning that no woman should take it for more than 24 months.

By now, millions of women have been on oral contraceptives for billions of woman-years.

And now there are multi-year contraceptives, which are implanted under the skin and require a physician to remove them. In the June issue of Vogue (that reveals who the target market is) there is a one-page ad with three (!!!) pages of disclaimers for Nexplanon. The pages warn against everything from depression to acne to ectopic pregnancy to serious blood clots.

Probably most women in England—as in America—are conscious about what they eat. They worry about pesticides in their salad and hormones in their meat. They seek out organic foods because they don’t want foreign chemicals messing up their bodies. They deplore athletes who use performance-enhancing drugs.

So why don’t they have the same concerns about the bodily effects of contraceptives? Why would a 21-year-old dose herself with ethinyl estradiol and levonorgestrel and other unpronounceable hormones and steroids?

For some—as was the case with poor Fallon Kurek—it is because a (perhaps lazy, perhaps overworked) doctor said it would solve the problem of irregular periods.

For others, it may be because a doctor said it would treat acne. That’s what happened to my college roommate. Once she was on the Pill she started to have sex, since she knew there would be no consequences.

That, of course, is why most women turn their bodies into toxic waste dumps. They cannot face life without being able to have sex “any time the moment is right,” as the ads put it. Which means they can’t imagine life without OC’s.

This creates a problem for unborn babies. Because if the goal is consequence-free sex, and a little consequence gets implanted in a womb anyhow, there’s only one way to eliminate it, and that’s called abortion.

Wouldn’t it be easier for adult females to live with their natural fertility intact?

Nobody asks that question because of the lifestyle changes it might imply.

B—b—b—but . . . you can’t mean . . . you can’t be talking about—chastity?

The very sound of that word conjures up images of crones wagging their fingers at sweet young things who just want to have fun. “Chastity” has a serious brand-identity problem: It is perceived as the antithesis of “fun,” which is equated with “sex.”

Dawn Eden used to practice that equation, and she has nailed the problem with that lifestyle: “The disconnected feelings that result from sexual intercourse outside of marriage can be emotionally disastrous,” she writes in her book The Thrill of the Chaste.

Eden played the game for years. “Thinking back on dating experiences that had seemed so spontaneous and passionate,” she came to see them “for what they were: cold, clinical couplings. They weren’t really about excitement. They were about control.”

In her sexual relationships, she knew “the pain of separation would come, but it wouldn’t hit me so deeply, because I’d see it coming.” Not only was she a sex object, she was making her partner a sex object too. He was using her, and she was using him.

Telling herself from the very beginning that the relationship wouldn’t last was the way she numbed her emotions.

She had to numb herself—because casual sex works against the way men and women are hard-wired. Recent research suggests some hormones associated with sexual arousal are also associated with bonding. Perhaps Nature intends for sexual relations to be permanent relationships?

But casual coupling doesn’t seek permanent relationships. It compels women to become sterile, to pump their bodies full of potentially dangerous chemicals so that they can be available for sex but not for motherhood.

Is this any way to live? What’s the alternative?

To love fully and completely in every relationship, in the manner that is appropriate to the relationship, says Eden.

Love fully and completely? Now there’s a brand statement with potential! Who can be against loving fully and completely in an appropriate manner?

It is Eden’s definition of chastity. It sounds like a natural alternative to synthetic hormones and other unpronounceable chemicals. Organic even.

* * * * *

Connie Marshner organized her first pro-life meeting in 1971, among Capitol Hill staffers who sensed a drift toward legalizing abortion. She’s worked in the movement in one capacity or another ever since.

10 Ways to Prepare Yourself for Communion

Of all the gestures, actions, decisions, operations, motions in the life of the human person, by far the greatest (beyond comparison) is to receive Jesus, the Lord and God into the very depths of your soul in the greatest of all Sacraments: Holy Communion.

The Bread of Life, the Bread of the Angels, Corpus Christi, food for the journey, energy and strength on the Highway to holiness, Our Comfort, Friend, Guide, Light, Support and fortitude, spiritual manna, Our eternal life—all of these and many more can be mentioned are short names, titles or descriptions for Jesus, truly present in Mass in Holy Communion. We can call it the “Sacrament of Sacraments.”

Nobody on earth could ever compare one Holy Communion to any other created reality. However, reflect on this: the entire created universe from the stars, planets, immense oceans, and lofty mountains, and starry skies, as well as all of the fish in the seas and animals populating the earth cannot equal even one, just one Holy Communion.

Why?

The reason is simple but very sublime: Holy Communion is God himself! Holy Communion is not some vague or abstract symbol, as non-Catholic religions assert! No one Holy Communion is God Himself. God is the origin of all that exists and the purpose of our existence! God created all of us out of love, to love Him in this life so as to be with Him and to love Him for all eternity in Heaven!

How humble God is that he becomes one of us. By Mary’s “Yes” the second Person of the Blessed Trinity became like us; He became man. He became like us in all things except sin. Still more, Jesus the Son of Mary, after leaving this earth in His glorified Body, wanted to stay with us always even until the end of time.

The last words of Jesus in the Gospel Matthew were: “And behold I will be with you always even until the end of time.” (Mt. 28: 20 ) If Jesus went up to heaven then how can He still be with us and even until the end of time, until the end of the world? The response: in His Mystical Body which is the Church that He established as the primary Sacrament of salvation.

However of all of the Sacraments the greatest of all of the Sacraments is the most Holy Eucharist. Why? Because the most Holy Eucharist is really God; it is really Jesus Christ the Bread of life. The Holy Eucharist is truly and substantially the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ! Even the smallest consecrated Host, even half of the Host, even a small particle of the consecrated Host is still Jesus the Lord, Kind and God of the universe!
Ten Suggestions to Improve Your Reception of the Eucharist

The success of a party depends on the prior preparation; sports success depends on the prep and warm-up and mental attitude and discipline; a good and loving courtship terminates in a loving and permanent marriage. The same can be applied to a fervent and worthy reception of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in Holy Communion.

Another analogy is receiving a guest There are very many different ways that we can receive a guest into our home. Here are a few! You could receive a guest against your will—sometimes due to circumstances, this is the case. Or you could receive a guest with resistance and begrudgingly. Then you can receive a guest willingly with the doors of your home wide open! Still more you could receive a guest by preparing the night before, with great joy, to receive such a guest you really long to have in your home and share a meal with. Finally, upon the knowledge of a special guest coming, you clean the whole home the day before, prepare the food and the meal that you know your guest enjoys most; put on the back-ground music that the guest enjoys listening to; and finally, decorate the home with balloons and attractive and joyful banners. We have portrayed a whole series of ways or manners that a guest could possibly be received—from the worst imaginable scenario to the best of bests!

This analogy of receiving a guest into one’s home can easily be applied to receiving Jesus into our souls. Examine your conscience now: what type of reception do you give the Eucharistic Lord Jesus when you receive Him into your home/soul when you receive Him in Holy Communion? How is He received? Accept the challenge to examine your Eucharistic reception. Why? As was said earlier, this is the most important action that you can possibly do in your life. This being the truth, we should all make a concerted effort to improve and upgrade the efficacy of our reception of the Eucharistic Lord. How then can we apply this principle to receiving the Lord of the universe into the inner recesses of our soul? Following are ten practical suggestions that can be of immense help!

FAITH. How easy it is for our faith to decline, to get weak, or even to disappear. Sad to say that the biggest religious group in USA are non-practicing Catholics! Let us pray with fervor: “Lord I do believe but strengthen my faith!” Faith is like a seed planted in the ground. May our faith grow, blossom and flourish until we reach heaven!

APPRECIATION. In relationships, especially in marriages, one of the greatest perennial dangers is to start to take the spouse for granted. This can be lethal to any marriage. The same thing can insinuate itself into our relationship with the Eucharistic Lord: we can become accustomed or used to Mass and Holy Communion—even among daily communicants- and start to take the Lord for granted. In the Diary of Mercy in my soul, by Saint Faustina, Jesus complains that there are souls that receive Him with no love, but rather as if He were a mere object. Jesus states that He would prefer not to be received than to be received like a mere object and out of mere routine, to be received mechanically! There is a plack with these words in many sacristies, which serves as a reminder to priests to celebrate every Mass with faith and fervor: “Priest, man of God celebrate this Mass as if it were your first Mass, last Mass and only Mass.” We should receive every Holy Communion as if it were our first, last and only Holy Communion.

CLEAN THE HOUSE. Make a good sacramental Confession. The saints and the church teach us that the cleaner and more pure the soul the more abundant the graces in receiving Holy Communion. If you like, a dirty glass pane prevents the sun from entering the room fully. Likewise, a dirtied or sullied soul will block the full and powerful presence of the Eucharistic Lord in His entirety from inundating the soul!

COME EARLY. It is doubtful that we would show up late for the last game in the World Series, or a graduation ceremony, or even an expensive and exquisite meal in a glamorous restaurant. Should we not then be early to welcome the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords into our hearts? What do you think? Coming late for Mass disturbs others, disturbs the priest and dampens one’s over-all participation in the Mass. Let us avoid cutting corners and selling God cheap!

REVERENCE. Moses was commanded to take off his sandals before the burning bush that was a mere symbol of the Eucharistic Presence. Isaiah complained that he was impure in the midst of an impure people. His lips had to be purified by the burning coal. How much more reverence we should manifest in front of the Real Presence and the Eucharistic Lord. He is not a symbol but a Real Person! If a King merits the greatest reverence and respect, what about the King of the universe the Eucharistic Lord?

INTENTIONS! The Parish priest usually has his specific intentions in every Mass. This does not negate the fact that you cannot have your own private intentions. Three suggestion to help you to live the Mass more fully : 1) Offer Mass for a deceased person that might be detained in Purgatory, for his quick release or at least alleviation of his suffering. 2) Conversion of sinners. We all have in mind family members, relatives, friends, fellow-workers who seem to have forgotten about God or are angry at God and have for many different reasons drifted away from the Church. Offer your Holy Mass and Holy Communion so that they will return. These lost sheep may return to the Good Shepherd if you take the effort to pray for them and place them on the altar in Holy Mass. 3) Personal conversion. We all struggle with the flesh; we all struggle with our own demons; we all struggle with the seduction of the world and its deception and many allurements. In Holy Communion why not beg the Lord Jesus that He would grant you the grace of a true HEART TRANSPLANT!!! Indeed you do receive the Body, and Blood of Jesus. That means you receive His total Body and that includes His Heart. Ask Jesus to give you His Sacred Heart and beg His Sacred Heart overflowing with the flames of love to consume all that which is in your heart which is displeasing to Him. Fervent and frequent Holy Communion is the short-cut to holiness!!!

PARTICIPATE. In Mass we are not called to be passive observers as if it were a play, a show or an opera. On the contrary we are called to participate fully, actively, and consciously. (Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Dogmatic Constitution on the Liturgy) We are called to listen attentively to the Word of God, respond to the Word, and to sing with all our hearts in praise and worship of the Lord. When silence is called for we enter into profound silence where we will meet the Lord. As the prophet reminds: “Be silent and know that I am the Lord.”

MARY’S HEART AND YOURS. While approaching Holy Communion we should humbly beg the Blessed Virgin Mary—as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta reminds us—to lend us her Immaculate Heart so that we can receive Jesus with the utmost purity, humility and burning love. This is truly a key to upgrade and improve our Holy Communions—to receive Holy Communion through the Heart of Mary. St. Pope John Paul II makes a beautiful parallel. He compares Our Lady’s “Yes” or fiat in the Annunciation to our “Amen” when we receive Jesus in Holy Communion. The result is the same: receiving Jesus into the heart. Our Lady’s yes resulted in the conception of Jesus in her womb. Our “Amen” in Holy Communion results in Jesus’ Eucharistic Presence taking root in our heart, mind and soul!

THANKSGIVING! After Holy Communion we should spend some time in rendering thanks to Jesus for this greatest of all gifts—His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in Holy Communion. There is no greater gift! In a home visitation and a friendly meal, a guest who has even the least of manners will thank the hosts for having invited him. Should we not abound in thanksgiving to Jesus for humbling Himself to descend into our miserable interior home that we call our soul? Let us join our hearts, minds and voices with the Psalmist and acclaim: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever.” Indeed God rejoices in a grateful heart. Let us cultivate and attitude of gratitude!

EUCHARISTIC APOSTLE. Given that you have encountered the greatest treasure in your life, the pearl of infinite value, you should be motivated to the fullest extent possible to bring Jesus to others and to bring others to Jesus! Take Our Lady as an example! After conceiving Jesus in her womb in the Annunciation, she went in haste to bring Jesus to her cousin Elizabeth who in her old age was with child. Mary hurried to bring Jesus to others. After you have received Jesus in Holy Communion and given Him a worthy thanksgiving, now it is time to become a fiery Apostle and to bring the Lord Jesus to others. Preach by your example but also by your word. Invite others to Church, to confession, to Mass and Holy Communion. Become a missionary! The harvest is rich but the laborers are few. You right now are called to work in the vineyard with the Lord; you are called to go fishing with the Lord and to save souls. One of the most efficacious tools to save souls is to help the wandering sheep, the stray Catholics, to come back to Church, make a good Sacramental Confession and then to receive the Lord Jesus in Holy Communion. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Seen expresses it this way: “First come and then go!” First we should come and receive Jesus with great fervor, faith and love; then we go out to the whole world to bring this good news of salvation to every living being!

In conclusion, we should be overflowing with joy and gratitude for the most sublime gift of the Holy Eucharist. The Holy Eucharist is truly and substantially the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus. There is no greater action we can possibly do while we live on earth than to receive the Eucharist worthily. Jesus’ promise for receiving Him frequently and worthily should fill all of us with immense joy. Jesus consoles us with these words: “I am the Bread of life. Whoever eats my Body and drinks my Blood will have everlasting life and I will raise Him up on the last day.” (Bread of Life discourse: Jn. 6: 22-71) Heaven is ours if we receive Jesus here on earth with faith and burning love!

Message from Cardinal Sarah to participants of “Sacra Liturgia 2015” event in NYC

“One cannot encounter God, my brothers and sisters, without trembling, without awe, without profound respect and holy fear.”

The following Message from Cardinal Sarah, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine

Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, was sent to participants of the “Sacra Liturgia 2015” event in New York City, held this past week, from June 1-4. A reproduction of the Message was posted on the Sacra Liturgia USA Facebook page and has been reproduced here by kind permission of Dom Alcuin Reid, international organizer of the Sacra Liturgia events (see CWR’s May 2015 interview with Dom Reid about the New York event).

——————-

MESSAGE OF HIS EMINENCE, ROBERT CARDINAL SARAH PREFECT OF THE CONGREGATION FOR

DIVINE WORSHIP AND DISCIPLINE OF THE SACRAMENTS

TO THE CONFERENCE “SACRA LITURGlA USA 2015”

NEW YORK CITY, 1-4 JUNE 2015

1. It is my pleasure to greet all of you, gathered in New York City, for the inaugural conference of Sacra Liturgia in the United State of America. In particular, I greet His Eminence, Timothy Cardinal Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, and thank him for his interest in and support of this event underlining the essential role of liturgical formation and celebration in the life and mission of the Church.

I was very pleased to be present at the launch of the Italian and English editions of the proceedings of Sacra Liturgia 2013 in Rome last November, and congratulate Bishop Dominique Rey and all who work with him on making this happy initiative a reality, now also in the United Stales of America.

I greet His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, who will present the keynote address. And I greet all the bishops, priests and religious and learned lay men and women who will make presentations as well as those who will celebrate the Sacred Liturgy and preach in the coming days. Your apostolate in promoting the Sacred Liturgy is a most important one in our time: I thank you for all that you do.

2. Because the Sacred Liturgy is truly the font from which all the Church’s power flows, as the Second Vatican Council insists (cf.Sacrosanctum Concilium , 10), we must do everything we can to put the Sacred Liturgy back at the very heart of the relationship between God and man, recognizing the primacy of Almighty God in this privileged and unique forum in which we, individually and ecclesially, encounter God at work in our world. One cannot encounter God, my brothers and sisters, without trembling, without awe, without profound respect and holy fear. This is why we must rank what Cardinal Ratzinger called “the right way of celebrating the Liturgy, inwardly and outwardly” first amongst our concerns (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, The Spirit of the Liturgy, Ignatius Press, San Francisco 2000, p. 9).

3. When The Holy Father, Pope Francis, asked me to accept the ministry of Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments, I asked: “Your Holiness, how do you want me to exercise this ministry? What do you want me to do as Prefect of this Congregation?” The Holy Father’s reply was clear. “I want you to continue to implement the liturgical reform of the Second Vatican Council,” he said, “and I want you to continue the good work in the liturgy begun by Pope Benedict XVI.”

My friends, I want you to help me in this task. I ask you to continue to work towards achieving the liturgical aims of the Second Vatican Council (cf.Sacrosanctum Concilium, I) and to work to continue the liturgical renewal promoted by Pope Benedict XVI, especially through the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacrosanctum Caritatis of 22 February 2007 and the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum of 7 July 2007. I ask you to be wise like the householder in St Matthew’s Gospel, who knows when to bring out of his treasure things both new and old (cf. Mtt 13:52), so that the Sacred Liturgy as it is celebrated and lived today may lose nothing of the estimable riches of the Church’s liturgical tradition, whilst always being open to legitimate development (cf.Sacrosanctum Concilium, 23).

4. You have many days in which to consider these questions in depth. I would like to suggest two critical areas in which authentic liturgical renewal in the twenty-first century can be furthered. The first is by being utterly clear what Catholic liturgy is: it is the worship of Almighty God, the place where mankind encounters God alive and at work in His Church today. Please—never underestimate the importance of this. The liturgy is not some social occasion or meeting where we come first, where what is most important is that we express our identity. No: God comes first. As Cardinal Ratzinger wrote in 2004:

If the Liturgy appears first of all as the workshop for our activity, then what is essential is being forgotten: God. For the Liturgy is not about us, but about God. Forgetting about God is the most imminent danger of our age. As against this, the Liturgy should be setting up a sign of God’s presence. (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Collected Works: The Theology of t he Liturgy, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 2015, p. 593).

The Church’s liturgy is given to us in tradition—it is not for us to make up the rites we celebrate or to change them to suit ourselves or our own ideas beyond the legitimate options permitted by the liturgical books. That is why we must celebrate the Sacred Liturgy faithfully, with that reverence and awe of which I spoke earlier.

5. The second area in which I ask you to give of your time and expertise is in the promotion of sound liturgical formation. The Council’s Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy went so far as to say that “it would be futile to entertain any hopes of realizing” the liturgical renewal it desired “unless the pastors themselves, in the first place, become thoroughly imbued with the spirit and power of the liturgy, and undertake to give instruction about it” (n. 14). We cannot truly participate in the Sacred Liturgy, we cannot drink deeply from the source of the Christian life, if we have not been formed in the spirit and power of the liturgy. As our Holy Father, Pope Francis, said last year:

Much remains to be done for a correct and complete assimilation of the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy on the part of the baptized and by ecclesial communities. I refer in particular to a strong and organic invitation and liturgical formation of the lay faithful as well as the clergy and consecrated persons (Message to the participants of the Roman symposium on Sacrosanctum Concilium, 18 February 2014)
I hope and I pray that the different initiatives of Sacra Liturgia can do much to meet this urgent and crucial need.

5. Dear brothers in the episcopate, dear priests, deacons and religious, dear lay men and women, your participation in this conference is a sign that you are already aware of the importance of the Sacred Liturgy in the life of the Church. I thank you for you willingness to give of your time to study and consider this reality further. I pray that these days may increase your wisdom and knowledge, that they will help you grow in holiness and that they will make you ever more zealous in promoting authentic liturgical renewal in the Church.

I hope I will be able to join you for the new Sacra Liturgia Meeting of July 2015 in London.

Please pray for me that I may faithfully execute the service to which I have been called. May God bless you always!

Robert Cardinal Sarah

Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments

Natalie Portman: Contraception caused depression that gave me ‘dark moments’

CAMBRIDGE, MA, June 5, 2015 (LifeSiteNews) – Oscar-winning actress Natalie Portman has announced that taking oral contraceptives caused depression that plunged her into some “dark moments” as a teenage college student.

The actress, best known for her portrayal as Padme in the popular big screen “Star Wars” saga, spoke to graduates of her alma mater, Harvard University, last Wednesday.

Portman admitted she had a difficult first and second year during her the keynote speech at Harvard College’s Class Day ceremony.

“Some combination of being 19, dealing with my first heartbreak, taking birth control pills that have since been taken off the market for their depressive side effects, and spending too much time missing daylight during winter months, led me to some pretty dark moments,” she said.

Portman’s admission that taking birth control pills contributed to ill health should not come as a surprise. Oral and injectable contraceptives have a well-documented history of negative effects on women, whether mental or, more often, physical. The risk for blood clots, which can cause stroke, heart attack, blindness, brain damage, and death, is three-to five times higher in women taking birth control pills.

In 2011, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) admitted that “all birth control pills pose a risk of blood clots.” At the time, the FDA was looking into specific “low dose” contraceptives manufactured by Bayer. Two British medical studies contended that Bayer’s contraceptives containing drospirenone posed two to three times a greater risk of dangerous blood clots than other contraceptives.

An investigation found that pharmacists suspected the deaths of 23 Canadian women were attributable to two “low-dose” contraception pills, Yaz and Yasmin. Birth control pill manufacturer faces 7000 Yaz-related lawsuits, and has paid out over $1 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits in the United States.

Oral contraceptives also can contribute to blindness. One study examined the Center for Disease Control’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and found that women who used birth control pills for three years had doubled their chances of having glaucoma.

Birth control pills decrease the amount of antioxidants and vitamins in a woman’s blood. A study carried out by the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital found that women who use hormonal contraceptives have significantly lower levels of essential vitamins and antioxidants compared to women who do not use the drugs.

Despite these and many other studies, most people do not know the dangerous health effects of birth control pills.

“Thousands [of women] are experiencing life-threatening, health-destroying side-effects, such as blindness, depression, and pulmonary embolism,” Elizabeth Kissling wrote in Ms. Magazine. Kissling then told the stories of young, otherwise healthy women who had suffered each of these consequences.

In time, Portman recovered from the negative mental side effects of her contraceptive use.

In her Harvard speech, Portman admitted, “When I came in as a freshman in 1999, I felt like there had been some mistake.”

“I feared people would assume I had gotten in just for being famous, and not worthy of the intellectual rigor here,” Portman said, admitting the allegation had a great deal of merit. “When I came here, I had never written a 10-page paper before. I’m not sure I had written a five-page paper.”

“I had some difficult times,” she stated.

In her Harvard speech, Natalie Portman also admitted that as a famous actress at the Ivy League school, she received grades she didn’t deserve. “I should have failed both [of two difficult freshman year classes]. For your information, I got a B in both.”

Portman graduated Harvard in 2003 with a degree in psychology.

The 33-year-old, who is an outspoken supporter of abortion-on-demand, said in her 2010 Academy Award acceptance speech that motherhood is the “my most important role of my life.”

On another occasion, Portman said the Bible changed her view of her Best Actress Oscar statue, which she accepted in 2010 for her role in the movie “Black Swan.”

“I was reading the story of Abraham to my child, and talking about not worshiping false idols. And this is literally like gold men,” she said, explaining she keeps her Oscar statue in her safe, but not on display. “This is literally worshiping gold idols — if you worship it. That’s why it’s not displayed on the wall. It’s a false idol.”

People always say, ‘At least the baby’s healthy!’ But what if she isn’t?

By Grace Smith

May 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — “So are you hoping for a boy or a girl?”

“It doesn’t matter as long as the baby is healthy.” This is the conversation that I listened to as I stood next to my special needs sister.

I bet you have heard this line before; or possibly even said it yourself.Most people do not seem to think through this statement, so I am going to bring up a few things that you may have not thought about.

My biggest question for those who say this is, “What if the baby isn’t healthy?” My sister was born with Trisomy 18. “Edwards syndrome (also known as trisomy 18 [T18]) is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all, or part of, an extra 18th chromosome. This genetic condition almost always results from nondisjunction during meiosis. It is named after John Hilton Edwards, who first described the syndrome in 1960. It is the second-most common autosomal trisomy, after Down syndrome, that carries to term.

Half of the infants with this condition do not survive beyond the first week of life. The median lifespan is five to 15 days. About 8% of infants survive longer than 1 year. One percent of children live to age 10, typically in less severe cases of the mosaic Edwards syndrome.”

I apologize for the lengthy description, but I thought that it was important to show how serious my sister’s “disability” is, so you don’t think that I am some random person commenting on this topic with little to no personal experience.

And my sister clearly is not what most people consider a “healthy baby.”

I want to explain what I believe is the mindset behind the statement, “…as long as the baby is healthy.” Please keep in mind that this seems to be a society mindset; not necessarily the mindset of every individual.Ninety percent of babies who have Trisomy 18 are aborted. Ninety percent!

Our culture tells us that children who are different and require more help are not worthy of life. In a culture where “normal” people are constantly told to be “unique” and “be yourself” we do not want to accept those whose “normal” is unique.

In my sister’s case, unique meaning 1 in every 5,000 live-births.Society has told us that if there is a problem just “get rid of it.” That there is no need to “fix” something if you can get a new one with minimum trouble.

“Abortion is an ‘easy’ answer to solving the issue of a special needs child.”

“You do not want to make yourself or the child suffer.”

“You can get pregnant again and it will be a healthy child.”

I have said it before, but I will say it again. I have more compassion, love, understanding, and hope because of my sister than I would ever have without her. She lights up my life, and even when life is rough and it feels like we are going to hit rock bottom that little face will look up at you with the biggest smile and so much admiration in her eyes, for you, that you know all will be well in the end.

It breaks my heart every time someone says, “…as long as the baby is healthy,” mainly because my sister is not.

It hurts so much to hear someone say that, especially when they know that my sister is disabled.

They know that I have a sister, who I love very much by the way, who has special needs, and yet, they say to my face that they do not want a child like her. They basically say that they will take anyone, but a child like her.

I used to get extremely upset over this and it will still hurt sometimes, but I have come to the point where my mindset is, “If they do not get to experience the wonderful love of kids like my sister, they are the ones missing out.”

Please keep in mind that I did not put any of this to condemn anyone but to show them how simple phrases that are used all the time can be hurtful and that there is

Cardinal Kasper defends Ireland’s gay ‘marriage’ decision

May 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The grave effects of Ireland’s May 22 referendum in favor of same-sex “marriages,” not only for the secular world, but also especially for the Catholic Church, are showing themselves already.

None other than the leading cardinal who has promoted the liberal agenda for the two-part Synod of Bishops on the Family, Cardinal Walter Kasper, has now come out publicly and with force, telling the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera that the Church needs to address more fully the question of same-sex couples. This topic was at the last Synod “only a marginal topic, but now it becomes central,” Kasper said on Wednesday.

Kasper also defended the vote of the Irish in favor of homosexual “marriages,” saying: “A democratic state has the duty to respect the will of the people; and it seems clear that, if the majority of the people wants such homosexual unions, the state has a duty to recognize such rights.” He also said that the Irish referendum is “emblematic for the situation in which we find ourselves, not only in Europe, but in the whole West.” Kasper also said: “The postmodern concept – following which everything is equal – stands in contrast to the doctrine of the Church.”

Cardinal Kasper made a link between the events in Ireland and the doctrine of the Catholic Church, when he said it now becomes harder for the Church to explain its own moral position to others in the question of homosexuality. “We have to find a new language,” he said. “We have to overcome [unjust] discrimination, which has a long tradition in our culture.” It is important in his view to honor those long-lasting same-sex relationships, which contain “elements of the good,” even though the Church cannot change its fundamental attitude toward them since they are themselves against the teaching of the Gospels.

Many observers have long expected Cardinal Kasper’s more explicit public support for the homosexual agenda, saying that the “opening” toward “remarried” couples was only the first step toward the widening of the revolutionary agenda, to include approval of same-sex relationships.

The other reason for this expectation is that Cardinal Walter Kasper had recently published his own book about Pope Francis, entitled “Pope Francis’ Revolution of Tenderness and Love”, and it was produced by Paulist Press. Father Mark-David Janus, president and publisher of Paulist Press, was present when Cardinal Kasper gave Pope Francis himself a copy of this new book on March 17. At a private audience later on the same day, Father Janus presented the pope with a promotional film on “LGBT Catholics,” called “Owning Our Faith,” which he himself had helped to bring about. These facts – which may be seen on the website of the St. Philip Neri Catholic Church – administered by the same Paulist Fathers – speak for themselves.

This current initiative of Cardinal Kasper comes, however, also right after a somewhat concealed May 25 “Day of Study” at the Gregorian University in Rome, which was organized by the three presidents of the Swiss, French, and German Bishops’ Conferences – Bishop Markus Büchel, Archbishop Georges Pontier, and Cardinal Reinhard Marx – who met with 50 participants: “partakers of the Synod, professors of theology, members of the Roman Curia, as well as journalists,” according to the press release of the German Bishops’ Conference of May 26. The general theme of this confidential gathering was the upcoming Synod of Bishops on the family, and the substance of the presentations was also to be kept confidential. The participants were even asked to preserve a silence after the Day of Study was over. As Catholic News Agency reports:

One of the speakers, who asked to be kept anonymous, refused to comment on the purpose of the conference and the tone of the discussion, as “it is unfortunately forbidden to us by the organizers to give any interview or explanation about yesterday’s conference.”

The well-respected Vatican reporter Edward Pentin spoke with Cardinal Marx after he exited the confidential meeting. Pentin reports:

Speaking to the Register as he left the meeting, Cardinal Marx insisted the study day wasn’t secret. But he became irritated when pressed about why it wasn’t advertised,saying he had simply come to Rome in a “private capacity” and that he had every right to do so. Close to Pope Francis and part of his nine-member council of cardinals, the cardinal is known to be especially eager to reform the Church’s approach to homosexuals.

During his Pentecost homily last Sunday, Cardinal Marx called for a “welcoming culture” in the Church for homosexuals, saying it’s “not the differences that count, but what unites us.”

As different media outlets have subsequently been able to report, the following themes were discussed favorably at this Rome meeting, all of which items indicate a liberalizing tendency:

 a new “theology of love”: sexuality as a precious gift of God, as itself an expression of love

 the Church’s acceptance of homosexual unions

 the Church’s listening to the voice of the Baptized in moral questions

 a Catholic Hermeneutic of the Bible on the basis of the words of Jesus about divorce

 the change of moral patterns in a pluralistic society

 admittance of “remarried” couples to the sacraments

 a second marriage as an “authentic union”

 the indissolubility of marriage as “an ideal or ‘utopia’”

 the importance of the human sex drive

 sexuality as basis for a long-lasting relationship

 with the lengthening of lifespans, the borders of fidelity are also changed

 the development of Church doctrine and discipline over time The spokesman for this one-day meeting, Matthias Kopp, told Catholic News Service on May 27, after some criticisms had arisen: “I reject the thesis that the bishops have an agenda to change church teaching.” In spite of this denial, many Catholics are indignant and suspicious about the procedure and tendency of this meeting, since many of the bishops, who are meant to be represented by the presidents of their own national bishops’ conferences, were not even informed about the confidential meeting, let alone invited.

Manfred Spieker, a German layman and professor emeritus of Christian social studies of the University of Osnabrück, wrote on May 28 on the German-speaking website kath.net about the fact that the other bishops were not even informed about the meeting, as organized by the three presidents of their bishops’ conferences: “This is close to an abuse of their office as moderators of the Bishops’ Conference, because their proper role as a president of a bishops’ conference is not much more than being a moderator.” He insists that their methods are undermining the explicit intent of the Synod of Bishops, which calls for and promises openness and fairness:

A conference that resembles more a secretive gathering than an academic, and therewith open event stands in opposition to the proclaimed openness and fairness. It is divisive. The three bishops [Presidents of the Bishops’ Conferences] also did not invite those journalists who are known experts on the subject, but only those who share their views and are able to intensify the public pressure which this whole meeting is supposed to place upon the Synod in October.

Professor Spieker compares this conduct with some of the methods that were used during the last Synod of Bishops, saying: “The attempts at manipulation which had reached – already during the extraordinary Synod of Bishops of 2014 – an until-now-unknown level in the Church, have now reached a new stage with this conference at the Gregoriana.” The German professor also comments, as follows, on the above-mentioned themes and on the statements made at the meeting which have now been leaked: “It will certainly not escape the notice of the Presidents of the three Bishops’ Conferences, what schismatic potential is to be found in such expressed views.”

Newer birth control pills have higher risk of blood clots

May 29, 2015 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Women who use modern contraceptives have at least a 50 percent greater chance of having potentially deadly blood clots, according to a new study published in the British Journal of Medicine.

The study — which examines women aged 15-49 over the last 13 years — used two different United Kingdom databases to examine how frequently women developed blood clots while using new combined contraceptives, as compared to older contraceptives.

“Risks for women using newer pills were around 1.5-1.8 times higher than for women using older pills,” according to a press release announcing the study’s results. “In absolute terms, the number of extra [blood clot] cases per year per 10,000 treated women was lowest for levonorgestrel and norgestimate (six extra cases), and highest for desogestrel and cyproterone (14 extra cases).”

A BJM editorial about the study noted that the results showed “newer contraceptives increased risks by around 3.6- to 4.3-fold compared with non-use, and by around twofold compared with oral contraceptives containing levonorgestrel, norethisterone, or norgestimate.”

“Combined, the results provide compelling evidence that these newer oral contraceptives are associated with a higher risk of venous thromboembolism than older options, despite attempts to develop safer hormonal contraceptives for women,” concluded the BJM editorial.

The report’s lead author, University of Nottingham Research Fellow Yana Vinogradova, told LifeSiteNews in an email that “the risk [of blood clots] is 2.4-2.5 times higher in women taking old contraceptives compared with no use.”

The author told LifeSiteNews that “in each database, there were about 3 million women 15-49 years old, and more than 5,000 of them had [a blood clot].” The study said that 28 percent of women in the United Kingdom use contraceptives.

Despite the higher risk, the release also says that “the authors stress that oral contraceptives are remarkably safe, and…the reported three-times increased risk of VTE in women using oral contraceptives in their study is still lower than the up to 10-fold increased risk of VTE in pregnant women.”

The study is just the latest to find significant potential harm from using modern contraceptives. Last year, a study found that high-dose estrogen pills “increased breast cancer risk 2.7-fold,” while “those containing moderate-dose estrogen increased the risk 1.6-fold.”

Likewise, a 2014 Centers for Disease Control (CDC) study found a possible link between hormonal contraceptives and gestational diabetes, and a 2013 CDC study found a possible connection between use of the birth control pill and glaucoma.

Despite the higher risks of blood clots among women who use contraceptives, especially newer forms, Vinogradova defended the study’s finding that “this is an observational study so no definitive conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect.”

“Definite conclusions can be drawn only from a randomized controlled trial where patients with known and unknown risk factors are randomly allocated into the arms,” she wrote. “Conducting a randomized controlled trial in these circumstances is not feasible, therefore only observational studies can be performed. In observational studies, exposed and non-exposed participants may have different risk factors for outcome.”

“Although we considered all available from the databases risk factors, there may be other unknown or not-available ones. So the estimates of risks associated with different types of contraceptive pills provided by our study are the most accurate to date.”

Pope Francis Allows Priests to Begin Pardoning Women and Doctors Who’ve Performed Abortions, Changing Catholic Practice

BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER, May 7, 2015

Pope Francis has said that Roman Catholic priests can begin pardoning women who’ve had abortions and doctors who have performed the procedure starting in 2016, changing long-standing Catholic practice. The Vatican insisted, however, that it continues to look at abortion as a sin.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the president of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelisation, announced Francis’ decision earlier this week, and said: “The missionaries of mercy are priests sent out by the Holy Father at the beginning of Lent. The Pope is sending them out [to dioceses and parishes] as a tangible sign of how a priest should be a man of pardon, close to everyone …”

The Irish Times pointed out that Catholic tradition only allows bishops or the pope himself to absolve women of having an abortion, which is a sin that leads to excommunication from the Church.

The Catholic “Holy Year of Mercy” runs from Dec. 8 through Nov. 20, 2016, and will allow specially appointed priests “the authority to pardon even those sins reserved to the Holy See.”

The special year will also mark several individual jubilee days, such as for the Roman Curia, catechists, teenagers and prisoners.

Archbishop Fisichella clarified in an interview with Italian news agency ANSA that priests will also be able to offer absolution not only to women who’ve had abortions, but also to the doctors that performed them.

The Daily Mail reported that the Vatican has previously faced criticism from the United Nations for excommunicating the mother and doctor of a 9-year-old girl in Brazil who underwent an abortion in 2009 after she was raped by her stepfather and became pregnant with twins.

Italian Cardinal Velasio De Paolis, who has published a book alongside four other cardinals called Remaining In The Truth Of Christ, which defends marriage and Catholic tradition, insisted that the Catholic stance against abortion will not waver, however.

De Paolis said: “Regardless of this decision by the Pope, the Church will continue to consider abortion a sin. I hope it does not cause confusion.”

Francis has affirmed on a number of occasions his opposition to abortion, a well as to euthanasia, stem-cell research, and other attempts to end life.

Back in November 2014, the pontiff dismissed the notion that abortion is good for women, or that euthanasia is “an act of dignity,” or “a scientific breakthrough to ‘produce’ a child (who is) considered a right instead of accepted as a gift.” Francis also denounced “(the) use of human life as laboratory mice supposedly to save others.”

The Vatican has set up an official Jubilee of Mercy website which talks more about the tradition and the planned events.

“I have decided to announce an Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its centre the mercy of God. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live in the light of the Word of the Lord: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (Luke 6:36). And this especially applies to confessors! So much mercy!” Francis said when announcing the Holy Year.

High School Quarterback Made an Amazing Promise to Girl With Down Syndrome, And He Kept It

BY STOYAN ZAIMOV , CHRISTIAN POST REPORTER, May 7, 2015

Ann Marie Lapkowicz is a friend of mine. Her daughter is now an international celebrity.

The story begins when Ann Marie’s daughter Mary was in 4th grade. As PennLive.com reports, her friend Ben Moser worked hard to make sure that Mary was included in the games the other fourth graders would play.

His act of kindness was significant because

Mary has Down Syndrome. But to Ben, Mary was not a statistic—she was a friend.

Ben informed his mother that, when he was old enough, he would invite Mary to the high school prom.

But Ben and Mary ended up attending different high schools. As fate would have it, their paths crossed one day, and Ben decided to make good on his long-ago promise. As he told PennLive.com, “We got balloons and I wrote ‘prom’ on it. I presented her with the balloons and asked her to go to prom with me.”

But the fairy tale did not end there. News of the quarterback who asked his Down Syndrome friend to the prom has gone viral. The pair even appeared on the cable program “Fox & Friends.” Ben told the

Fox News anchor, “Mary’s the coolest person ever!”

He also said his mother has never been prouder of him.

Mary’s mother, my friend Ann Marie, told me she was wondering if allowing PennLive to publicize the story was the right thing to do. After all, she is protective of her children, and is even reluctant to post pictures of them on Facebook.

But she had heard that such positive stories can save the lives of Down Syndrome children (It has been estimated that 90 percent of Down Syndrome babies are aborted.). If it could save one life, she figured the discomfort of the spotlight would be worth it.

I have watched Mary grow up into a beautiful young woman. I have known her to rise very early to attend church with her family on weekday mornings. She is a very special girl, and it is heartwarming that the world has come to recognize that through the “prom-promise” made by an equally special young man.

Ben and Mary’s friendship should provide a lesson to us all.

Why young Christians can’t grasp our arguments against gay ‘marriage’

By John Stonestreet

May 28, 2015 (BreakPoint.org) — For five years, Dr. Abigail Rine has been teaching a course on gender theory at George Fox University, an evangelical school in the Quaker tradition.

At the beginning of the semester, she tells her students that “they are guaranteed to read something they will find disagreeable, probably even offensive.”

Writing at FirstThings.com recently, she related how five years ago it was easy to find readings that challenged and even offended the evangelical college students “considering the secular bent of contemporary gender studies.” But today, things are different. “Students now,” she says, “arrive in my class thoroughly versed in the language and categories of identity politics; they are reticent to disagree with anything for fear of seeming intolerant—except, of course, what they perceive to be intolerant.”

And what do they find “intolerant”? Well, in her class, an essay entitled “What is Marriage?” by Sherif Girgis, Robert George, and Ryan Anderson, which was the beginning of the book “What Is Marriage?: Man and Woman: A Defense.” In their article, Girgis, George, and Anderson defend what they call the conjugal view of marriage. “Marriage,” they write, “is the union of a man and a woman who make a permanent and exclusive commitment to each other … that is naturally fulfilled by bearing and rearing children together.” They defend this view against what they call the “revisionist view” of marriage, which redefines marriage to include, among other things, same-sex couples.

“My students hate it,” Dr. Rine wrote. They “lambast the article.” “They also,” she adds, “seem unable to fully understand the argument.” And again, these are evangelical students at an evangelical school.

The only argument for conjugal marriage they’ve ever encountered has been the wooden proof-texting from the Bible. And besides, wrote Rine, “What the article names as a ‘revisionist’ idea of marriage—marriage as an emotional, romantic, sexual bond between two people—does not seem ‘new’ to my students at all, because this is the view of marriage they were raised with, albeit with a scriptural, heterosexual gloss.”

As Rine points out “the redefinition of marriage began decades ago” when “the link between sexuality and procreation was severed in our cultural imagination.”

And if marriage “has only an arbitrary relationship to reproduction,” then it seems mean-spirited to Rine’s students to argue that marriage by its very nature excludes same-sex couples.

And where do students get the idea that marriage “has only an arbitrary relationship to reproduction”? Well, everywhere—television, church, school, their homes, in youth groups.

Rine writes, “As I consider my own upbringing and the various ‘sex talks’ I encountered in evangelical church settings over the past twenty years, I realize that the view of marital sex presented there was primarily revisionist.” In other words, once you say, “I do,” you get “the gift” of sex which is presented as “a ‘gift’ largely due to its [erotic], unitive properties, rather than its intrinsic capacity to create life.” Even in the Church, children have become an optional add-on to married life rather than its primary purpose.

What can we do to win back our children, our churches, and the culture? In our recent book “Same Sex Marriage,” Sean McDowell and I lay out a game plan. We offer strategies for the short-term and the long-term, with the ultimate goal: re-shaping the cultural imagination towards what God intended marriage to be, starting with the church. Come to BreakPoint.org to pick up your copy.

As Chuck Colson once said in a BreakPoint commentary about marriage, “We Christians are very good at saying ‘No.’ But we’ve got to get better at saying ‘Yes’: showing how God’s plan for humanity is a blessing. That His ways, including faithful, life-giving marriage between one man and one woman, lead to human flourishing physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Reprinted with permission from Break Point.