On Married Couples Who Refuse to Have Children

I feel very sorry for men and women who refuse to be open life, which is a refusal to be open to God's will for their marriage. His will for them may well include the blessings of children. When these childless-by-choice Christians die and face Christ their Judge (just as we all one day will face Him), their matching Harley-Davidson bikes and gourmet kitchens won't pray for them or play any positive role in their judgment.

The following article is worth reading and forwarding to your friends, Catholic and Protestant. And for a good antidote to the contraceptive "childless by choice" insanity so rampant among many married couples, check out Dr. Janet Smith's "Contraception: Why Not?" presentation, available for cheap at One More Soul. 

Touchstone Magazine ran an eye-opening piece about this issue awhile back: 

Joe and Deb Schum aren’t worried about baby-proofing their house or buying a car seat. They don’t intend ever to have children. As a matter of fact, they are proud of their childlessness. According to a report in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “The Schums are part of a growing number of couples across the country for whom kids don’t factor in the marriage equation.”

The nation’s birthrate fell in 2002 to a historic low of 66.9 births per 1,000 women age 15 to 44. That represents a decline of 43 percent since just 1960. “Many childless couples,” according to the report, “revel in their decision, despite badgering from baffled mothers and friends. Others struggle with the choice before keeping the house kid-free.”

An Epidemic

The Schums just don’t want kids to get in the way of their lifestyle. They enjoy cruising to the Georgia mountains on their matching Harley-Davidson motorcycles. They love their gourmet kitchen, outfitted with the very latest stainless steel appliances and fashionable countertops. Deb Schum explains, “If we had kids, we would need a table where the kids could do homework.”

This pattern of childlessness has caught the media’s attention. The left-wing Internet site Salon.com actually published a series of articles entitled, “To Breed or Not to Breed,” featuring couples and individuals who have decided that children are not a part of their chosen lifestyle.

One woman wrote that motherhood just doesn’t fit her self-image or her schedule. “I compete in triathlons; my husband practices martial arts; we both have fulfilling careers; we travel the world . . . we enjoy family and friends; we have a fun, intimate relationship.” Another woman asked: “What would the return be on the investment? Are there any laws that would require my children to pay for my nursing home when I am old? Are they going to be a sufficient hedge against poverty and loneliness?”

Some who have chosen to be childless have actually formed organizations in order to band together. The group “No Kidding” was formed in Atlanta four years ago as a social outlet for couples choosing to have no children. . . . (article)

This Is Exactly Why the Envoy Institute Was Established

Since some of you have children in college or you have high-schoolers who will soon be headed to college (or both), I thought it would be helpful to post a link to this article, which came out a couple of years ago but is still just as important as ever for parents to read and think carefully about.

Second Major Study Shows Modern Catholic Universities Harm Students’ Faith Life.

It would be a true spiritual work of mercy for you to share this article with any Catholic parents you know who are or will be sending their own kids to college. I'd suggest e-mailing th link or printing out the article and sharing it.

The problems this report identifies are precisely why the Envoy Institute of Belmont Abbey, which I am privileged to oversee, was set up, under the auspices of a very good Catholic school: Belmont Abbey College. You can read more here and here about the Institute's mission to help high-school and college-age Catholics remain strong in their Faith and do their part to lead their peers out of the darkness of relativism and hedonism and into the light of Truth. 

More Heat Than Light From the East

Here's a classic radio bit from an “Open Line” radio broadcast that Marcus Grodi and I co-hosted a few years ago, as he handed off the hosting duties to me. 

The call from "Steve," an Orthodox fellow with harsh comments about the Catholic Church, provided some fireworks. This may be the first time you've ever heard Marcus get his dander up. The particular call starts at 20:00 minutes into the show.

By the way, for those of you who follow this bog (and I thank you for that), if this kind of thing is interesting and useful to you, please let me know in the comments section, and I'll post more — remember, just click the post title to show all comments.

You can't draw pure water from a poisoned well.

Father Philip Neri Powell, O.P., posted a brief but deft parable at Domine, da mihi hanc aquam. His fellow priests may find it quite useful as fodder for sermons. (Hint, hint, nudge, nudge.)

A Refresher on the Sacrament of Refreshment

Like some of you, I grew up learning the basics of my Catholic Faith from the Baltimore Catechism, and I really do thank God and my parents for it.

While it's widely considered outré these days to promote rote memorization in religion (a.k.a. CCD) classes for kids, I think it's a bad idea to discourage pedagogy that involves at least some memorization component. In fact, personally, I'd say the more memorization the better. The more effort that's put into learning the truths of the Catholic Faith by heart the more likely the child will be to remain firmly anchored to the Church as he grows up and navigates through the often spiritually treacherous waters of this world.

Similar to memorizing the times tables in the 2nd or 3rd grade, there is a lot to be said for how we used to memorize the answers to the questions posed in the Catechism, back in the olden days.

Just as I could never forget that 3 x 5 = 15 and (like most people who were taught arithmetic in the 1960s) can mentally calculate multiplication equations instantly and with hardly a thought, I am fortunate to have been taught the Faith in a way that enables me to call up instantly from memory certain theological truths, as well as facts, like the ten commandments, books of the New Testament, etc. That's how permanently engraved in the mind religious knowledge can be when it's duly memorized and often recalled from memory. And the beauty part about it is that practically anyone can do it. It just takes some effort and determination.

In any case, all of that is simply an editorial gloss on the section of the Baltimore Catechism on the meaning, purpose, and effects of Christ's Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. 

We can all do with a refresher, now and then, on such an august subject, don't you think?

Q. 895. Why did Christ institute the Holy Eucharist?

A. Christ instituted the Holy Eucharist:

1. To unite us to Himself and to nourish our soul with His divine life.
2. To increase sanctifying grace and all virtues in our soul.
3. To lessen our evil inclinations.
4. To be a pledge of everlasting life.
5. To fit our bodies for a glorious resurrection.
6. To continue the sacrifice of the Cross in His Church.

Q. 896. Has the Holy Eucharist any other effect?

A. The Holy Eucharist remits venial sins by disposing us to perform acts of love and contrition. It preserves us from mortal sin by exciting us to greater fervor and strengthening us against temptation.

Q. 897. How are we united to Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist?

A. We are united to Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist by means of Holy Communion.

Q. 898. What is Holy Communion?

A. Holy Communion is the receiving of the body and blood of Christ.

Q. 899. Is it not beneath the dignity of Our Lord to enter our bodies under the appearance of ordinary food?

A. It is not beneath the dignity of Our Lord to enter our bodies under the appearance of ordinary food any more than it was beneath His dignity to enter the body of His Blessed Mother and remain there as an ordinary child for nine months. Christ's dignity, being infinite, can never be diminished by any act on His own or on our part.

(continue reading . . . )

Precursor to Persecution?

It's getting closer, I fear. And these people will be in the vanguard when it breaks out.

Heads up, Catholics.

(Courtesy of Michelle Malkin.)

Tall, Dark, and . . . What?

Okay, Daniel Pipes has just officially blown my mind with his recent article on a connection of sorts between our new president elect and Muslim “prophecies” regarding the end of the world. See what you think about this:

Ali ibn Abi-Talib, the seventh-century figure central to Shiite Islam, is said to have predicted when the world will end, columnist Amir Taheri points out. A "tall black man" commanding "the strongest army on earth" will take power "in the west." He will carry "a clear sign" from the third imam, Hussein. Ali says of the tall black man: "Shiites should have no doubt that he is with us."

Barack Hussein in Arabic means "the blessing of Hussein." In Persian, Obama translates as "He [is] with us." Thus does the name of the presumptive American president-elect, when combined with his physical attributes and geography, suggest that the End of Times is nigh – precisely what Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been predicting.

Back down on earth, the Muslim reaction to Obama's victory is more mixed than one might expect.

American Islamists are delighted; an umbrella group, the American Muslim Taskforce on Civil Rights and Election, opined that, with Obama's election, "Our nation has … risen to new majestic heights." Siraj Wahhaj, Al-Hajj Talib Abdur Rashid, the Council on American Islamic Relations, the Muslim Public Affairs Council, the Islamic Society of North America, the Islamic Circle of North America, and the Muslim Alliance in North America responded with similar exuberance.

Hamas, and Islamist movements in Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, India, Indonesia and the Philippines delighted in Obama's election. Robert Spencer of Jihad Watch generalizes that jihadists and Islamic supremacists worldwide showed "unalloyed joy." The New York Times finds public reaction in the Middle East mostly "euphoric." John Esposito of Georgetown University emphasizes the Muslim world's welcome to Obama as an "internationalist president."

(continue reading . . .)

Great Expectations

(Note: “Great” does not always mean “good.”)

Tom Hoopes, editor of the National Catholic Register, summarizes another article by another writer about “What Catholics Can Expect” from the Obama regime.

Keep in mind that the particular Catholics in question here are those who are outspokenly pro-life. Other Catholics — you know, those of the Douglas Kmiec, Richard Gaillardetz, Kathleen Sebelius variety — will have nothing whatsoever to fear from the new regime. Catholics of that variety can expect even more in the way of blandishments to secure their approval for and cooperation with what is to come and all the emoluments that will accrue to them as a result of their cooperation. 

But they should remember that the Lord issued a memo about just that sort of thing in Luke 9:25. 

As for us, let's remember what Christ said about times like these:

“Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men; for they will deliver you up to councils, and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear testimony before them and the Gentiles.

“When they deliver you up, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death; and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:16-22).

I'll Be Speaking in Ontario, California, Next Weekend (Nov. 21 & 22)

Please join us, if you can. I'll be conducting a weekend parish seminar on apologetics and other Catholic themes at San Secondo D'Asti Catholic Church in the tiny, postage-stamp-sized town of Guasti, Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

The parish is literally right across the street from the Ontario Airport and is very easy to get to off the 10 Freeway. The address is 250 N. Turner Ave., Guasti, CA 91743. The number to call for info, etc., is 909-390-0011. 

I hope you can join me. Please help spread the word by telling your friends. See you there.

Cardinal Francis Arinze Splains Why “Liturgical Dance” Should be Rejected

Included in his remarks is this gem: “Young people's rock music is good . . . for [a] picnic. But not for Mass.”

Amen. 

Radio Days

Time has flown by since I started hosting the Thursday edition of EWTN Radio's “Open Line” broadcast (every Thursday at 3:00 p.m. Eastern). My three-year anniversary is next month, which means 150+ shows have come and gone. Whew!

Happily, EWTN archives all the shows in the radio section of their website, and I've gathered the links to all the shows from 2008 here. You can download them to your computer or i-Pod and listen when it's convenient. Enjoy.

What a fun and interesting ride it has been for me, and hopefully for my listeners. I'm grateful to EWTN for inviting me to host the show, and I also owe a debt of thanks to my friend Marcus Grodi, who had hosted the show before me. He asked me to take over when he decided to launch his very successful “Deep in Scripture” radio show.

In the Company of Women, Lots of Women

Last night at a banquet and today at their conference, Nancy and I are privileged to be participating as speakers for the 63rd annual convention of the Columbus Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. Their theme this year is “Welcome Back, Catholics,” dedicated to learning how to reach out compassionately and with solid Catholic teaching to help bring home to the Church those who have wandered away. A couple of hundred women will be there. 

My talk will be this morning at 10:00 and Nancy will address the group after lunch. I'm so proud of her. She'll be sharing her own personal observations and reflections on having a large family and being openly Catholic (having a large family sort of forces that openness, we've found) in a society that is becoming increasingly hostile to Catholic moral principles, such as being open to life, etc. I know the women will love her. 

(If you read this post sometime before 1:00 p.m. ET, please say a little prayer for her, as she's understandably a little nervous, this being a sort of “debut” for her. I know she is going to do a fantastic job.)

If Father Z Says It's “Stunning,” You Know It's Got to Be Good

He says:

REVIEW: The TLM instructional DVD by the FSSP. Stunning! 

Get excited. . . .

Fr. Nolan sent me an advance copy of their long-awaited instructional DVD for priests who desire to learn the older form of Mass.

The fuller title is The Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, an Instructional Video for Priests and Seminarians.

This DVD is stunning in its production values and its detail.  It is easy to follow, well explained, beautifully recorded.   This is a must obtain for priests, must give to seminarians, must be used by them set of disks.

On Reaching a Comfortable Cruising Altittude

A few days ago, I travelled to Phoenix for some important Envoy Institute meetings. The morning of my departure, the sky over Columbus was typical for early November: gray, overcast, dreary.

I was looking forward to the sunny blue skies of Arizona and, thankfully, when I got there I wasn’t disappointed. But this little reflection is not about the sunny skies that awaited me. Rather, it’s about something I learned on the way there.

This life, filled as it is with so many mundane things like catching a flight from point A to point B, can yield up intuitions and insights about the spiritual life that suddenly float unexpectedly into view. I love how the Lord teaches me through the routine and seemingly insignificant things in my day-to-day life.

So, I’m seated on the plane, getting ready to take off. I prefer an aisle seat, but this morning I find myself seated next to the window, where I have a nice view of the dismal sky. We take off, and the plane quickly climbs through the clouds toward what I hope will be “a comfortable cruising altitude,” where my mind will be free to move about the universe.

Gazing absentmindedly out my window, I watch the clouds fall away beneath me as we ascend to our appointed height. But just as the plane passes through the lowest cloud layer, we enter a clear gap between cloud decks that’s fairly bright, enough for me to see a fair distance away, although there's nothing to see except more clouds. I enjoy this view for a few moments and then the sky begins to darken and becomes obscured once more, as the plane rises through another looming mass of dark mist.

Nothing but gray for the next few minutes, and bumpy, since passing through clouds usually causes turbulence. Nothing unusual there. We’re rising higher, but still, all I can see is a wall of gray, formless clouds.

Suddenly, we break back into another clear zone between the clouds. This time, I can see for miles and miles. It’s much brighter here, but I still can’t see the blue sky I had expected. Craning my neck to look upward, I can see another layer of clouds above us, this one lighter and thinner than the ones below. In a few minutes, we plunge upward into it. I see that this layer is suffused with light and even has a hint of blue peeking through, here and there.

That’s when it occurs to me how similar this flight is to the spiritual life. A simple metaphor that stirs my soul with thoughts about my own journey toward heaven. I know that “somewhere up there” is the clear blue sky — heaven — where I want to be. I want to get out of the gray, cold, dreary clouds, out of the mist, out of the turbulence, and into the warm, tranquil, light above. To get there, though, I have to pass through who knows how many more clouds that stand between where I am now and where I am headed.

The great spiritual masters, such as St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Francis de Sales, and St. Therese of Lisieux, all say that the upward path to heaven leads through the stages of purgation and then illumination before finally reaching that blessed union with God.

Passing through the dark and difficult “clouds” in this life and thinking for a moment, “Hey! I’ve made it!” only to realize with a sigh, “No, I still have a good way yet to go,” becomes a source of joy and consolation for the man or woman who truly desires God. The higher one goes, the great saints say, the more illuminated things become. Until one day, that joyful day when, by God's grace, one has finally passed through all those interminable clouds of this earthly life, he suddenly finds himself enveloped within splendorous light and glory, as he is ushered into the presence of the Triune God.

Thank you, Lord, for this little insight. I know I’ll think about this every time I travel on a plane.

An Abortionist Has a Dream . . .

Madrid, Nov 12, 2008 / 09:21 pm (CNA).- The Spanish daily “La Razon” has published an article on the pro-life conversion of a former “champion of abortion.” Stojan Adasevic, who performed 48,000 abortions, sometimes up to 35 per day, is now the most important pro-life leader in Serbia, after 26 years as the most renowned abortion doctor in the country.

“The medical textbooks of the Communist regime said abortion was simply the removal of a blob of tissue,” the newspaper reported.  “Ultrasounds allowing the fetus to be seen did not arrive until the 80s, but they did not change his opinion. Nevertheless, he began to have nightmares.”

In describing his conversion, Adasevic “dreamed about a beautiful field full of children and young people who were playing and laughing, from 4 to 24 years of age, but who ran away from him in fear. A man dressed in a black and white habit stared at him in silence.  The dream was repeated each night and he would wake up in a cold sweat. One night he asked the man in black and white who he was. ‘My name is Thomas Aquinas,’ the man in his dream responded. Adasevic, educated in communist schools, had never heard of the Dominican genius saint.  He didn’t recognize the name”

“Why don’t you ask me who these children are?” St. Thomas asked Adasevic in his dream.

“They are the ones you killed with your abortions,’ St. Thomas told him. 

“Adasevic awoke in amazement and decided not to perform any more abortions,” the article stated.

“That same day a cousin came to the hospital with his four months-pregnant girlfriend, who wanted to get her ninth abortion—something quite frequent in the countries of the Soviet bloc.  The doctor agreed. Instead of removing the fetus piece by piece, he decided to chop it up and remove it as a mass. However, the baby’s heart came out still beating. Adasevic realized then that he had killed a human being” . . .  (continue reading).