Children, the Supreme Gift of Marriage Last year Christian musician Nichole Nordeman shared a humorous but tragic anecdote. She described overhearing a couple at the airport on a video chat with their “baby” and the baby’s “grandparents.” The parents, she said, were clearly suffering separation anxiety. “They are cooing and gushing and exclaiming “well look . . . Read more
The Predictions of Humanae Vitae We begin our exposition of Humanae Vitae (HV) with section no. 17. In this part of the document, Pope Paul VI lays out four predictions as to what would happen in society if teaching against contraception went unheeded. Let us remember that this teaching is not simply a particular doctrine . . . Read more
Humanae Vitae No “Invention;” It Reiterated Inherited Tradition of the Church Since the 1960’s Western culture has been in a downward spiral of moral decadence. The contraceptive pill, introduced in the U.S. during that decade, brought about the so-called “sexual revolution.” This revolution brought in turn an unprecedented increase in sexual promiscuity, conjugal infidelity, divorce, . . . Read more
Biology is Not a Social Construct Gender ideology is a belief system that holds that sex is a social construct. Gender ideology teaches that every person has something called a “gender identity” in the brain that may or may not be the same as that person’s biological sex. Its central tenet is that this “gender . . . Read more
In 1996 Pope St. John Paul II, speaking to a group of teachers of Natural Family Planning (NFP), boldly declared: “The moment has come for every parish and every structure of consultation and assistance to the family and to the defense of life to have personnel available who can teach married couples how to use . . . Read more
Technical and scientific discoveries and innovations are happening at a tremendous rate. Social attitudes and morality have also undergone huge shifts in just the past two generations. Try this mental exercise. Imagine virtually any community in the 1950s and then fast-forward to the present. Almost nothing will have remained untouched. The geography and enduring elements . . . Read more
“The family, the great workshop of love, is the first school, indeed, a lasting school where people are not taught to love with barren ideas, but with the incisive power of experience.” —February 13th Angelus Prayer, Vatican City, 1994 One of the many things I continue to admire in the life of Saint John Paul . . . Read more
“[U]sing the natural [family planning] methods requires and strengthens the harmony of the married couple, it helps and confirms the rediscovery of the marvelous gift of parenthood, it involves respect for nature and demands the responsibility of the individuals. According to many authoritative opinions, they also foster more completely that human ecology which is the . . . Read more
Accompaniment If marriage’s call to holiness is an apostolic endeavor for each spouse to make the faith more alive to the other, then each partner is called to discover God through both ups and down, and difficult patches of their relationship as well as the easy. In other words, husband and wife seek God through each . . . Read more
Perhaps no other encyclical in the history of the Church has received so much ridicule and caused such controversy as Humanae Vitae. Even today, 50 years later, it still evokes heated discussions and debates, often from people (including some priests) who have never read the document. Yet when encouraged to read the encyclical, one quickly . . . Read more
