In 1971 there were two Catholic brothers together practicing obstetrics and gynecology. By 1973, they had split up their practice. One brother apparently decided to distribute contraception, while the other did not. It is so difficult to find an ob-gyn who adheres to the teaching that contraception is wrong. It is also hard to find a pharmacist who feels the same way. I think there is an ob-gyn practice about 50 or 60 miles away from me that adheres to the no contraception rule.
It is important to keep in mind the situation we have all been born into. The devil asked permission from God to destroy the Church, God granted his request for a period of time. They came to an agreement. it has been said that Galgano had reached such perfection that the preternatural protected him, ( obviously at the command of the supernatural). So what we’ve got here is failure to communicate, some men you just can’t reach, and this is the way he wants it, and we’ll he gets it….
Apologies for the sarcasm. And I forgive you regarding the "echo chamber" comment. I'll try to clarify what I was saying, without the "snark". God is outside of time and space. Sometimes it helps (me, at least) to view the Church the same way, as far as history goes. The Japanese faithful kept the faith for 200 years, cut off from Rome altogether. The Irish faithful did the same for longer than that. The difference between those civilizations and say, China today, is that they were cut off by secular authority. They still kept the faith: "A female member of the group spoke to a French priest, Bernard Thaddée Petitjean, and revealed that their families had kept the Kirishitan faith. Those Kirishitan wanted to see the statue of the Virgin Mary with their own eyes, and to confirm that the priest was single and truly came from the Pope in Rome. After this interview, many Kirishitan thronged toward Petitjean. He investigated their underground organizations and discovered that they had kept the rite of baptism and the liturgical years without European priests for nearly 250 years. Petitjean's report surprised the Christian world; Pope Pius IX called it a miracle." https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Catholic_Church_in_Japan The Chinese today still had ties with Rome, until malevolent forces in Rome itself thru them to the wolves. And these forces, which appear to be in line with the secular authorities today, are wreaking havoc on all of us, well catechized or not. Will God be any less merciful in His judgement of the people of our day, then He was of those in past times? imho, I don't believe so.
Our doctor, who has been our general practitioner for over 40 years, has been one of the wisest and less intrusive medical advisors Geralyn and I know. However, subsequent to the birth of our second child, Rachel, Tucker suggested contraception. Geralyn said no. After our third child, Patrick, Tucker suggested again the use of contraception. Geralyn basically gave him the "didn't you hear me the last time" speech and he never has brought it up since. Apart from that bit of testiness, he has been superb, always recommending the less intrusive but wise options. God, draw Dr. Tucker more deeply to Yourself!
Yes, this context explains it all. I appreciate your wisdom in saying this. It’s right on time. Thank you.
But one can’t give up either. Sometimes the inner voice comes through a daughter, or mother, or priest. It’s as simple as that.
The devil has never had such power as he has now. He has almost unlimited means of temptation, through so many methods of communication that intrude just about everywhere. Radio, television, internet, mobile phones and so on and on. Through this relentless propaganda, he has gained 'moral' control of Western bureaucracies and educational systems enabling almost total brainwashing. Somehow, the devil managed to gain a monstrously large foothold within the Church herself. The damage done by liberal priests in the sixties and seventies is incalculable. Should we be surprised that so many young, virile couples would only jump at such a "go-ahead"? Pope St John Paul steadied the ship as much as he could, but authority has been so gravely weakened that many simply take what JPII said as 'opinion', rather than doctrine, particularly as so many clerics within the Church continue to question this doctrine. The problem with slippery slopes is that one can't stop slipping.
Agree! Brilliant analysis from DeGaulle. . He puts his finger directly on the pulse of our current dire situation.
This is also why, I think, He gave us the Divine Mercy devotion and chaplet. Some “rad trad” Catholics almost reject St. Faustina out of hand, because the promises of the devotion seem like “cheap grace,” like it’s almost “too easy.” But in an era where the world is obviously as you so astutely point out here, full of demonic power and fury, God provided a devotion to counter it that even the poorly catechized marginal Catholics of our day could swallow and from which they could benefit immensely.
When Our Lord spoke of the 'narrow gate', I wonder did He imply, not that only a small few would be saved, but that His forthcoming death on the Cross would widen it? In a similar context, He reminded us that 'nothing is impossible to God'.
You are a good son Brian, and God has placed a lot on your shoulders. I believe, the truly faithful Catholic really has no idea of their vital role in the salvation of souls/the world and this is a good thing because if we knew the weight of responsibility we carry, it would paralyse us, seeming impossible to achieve. We the Catholic faithful carry innumerable souls to God and we are called to obedience to His call, this is our mission, it is the great task set before us. We can only accomplish this extraordinary mission with Divine intervention and intercession; That is why God gave us His Mother and the Seven Sacraments as our strengths. Thank God we are in the dark, because His Church was created for excellence and superhuman virtue, which we as humans are incapable of without supernatural help. God Bless you Brian. I have similar crosses. I will pray for you please pray for me. Thank you.
Jesus speaks to this in Luke 12:48 To whom much is given, much will be required. If you have heard that line of wisdom, you know it means we are held responsible for what we have been given. If we have been blessed with the true faith it is expected that we benefit others. The feast of the Holy Innocents, also called Childermas or Innocents’ Day; is a Christian feast in remembrance of the martyred innocent children in Bethlehem by 'King Herod the great' in his attempt to kill the infant Jesus (Matthew 2:16–18). The slain children were regarded by the early church as the first martyrs! Lets look at these martyred children. These children were unbaptised, most were Jewish but some were also pagan, yet they are venerated as saints and rightfully so in Our Catholic Faith. These young children lights are infinitesimally smaller than your or my lights and those of the MoG forum in general, yet we universally as Catholics venerate these little lights, these children as saints! So God judging people according to their lights as HH has indicated above, seems to make a lot of sense when we consider Gods Love for the Holy Innocents. Its their little small light which is similar to that of an aborted baby today, that God looks at and loves, because He died for them too, even though they did not have the lights God has given to you. The truth of the Holy Innocents is part of our Catholic faith, observed by Western churches on December 28 and in the Eastern churches on December 29. In Rome it was a day of fasting and mourning. God does look at our lights when judging us, just as a mother or father looks at the lights of their children when judging their behaviours. We take into account many things including age, knowledge, disposition before we act. How much more so does God do this for us! Food for thought
Jesus was before the crowds and the adulterous woman. He spoke with authority “ He who is without sin cast the first stone.” All of a sudden a small pebble comes flying over the crowd. Jesus looks around at the pebble and around at the crowd. “Mom, stop interfering.”
Obfuscation, Henri. Either you believe that the Sacraments and Holy Mass, when freely available, are necessary aids to Salvation or not.
I have no idea what point you are trying to make. A 'Church' surviving underground with no choice and following Church practice as handed onto them is entirely different from Henri suggesting that formal Church was unnecessary and a guardian angel and a personal hotline to the Holy Spirit was all that was necessary for salvation. No individual can be so super confident that they are interpreting this Spirit correctly. And by the way, The Irish were NEVER cut off from Rome. Archbishops, bishops and priests were trained abroad and in Rome and sent to us. We NEVER thought we were above obeying Holy Mother Church and prized the role of the Priest and the Sacraments unto death. It is the Irish TODAY who, like Henri, feel they can go it alone and despise priests and 'keep away from' them. As regards the echo chamber comment, I reiterate it. I have followed this site for many years and yes, from observation there is and has been a tendency to cliques. Human nature I suppose. Some people like to freeze others out and I see PNF being ostracised to quite a degree at present. This poster may not be a soft, cuddly cotton ball but I have never read him being offensive. He always answers with his whole heart and takes the time to research and provide a lot of very useful information. Whether other more long-standing people agree with him or not he should be afforded the same courtesy as other posters. Obviously, I should not be speaking on his behalf but having watched very similar scenarios play out with other newcomers over the years I would hate to see another valuable contributor leave. Death by a thousand snide remarks.
I have a short story which is sad imho. When I was in the hospital over the summer I asked to see a priest. When my roommate heard him on my side of the room she asked to see him also. Immediately after he spoke to me, he went over to speak to her. She always spoke pretty loudly so I could hear her say to the priest that she no longer goes to church because her feeling is that it is just a building. To my almost astonishment, the priest said nothing in return to her about her feelings. It was more like she was teaching him then he was teaching her. I want to add the following which is related to the post above mine. I don’t really feel like I belong to any cliques on MOG, I either agree with another member(s)’s position on a topic or I don’t. There does come a point though when I have worn myself out and I don’t believe that debating any further is going to change the other person’s mind and I also feel that my mind is set a certain way at that moment. Maybe at another time I’ll see things differently though. In addition, I didn’t want Wild Wyoming to leave the forum and I don’t want PNF to leave the forum either. I think that Andy reminded us to be charitable on another thread and I agree wholeheartedly with this. We should agree to disagree at times, and leave it at that.
Beautifully said Carol. You are so right.. Your sincerity and kindness are threaded through every post. There comes a time when one must just leave the argument because as St Paul says it becomes "fruitless" and we must "avoid fruitless arguments". I am saddened that people have felt pressured off the forum. Wild Wyoming comes to mind. Please don't let this happen to you. Your input is so valuable. So well researched. These relentless barbs and disputations from others are not helpful and not charitable. I hope they will desist. But if they don't please, please ignore them. May God bless you!
