There is a new link in our list. Lacrimarum Valle is the blog of a young Catholic couple who, I think, are truly remarkable. Despite all the pressures of being young they are about to have their first child soon. On the blog there is a wonderful testimony by father-to-be Matthew Doyle. It speaks of the wonderful conversion that he and his wife had to the Church's teaching on contraception. It just goes to show that young people CAN live according to the moral teachings of the Church. Their marriage will have its ups and downs like any other. BUT they are being generous enough with God and have decided that their love will be open to life as God sees fit.
There are many marriages which can learn alot from them. Please do visit their blog if you have any questions.
And a big THANK YOU to Matt and Wendy Doyle for their witness to life and Holy Mother Church's teachings. And remember that if you have any boys we need more priests! There's plenty of room for them here in the Seminary!
All the best with the new arrival.
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2 comments:
The Holy Mother Church doesn't teach that married couples must "be open to life as God sees fit".
Beneath are quotes from the CCC. Firstly I did NOT directly say that this is the explicit teaching of the Church.
However whilst these exact words are NOT found in the CCC they are undoubtably implied.
It is God who bestows the gift of life. Marriage must be totally open to that gift. However we know that not every conjugal act ends in the conception of life. Every conjugal act must OPEN to that possibility. Hence it is correct to say "as God sees fit" since God does not bless every act of conjugal life with a child. The last quote is of great interest. It speaks of those "whom God has not granted children". The words in my original post included the word "fit". This was NOT and is NOT a moral judgement on the worthiness of the spouses. The meaning, clear to see with benevolent eyes, was connected with God's plan, not the dignity of the spouses. Hence I am studying to be a priest. God may not see it fit for me to become so. This has NO bearing on my worthiness (is anyone worthy?) but God's eternal plan for the Church and myself in it.
These were the meanings of my words.
"By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory."162
Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves. God himself said: "It is not good that man should be alone," and "from the beginning [he] made them male and female"; wishing to associate them in a special way in his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: "Be fruitful and multiply." Hence, true married love and the whole structure of family life which results from it, without diminishment of the other ends of marriage, are directed to disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and Savior, who through them will increase and enrich his family from day to day.163
1653 The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children.164 In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the service of life.165
1654 Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality, and of sacrifice.
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