They asked for it!

After reading this great article on the 40th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae by George Weigel on Catholic Exchange, I would just like to share a little tidbit with you...

Recognizing scholars such as Janet Smith, Richard Doerflinger, Christopher West, Colleen Carroll Campbell, and Mary Eberstadt, among others, Weigel points out that the bulk of leadership in regards to the Church's teaching on moral chastity has come from lay people in recent years. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of ordained leaders putting forth an effort to properly educate the faithful in the area of Catholic sexuality, however it is no secret, as Weigel states, that many have "done a poor job of explaining it".

I just had to chuckle at this (and kick myself for never connecting the dots). The Second Vatican Council discussed a universal call to holiness, meaning all, not just priests and religious, were called to live holy, devout lives aiming to please God and serve Him. It also meant that they could and should contribute even more to the life of the Church. So many saw this as an opportunity to get out from under the control of the old-fashioned, archaic teachings of the ordained men in the Church heirarchy. With the laity being granted "more power" some of the more "out of touch" statutes of the Church could be overturned.

When the Humanae Vitae bombshell was dropped, I can only imagine the gut check felt by these "forward thinkers". Right in the face of the Spirit of Vatican II, Pope Paul VI maintains with a vengeance the Church's stance that the regulation of human birth by technological means is wrong! Oh the pain!

Fast-forward forty years. Who within the Church is defending this "out of touch" encyclical called Humanae Vitae? The same lay people that the Holy Spirit called through the Second Vatican Council to step up and serve Him. As if we didn't already know... GOD KNOWS WHAT HE IS DOING! It was time for the lay faithful to do their part in upholding the truth. Not some new modern version of the truth, but the timeless TRUTH as set forth by Christ Himself.

Ah yes, Pope Paul VI was a prophet, for the world he described is the one we live in. Yet, it has never been clearer to me that the Holy Spirit guided the Church every step of the way during Vatican 2 in preparation of this new age of the fall that has become us. Sometimes it is just so hard to see the Spirit at work... and then other times it just hits you like a ton of bricks.

Humane Vitae - 40 Years Later

Today marks the 40th anniversary of Humane Vitae and I couldn't be more proud to be Catholic. In the rebellious world of the late 1960's, amidst the pressure to "progress" and move beyond the "outdated" restrictions of the past, Pope Paul VI, to the surprise and disapproval of many, issued his encyclical On the Transmission of Human Life (HV), affirming the Church's stance against birth control. So much more than that, it is a chilling and prophetic vision of a future where life is insignificant, where the human person is just some bones and flesh, another means to an end. Enter the modern day - divorce rates through the roof, abortion a mere procedure, almost 10 times the number of STD's, pornography addiction, and women still missing out on the respect God made them for. What does all this have to do with regulating birth? As soon as you take the procreative part of sex out of the act you get disaster. Paul VI knew that somehow. Despite the pressure to conform as most other Christian churches did. Birth control is not a way to avoid pregnancy. There already is a way to do that - abstinence. Birth control is a way to have sex without worries, without attachment. It is a license to have the promiscuous, casual sex that our grandparents missed out on. And that is what sex has become - a recreational act. Pope Paul VI wasn't trying to take away our rights. He was trying to save the sexual act, God's greatest gift to man, from the chains of a culture of death.

If you are in the NY-Long Island area there is a really exciting event tonight in tribute to Humane Vitae happening at St. Kilian Parish in Farmingdale. More info... here.

And if you didn't catch the other two links, you can read Humane Vitae... here.

Pope Paul VI, pray for us.

Countdown to a 40 Year Anniversary

"The transmission of human life is a most serious role in which married people collaborate freely and responsibly with God the Creator. It has always been a source of great joy to them, even though it sometimes entails many difficulties and hardships.

The fulfillment of this duty has always posed problems to the conscience of married people, but the recent course of human society and the concomitant changes have provoked new questions. The Church cannot ignore these questions, for they concern matters intimately connected with the life and happiness of human beings."

July 25th, 2008 will mark the 40 Year Anniversary of Pope Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (Of Human Life).

Preparations to celebrate the Church's counter-cultural stance against abortion and artificial methods of birth control (contraception) as reaffirmed in Humanae Vitae need to start NOW!

We are truly only beginning to understand how important this prophetic teaching is and will be for the future of the church. Pope Paul VI predicted a downfall in morality and saw the challenges that would be posed to the dignity of women should contraception gain widespread acceptance in our society. Well here we are - divorce rates up, teen pregnancy rates up, a thriving porn industry, and women... still don't have the respect they deserve. And people don't care. It's a "me-first" culture. And we're all just a means to an end.

This teaching, written 40 years ago, is a light that can no longer be ignored. In the same vein, John Paul II developed the Theology of the Body, giving his flock the depth behind the principles of Humanae Vitae and the way in which we can carry it out.

Thank God for Pope Paul VI, and thank God for Humanae Vitae.

So, what are we doing to celebrate?

Pope Paul VI, pray for us.