The CatholiCity Message
Volume XII, Number 7 – July 25, 2008
Dear CatholiCity Citizen,
We have only one topic today, which marks the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Paul VI's encyclical, Humanae Vitae, on July 25, 1968. We assume our readers know this watershed encyclical rejected the premise that the use of artificial means to avoid conception was anything other than an objectively immoral act.
THE AGE OF SEXUAL SLAVERY
Did you know that every major Christian denomination in the world (and virtually every citizen in every country on the planet) viewed the use of artificial contraception as immoral until 1930, when the Anglican Church of England officially changed its teaching at the Lambeth Conference?
With the collapse of the Christian bulwark against the idea that sexual activity could be seperated from the responsibilities of bearing children (and ultimately, that sexuality would be seperated from exclusivity within marriage), what was regarded as grossly unnatural and morally repugnant to the "man on the street" gradually became considered "natural" to most citizens of developed countries by the end of the 1970s. The age of sexual slavery is upon us, and we fear, has not reached its nadir, as the attacks upon what legally defines marriage itself gain in popularity and ferocity.
In 2008, 78 years later, and a mere "blink" of the eye of history, the Catholic Church stands alone in this foundational defense of the natural dignity of humanity itself, and sadly, many of her own members do not stand with her. Pope Paul prophetically made four dire predictions for society if this teaching was ignored, and tragically, all four have come true. We posted Mary Eberstadt's summarizing article from First Things on CatholiCity.com this week:
http://www.firstthings.com/article.php3?id_article=6262
ONE MORE SOUL
If you are married and remain faithfully open and responsible to life, we applaud your courage, empathize with the challenges, and understand your joy, especially if you have been blessed with children.
If you have struggled to adhere to the teaching or are intimidated by the massive and implacable cultural obsession to separate sexual activity from the gift and responsibility of bearing and rearing children, you are not alone. Perhaps you sincerely and honestly do not see the truth of the teaching.
We humbly and gently invite you to listen to the most loving, powerful, non-judgemental, and popular explanation of the Church's teaching ever recorded, Dr. Janet E. Smith's "Contraception, Why Not?" or her recent "Contraception, Why Not? New and Revised."
Both CDs are available free-of-charge from One More Soul, which offers an extensive variety of books, CDs, newsletters, and pamphlets on this important subject, including an online directory of doctors who do not prescribe contraceptives.
For a free CD of the classic "Contraception, Why Not?" or the New and Revised version, go here, respectively:
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?target=products&product_id=531
http://www.omsoul.com/catalog/index.php?product_id=709&target=products
EIGHT HOURS OF CHRISTOPHER WEST FOR UNDER FOUR BUCKS
For a fuller, inspiring, comprehensive, and absolutely fascinating explanation of the Church's teaching on marriage and sexuality, we heartily recommend the Gift Foundation's amazing 10-CD set on Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body, "Naked Without Shame," available for only $3.90:
THE MARY FOUNDATION'S ROLE
Many of you already know that CatholiCity.com and our parent organization, the Mary Foundation, never take any compensation for promoting these other wonderful apostolates, but we are proudly humbled to acknowledge that both One More Soul (which even offers "Contraception, Why Not?" for $1 each in quantities of 100 or more) and the Gift Foundation actively adapted our "free materials" philosophy to their own unique missions. Of course, we offer our own free CD by Christopher West, an introduction to the Theology of the Body with a sacramental emphasis, "Marriage and the Eucharist," which can be ordered here. If you haven't heard it yet, you're in for a real treat:
A PRAYER TOGETHER
Let us all thank God for the gift of life, tens of thousands of us together, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...
"Dear Father in Heaven, for each of us who raise our hearts to You on this wonderful day, there are two others, our mothers and fathers. If they be here on earth, we thank you for them and for their love, however imperfect or noble, and ask you to provide for all their spiritual and temporal needs, immediately, and with great generosity, in all things, great and small, and in all things beyond all things. If they have passed from this earth, we ask you to bring them close in your loving, fatherly embrace, and if they are already saints, we ask for their intercession, and the intercession of their angels, in every second of every minute of every day of every month of every year until we join them with You. Amen."
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
"The sole purpose of life in time is to gain merit for life in eternity."
Saint Augustine
"Young people are threatened by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire."
Pope John Paul II
"It is better to remain silent than to speak the truth ill-humoredly, and so spoil an excellent dish by covering it with bad sauce."
J. P. Camus
We'll say good-bye here, and only note that the last quote by Camus is a principle strived for in all CatholiCity Messages, and we ask for your forgiveness for all the times we have fallen short. We remain...
Yours in Christ,
Your Friends at CatholiCity
