tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post7343114696990257919..comments2023-06-24T07:43:49.683-04:00Comments on Public Vigil: Can I Live?Michaelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-31550260380244845322011-05-07T23:16:59.024-04:002011-05-07T23:16:59.024-04:00(cont'd)
As followers of Christ we are called ...(cont'd)<br />As followers of Christ we are called to abandon the world. The small sacrifices that we make for Lent help to prepare us for the bigger sacrifices that a Christian life demands of us. <br /><br />My stepdaughter asked me why we must not eat for an hour before Mass. I came up with a couple of reasons and then said that it was a sacrifice and a way of showing our love for God. I told her that when we love someone we are willing to make sacrifices for them. And if not, then we will not go out of our way to please them.<br /><br />If we love God then we will make time to spend with Him in prayer and by going to Mass. These are things that a non-believer cannot understand. But God's graces and forgiveness are infinite. We only need to ask for Him to come into our lives. But when we do accept Him, then our lives are radically transformed.<br /><br />God bless you too! :)Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-70413444718248278062011-05-07T23:16:33.389-04:002011-05-07T23:16:33.389-04:00Well Ride, first I had no idea that you are a woma...Well Ride, first I had no idea that you are a woman. :)<br /><br />It seems that you don't need me to give you advice with regards to your boyfriend. You seem to have thought it out for yourself.<br /><br />Although you describe your boyfriend's parents as atheists, more than likely they are what I would call "humanists". I had been thinking of writing an article on the topic of humanism and giving it the title "Is 'good' enough?"<br /><br />In other words is it "good enough" to just be a "good" person without believing in God, Jesus Christ and all the teachings of the Church? Society tries to convince us that "yes" you can be "good" without believing in God. In fact I totally bought into this, and had convinced myself that I was a "good" person.<br /><br />The trouble is that without God and the Church, all of us can convince ourselves that we are "good" people. And that is exactly what we do. We justify all our sinful and immoral behavior through one convenient rational argument or another. For example, we can come to the conclusion that abortion is "good" through applying our own particular set of moral criteria.<br /><br />Or giving a personal example, I had convinced myself that I was "good" because I only had one girlfriend at a time. I compared myself to other male friends that had multiple girlfriends simultaneously, while sometimes lying to them and denying their relationships with the others. Wasn't I correct in concluding that I was morally superior? No, not in the eyes of God.<br /><br />My lifestyle forced me to practice contraception. I thought that I was morally superior because I wasn't having children out of wedlock. But in the eyes of God, I was just as much a sinner as those who have children without being married to their mother.<br /><br />I treated the idea of having children like a disease which must be avoided. I was selfish and unwilling to sacrifice my personal comfort. And so I never had children of my own because that would require me to sacrifice some part of my "freedom". I did not realize that I was just a slave of my sexual desires.<br /><br />Satan works like that. He sets his diabolical traps for us using our own desires as the bait. He lets us think that we are freeing ourselves, when really we are becoming his slaves.<br /><br />The difference in the "worldview" between a devout Catholic and a humanist (the default in modern society) is so large that there might as well be a Grand Canyon separating the two. A humanist who is not consciously aware of his position will assume that "good" is "good enough". He may downplay the importance of God and assume that he shares the values of Christians. So, what's the big deal?<br /><br />The first commandment is to love God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength and all your mind. (Luke 10:27) If you don't even believe in God, then you certainly can't do that. Everything that we believe as Christians flows out of that love of God. From love of God then flows love of your neighbor as yourself.<br /><br />From our love of God we come to fully realize and understand God's love towards us. This love is expressed as Divine mercy - misericordia.<br /><br />Perhaps, through your example you can convert your boyfriend as you dream of happening. For God, nothing is impossible. But I'm afraid that it might take a miracle.<br />(cont'd)Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-90545622182019064682011-05-07T01:44:27.792-04:002011-05-07T01:44:27.792-04:00Hi Michael, I’m going to be honest, deep inside I ...Hi Michael, I’m going to be honest, deep inside I wanted to use NFP in the future as a contraceptive. I’m a little scared of having many children. Although they are blessings, pregnancy can be a little scary. The other day I was on church and in the seat in from of me, there was a whole family with five little girls, it was beautiful.<br /><br />I’ll pray for my husband because I’m a girl :), I do have a boyfriend and I want to get married when the right comes, but is not easy. Unfortunately he is not Catholic, and his parents are atheists. They wanted him to stay away from organized religion, for that reason he has not been baptized. My boyfriend is a very smart man but he has not knowledge of religions and Christianity. He has a noble, kind and open heart, but sometimes I wonder if that will be enough.<br /><br />We have talked about marriage and he is willing to go to church so he can marry me, he also respects my vision about abstinence. However, I fear that if he only goes to church because of me, as a result his faith would be superficial. And I don’t want that to happen.<br />I have made up my mind and decided some time ago to not to get married somewhere else outside the Catholic Church, with that in mind I think I would choose my religion over my relationship. <br /><br />It’s interesting to know that his grandmother is a very Catholic women, I know she prays constantly for him and I wonder if maybe I was meant to meet him so he could get closer to God.<br />I feel like I have some time since right now my mind is in college, I’ll pray to take the right decisions and make the best out of this. You are right when you say that contraception makes a husband and a wife to be sex objects.<br />NFP requires a lot of planning and abstinence as well, I need to prepare my body to have a child, that is for sure.<br /><br /><br />God bless you! :)Ridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03823167867960746183noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-9804658411047573842011-05-06T22:44:00.739-04:002011-05-06T22:44:00.739-04:00Hi Ride. It's great to hear from you. I haven&...Hi Ride. It's great to hear from you. I haven't forgotten that I still owe you a response to your comment on Planned Parenthood.<br /><br />I would say that Natural Family Planning requires a real love and commitment from both the husband and wife. So the most important thing, Ride, is to choose a wife who believes in the teachings of the Church and that loves God as much or more than she loves you. That is the key and without that you will be facing an uphill battle.<br /><br />Remember that marriage is a holy sacrament. It is not to be entered into lightly. And remember that children are a blessing that come out of marriage. It would be a mistake to look at NFP as a form of contraception. That implies an unwillingness to accept God's gift of children.<br /><br />A contraceptive attitude turns husband and wife into mere sex objects. It turns the intimate marital union into a little more than mutual masturbation. The true love between husband and wife is a sign of the love of God for his creation.<br /><br />I would suggest reading from the book of Tobit, especially the prayer of Tobias on the eve of his marriage to Sarah (<a href="http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=citation&book=Tobit&chapno=8&startverse=5&endverse=7" rel="nofollow">Tobit 8:5-7</a>):<br /><br />Blessed art thou, O God of our fathers,<br /> and blessed be thy holy and glorious name for ever.<br /> Let the heavens and all thy creatures bless thee.<br /><br />Thou madest Adam and gavest him Eve his wife<br /> as a helper and support.<br /> From them the race of mankind has sprung.<br /><br />Thou didst say, `It is not good that the man should be alone;<br /> let us make a helper for him like himself.'<br /><br />And now, O Lord, <br /> I am not taking this sister of mine because of lust, <br /> but with sincerity. <br /><br />Grant that I may find mercy <br /> and may grow old together with her.<br /><br />----<br /><br />Pray for your future wife.Michaelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05204113920771985325noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7519955364880984061.post-68084470860136910572011-05-06T00:17:12.819-04:002011-05-06T00:17:12.819-04:00I liked the song and lyrics, this is the first tim...I liked the song and lyrics, this is the first time I hear one of his songs. My mother talked to me about Natural Planning, she said that nuns back in her Catholic high school taught her all about the female body and planning.<br /><br />It would be so much better if schools encouraged Natural planning instead of handing out condoms as candy. To master the method you need discipline and a little of organization skills for that matter. I want to learn how to use it and be prepared when I get I married.<br /><br />:)Ridehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03823167867960746183noreply@blogger.com