Encouragement for speaking about “life issues”
Teaching the Truth:
“In the heart of every Christian, in the inmost depths of each person, there is always an echo of the question which the young man in the Gospel once asked Jesus: “Teacher, what good must I do to have eternal life?”(Mt 19:16) Everyone, however needs to address this question to the “Good Teacher,” since he is the only one who can answer in the fullness of truth, in all situations, in the most varied of circumstances. And when Christians ask him the question which rises from their conscience, the Lord replies in the words of the new Covenant which have been entrusted to his Church…The Church’s answer to man’s question contains the wisdom and power of Christ Crucified, the Truth which gives of itself.
When people ask the church the questions raised by their consciences, when the faithful in the Church turn to their bishops and pastors, the Church’s reply contains the voice of Jesus Christ, the voice of the truth about good and evil…The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” (Veritatis Splendor 117)
-Remember that you are sharing the Truth with the laity which will set us free by showing them the path to happiness. Today, it is difficult to even know what the right thing to do is, thus we need for our pastors to lay out God’s law clearly for us, ever reminding us that God only teaches this for our happiness.(c.f. Evangelium Vitae 101, Humanae Vitae 31) Because of the graces of the sacrament of Marriage, this law is not a burden for us, but a gift showing us the way to happiness in our marriages and later in heaven. Thus sin can and ought to be called by its proper name, while the sacraments and prayer ought to be held out as the means of mercy of God which helps us to do the right thing.
-In presenting the Church’s teaching on life issues, be bold and clear. Remember that God himself has revealed these truths, and that this is not just “the view of the Church.” Do not muddy the waters with summary explanations of the finer points of the moral theology (i.e. principle of double effect), but rather teach us about discernment and to seek wise counsel in matters that are more difficult to apply the moral law to.
“To Priests: So beloved Sons, preach with full confidence and be certain that the Holy Spirit of God, who guides the Magisterium in its teaching, will illuminate the hearts of the faithful and invite them to give their assent. Teach spouses the indispensability of prayer; instruct them properly so that they may come regularly and with great faith to the sacraments of the Eucharist and of penance and that they may never become discouraged because of their weakness.” (Humanae Vitae 29.3)
NFP:
“Certainly, there may be serious reasons [iustae causae] for spacing offspring; theses may be based on the physical or psychological condition of the spouses or on external factors. The Church teaches that [in such cases] it is morally permissible [for spouses] to calculate [their fertility by observing the] natural rhythms inherent in the generative faculties and to reserve marital intercourse for infertile times.
Thus spouses are able to plan their families without violating the moral teachings set forth above.” (HV 16.2)
-With regard to NFP, it is important not just to tell people that the Church teaches that it’s use is only for serious reasons, we need to clearly understand what this means, viz. we need to understand what discernment and prudence is in addition to having a well formed conscience. After telling us what the God has revealed concerning life issues, we need to be given the tools to apply these teachings to our lives.
-One of the major problems among married people when it comes to contraception is that many people believe that we have no choice but to use contraception. We realize that co-creating a child with God is a commitment of greatest importance to raise this child according to his great dignity. However, we many times do not realize that there is a morally acceptable way to be prudent in this area of our lives. We need encouragement to attend NFP classes so that we have the tools we need in order to be able to prudently co-create with God.
-This issue is one that touches all priests, no matter what ministry they are in:
“We call upon you priests…for it is your great and manifest mission (munere)…to promote completely and clearly the teaching of the Church concerning marriage.” (HV 28) “In our present social context, marked by a dramatic struggle between the culture of life and the culture of death, there is need to develop a deep critical sense, capable of discerning true values and authentic needs. What is urgently called for is a general mobilization of consciences and a united ethical effort to activate a great campaign in support of life.” (Evangelium Vitae 95)
Vatican II:
Do not forget that when you speak to the laity you are mobilizing our consciences to go out and fulfill our vocation as laid out for us by Vatican II: to be a leaven in secular society (c.f. Lumen Gentium 33.2). It is our duty to speak to our doctors, fellow voters, etc. about these issues, for this is how we evangelize the world. Each of us is called to holiness (c.f. LG 39-42), and this is our deepest longing. With your encouragement and sharing of the Truth that leads us to God, we lay people will be better equipped to carry out our mission in the world.
Thank you so much for answering God’s call to serve His Church.
Annie Vining can be contacted at
avining@tobet.org
The Theology of the Body Evangelization Team can be reached at
info@tobet.org
