tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26555326.post5589987193425216768..comments2022-03-11T07:14:31.969+10:00Comments on The Mass Never Ends: Humane Vitae's 40th Anniversary - A Tough ReflectionUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26555326.post-31873220442470318002008-08-06T07:01:00.000+10:002008-08-06T07:01:00.000+10:00Hi Jennifer,Thank you for your kind words and I am...Hi Jennifer,<BR/>Thank you for your kind words and I am happy to know that there are other Catholics out there who are willing to struggle with the question.<BR/><BR/>As for my opposition to Altar Girls and eucharistic ministers. I believe you were reading excerpts from SACRED THEN SACRED NOW by Thomas E. Woods and published by Roman Catholic Books. I obtained permission from the publisher to republish those sections on my blog as I thought they addressed the topic better than I could myself. Woods simply presents the history and the facts. It is not his opinion, nor mine. But because I endeavor to be one with the magisteral Church in every regard, I of course, support the facts as presented in the book.<BR/><BR/>"Grave reasons"? Excellent question. And no, I don't hear it addressed either, even in the most orthodox and conservative circles (e.g. EWTN). It's almost presented as a lifestyle. I don't even think they know that they are doing it. On EWTN the other day on some sort of family show, an expert used the phrase "open to life" and then followed it with the example of having 4 or 5 children. Given that the average period of fertility for a woman who marries at 20 is about 25 years, that makes one baby every 5 years. Or if they had them close together, then there's approximately 15 years of fertility "left over"...that is "closed to life". <BR/><BR/>As mentioned in my blog post, my wife and I are a bit overwhelmed (okay, a lot overwhelmed). While we never planned this to happen, we, despite our efforts to space births, ended up with 11 children (so far) because we took the "open to life" seriously. But apparently "too seriously" according to the experts. <BR/><BR/>The bottom line Jennifer is how we will stand before God in the end. I hope to stand there with my wife and all 11 children and hear "Well done good and faithful servant. Very well done!"<BR/><BR/>I'd like to hear more about your story. You can email me directly at liberamedeus@gmail.com<BR/><BR/>God Bless You.Tim Rohrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16157251817807149803noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26555326.post-27245903579538807202008-08-06T05:26:00.000+10:002008-08-06T05:26:00.000+10:00Tim,I have stumbled upon your blog today and I hav...Tim,<BR/>I have stumbled upon your blog today and I have read 12 posts of yours already and cannot seem to stop! I am facsinated by your insights. It has been a very long time since I have heard another Catholic so steadfast in his convictions as my husband and I are. You are actually challenging me today to think even harder about issues I had long since put to bed. I was shocked really to read your opposition to female altar servers, and extraordinary eucharistic ministers, which I hadn't really thought about up to now. What I am interested in, and have been thinking about for a while now, are the theological justifications for the practice of NFP. I have noticed the statements from the church (like Humanae Vitae) that mention "grave reasons" for spacing/delaying/preventing births, but I have not heard an explanation of this yet. What sort of "grave reasons" do we need? What conditions need to be met? What is the theological reason for needing a "grave" reason in the first place?<BR/><BR/>I'd be interested in your response as a point of reflection. Thanks!<BR/>~JenniferAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com