Not from 'shrivelled old celibates in the Vatican'

One of the most dismissive arguments against the Church’s teaching on contraception is, ‘What have shrivelled old celibates in the Vatican to say to married couples?’ Of course, this is ‘evading the issue’ in more than one sense.

At CatholicCulture.org I came across two excellent articles, neither written by a ‘shriveled old celibate in the Vatican’, but by happily married men who clearly understand God’s plan for marriage and who are living it.

Contraception and the Catholic Vision
by Dr Jeff Mirus, 16 May 2008

On May 10th, Pope Benedict XVI called Paul VI’s landmark encyclical On Human Life an act of courage which has “become a sign of contradiction.” He made his remarks at a conference on the fortieth anniversary of the encyclical held at the Pontifical Lateran University. While many Catholics still find Humanae Vitae’s condemnation of contraception difficult to understand and accept, it should be more than evident by now that the Catholic vision of life and love enunciated by Pope Paul VI is one of the great keys to reviving our dying culture.

Full article here.

++++

A Catholic Physician Talks to Engaged Couples
by William G. White, MD

I've highlighted the second paragraph of Dr White's article because, unfortunately and incredibly, our 'enlightened' generation has decided to try to 'reinvent the wheel' by ignoring what nature has been teaching us since the first humans walked on earth. Legislators and judges in many countries are falling over themselves to push the agenda of those who ignore the millennia of human experience, not to mention modern science. Even societies that practise polygamy and polyandry recognise that marriage involves man and woman, even if not between one man and one woman. I'm not promoting either of these practices!

St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that in all we do, we seek happiness. The primary source of earthly happiness for human beings — more than work, hobbies, sports, politics or any other interest — is those who are most dear to us. For most people, these dear ones are our family members: husbands, wives, children, parents, etc. Therefore, the way we live our family lives is essential to our happiness. The prevalence of broken homes suggests that many families have not found a way to live happily together. Today we will discuss how to live marriage in a way that brings maximal happiness to both husband and wife and in turn to the children. We will address specifically those ways in which the husband and wife communicate with each other in their intimate relations.

But first, a preface. When we talk about marriage, we are talking about a union of one man and one woman. Whatever other kinds of relationships we see around us, whatever they are called, and whatever people do in those relationships, they are not marriage. Marriage arises out of human nature itself. It is recognized but not created by society. Marriage always has been and always will be between one man and one woman.

Full article here .