In Defense of The family - Part Eleven- Fr. John Hardin on The Catholic Family

There is talk from time to time on the question of Church and state. On the rights of each. The government of the United States is a democratic republic. It is ruled by the people through representatives. It has three branches which are the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Our form of government was founded on the Declaration of Independence and The Constitution. We are a free people.



The One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church on the other hand is Hierarchical. This is defined in the Second Vatican Council document entitled, "Lumen Gentium" The Dogmatic Constitution on The church. Chapter III is titled, ":The Church is Hierarchical". The Church has various offices that are established for the good of souls. Our Lord Jesus Christ founded His Church upon Peter and upon the Apostles with Peter as their head. Chapter twenty five is explicit about the office of The Supreme Pontiff and its authority. "The Roman Pontiff, head of the college of bishops, enjoys this infallibility in virtue of his office, when as supreme pastor and teacher of all the faithful - who confirms his brethren in the faith - he proclaims in an absolute decision a doctrine pertaining to faith and morals". (earlier proclaimed in the documents of The Council of Vatican One ).  The Supreme Pontiff, the Holy Father in Rome, is the Vicar of Christ on earth. The Holy Father administers the Church in charity in communion with the bishops in union with him.

However since the year 1968 when Pope Paul VI promulgated his encyclical, "Humanae Vitae" many bishops have no longer walked in step with the Holy Father. There is now an idea that bishops are free to disregard the Pope and his office.

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI and his predecessors, Pope Benedict XV, Pope Pius XI, Pope Pius XII and Pope John Paul II have all been in agreement that contraception is a moral evil. This question was asked to be reinvestigated by Pope John XXIII when he formed a birth control commission when the birth control pill was marketed.  On the death of Pope John XXIII and the ascension to the Papacy of Pope Paul VI the decision was made By Pope Paul VI that the long tradition of the Church would not and could not be altered. This was the beginning of dissent in the Church which is present still.

EXCERPTS FROM REV. JOHN .A. HARDIN ON "HOW TO PRESERVE THE CATHOLIC FAMILY"

..."At the root of these factors which undermine the family is the contraceptive mentality."

..."Why, because Christ tells us there can be no compromise between Him and the world, We either accept Him and reject the contraceptive selfishness of the world; or we give in to the seductiveness and write books defending contraception as just another moral option. For anyone who really believes in Jesus Christ contraception is a mortal sin."..."Once Christianity was established in the Mediterranean world, the practice of contraception-along with abortion and infanticide-ceased among believing Christians. This for the best of reasons: because from the first century of Christianity, already by the year AD90, contraception was denounced by the Church as a grave sin against God.

     For the next 1800 years, even among those separated from Rome, contraception was generally forbidden until the present century."

..."All that we have said so far leads to a sobering conclusion. The propagation of Christ's teaching in today's world is imperative as never before. What am I saying? I am saying the day is gone when we can think of evangelization as something merely good. Oh no! Evangelization of the world, including our own American world is a dire necessity."

..."With the spread of the contraception plague and its murderous consequences, we see something more evil taking place in our day than ever before. We see whole nations losing their grip on sound morality, and even the rudiments of the natural law."

..."Christians ", it was said, "are the soul of the world."In Latin, Christiani sunt anima mundi. So we are. And we had better wake up to our God given responsibility."

..."Where a person stands on contraception is a good test of his authenticity as a Catholic."
      The reason, as we have seen, is that at the root of the evil of contraception is selfishness. But the foundation of Christianity is the love of others out of the love of God."

..."All of us, young and old, bishops, priests, clerics, religious, and the laity have one basic obligation in life: to grow in the likeness of Christ by following His example of selfless charity. But selfless charity is impossible without the cross. Love and pain go together as condition and consequence. If I really love someone, including the unborn children that I can bring into the world, I am willing to pay the price of my love, which is pain. That is why, over the years, I have come to define paganism as "Christianity without the cross".
     We are truly followers of Christ, as genuine disciples of His Gospel, as really in love with Him-as we love the crosses He puts into our own lives, which generally have people’s names!
     We began this conference by asking, "How to Preserve the Catholic Family."  We are now ready to give an answer.
     To preserve the Catholic family those who profess to be Catholics must live selfless lives. Husbands and wives must exclude contraception from their marital relationship. They must see every child that God wants to send them as a gift of His love. They must see themselves as preparing their children for the Heaven where there will be no longer any marriage or giving in marriage. They must see their families as struggling in this valley of tears in order to be reunited, as families, in that celestial home for which families are brought into this world.
     They must live nothing less than martyrs' lives in giving witness to their love for God. They not only accept the children He sends them. but they inspire these children with the meaning of true love, which is a life of self-sacrifice inspired by the God who became man to die on the cross out of love for us."

PRAYER

"Lord Jesus, teach us the hardest lesson in life we have to learn, to love others as you have loved us. This means that, we accept suffering for others, even as you chose to suffer for us. "If we live in this way, dear Jesus, we shall expiate the crimes of abortion and infanticide, whose roots are selfish contrace3ption. We shall obtain for families the graces they need to live together in stable harmony and peaceful love. All of this we ask through your Mother, the Mother of the Holy Family and the spiritual Mother of the human family. Amen."

These excerpts are taken from an article printed in "The Wanderer" on February 17, 2011. The author being Rev. John A. Hardin, S.J. who passed away in 2000 at the age of eighty six.

There is one final comment to be made for this blog and it this. Many people, including Catholics, are living today on the horizontal plane looking to this life only for fulfillment and happiness.  The vertical plane of the cross is not a part of their lives, Scripture tells us, "Seek what is above" and, "Store up for yourselves treasure in Heaven"

God bless you and keep you. Amen!