"That, faced with the expansion of the culture of violence and death, the Church may courageously promote the culture of life through all her apostolic and missionary activities."Missionary Prayer Intention:
"That, especially in mission countries, Christians may show through gestures of kindness that the Child born in Bethlehem is the Hope of the world."
A message from Father John Corapi:Pope Benedict XVI Asks Catholics to Read the Bible as the Church Reads the Bible
A recent priority of the Holy Father has been to motivate more Catholics to read the Bible as the Church reads the Bible—in other words, authentically. Pope Benedict XVI chose the Sacred Scriptures as the topic of the fall Synod of Bishops. There has been a healthy interest in reading the Bible since the Second Vatican Council, but all-too-often there hasn’t been proper instruction and direction for the lay faithful in this area.
One of the most important major documents that came out of the Second Vatican Council is the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, or “Dei Verbum,”—“Word of God.” This is the Church’s most important contemporary document on how to read and interpret Sacred Scripture, indeed on Divine Revelation as a whole.
The Holy Father expressed concern recently that there is a real danger in some modern biblical interpretation that he believes can diminish the meaning of Sacred Scripture and erode the bond between the Bible and the Church. The substance of the Pope’s concerns are pastoral in nature, more than academic, although the two certainly converge. He wants Catholics to be enriched on a daily basis by the proper and authentic reading of the written Word of God. The Church has given us the “road map”, if you will, of just how to do this in “Dei Verbum.”
Several years ago we presented a series entitled “Word of God,” seeking to do exactly what the Holy Father has now called for. This six-part seminar synthesizes in a clear and easy way the six chapters of this landmark Church document. It will help you to better read and interpret the written Word of God as the Catholic Church reads and interprets it.
Surely one of the most important teachings we have ever produced, I know “Word of God” will help you greatly in reading and understanding the Bible as the Catholic Church does, and as the Holy Father has recently asked us to do.
THERE IS STILL A GOD IN HEAVEN!
The American people have now made it abundantly clear who they want to lead them, and the policies and practices that this president-elect has represented for some time, they can now claim as their own. Actions have consequences, and I am sure God has duly noted what our priorities are in the US of A. Economic matters would seem to take precedence over moral matters; money more important than life itself to most people (I guess they don’t consider almost 50,000,000 innocent children murdered by abortion part of life).
Now we shall see what the fruit of such a tree will be. I predict that we won’t have to wait long. In recent months we have seen “corrections” in the stock market, housing market, and banking industries. Now we’ll see if God orchestrates a “correction” in a country and a world that has demonstrated quite clearly that it prefers convenience and wealth to life itself.
Regardless of whatever happens next, remember there is still a God in Heaven and He loves you. He is infinitely merciful—and He is infinitely just as well.
God Bless You
Fr. John Corapi
"The common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition of all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination."(Pope John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 1988)
A message from Father John Corapi:A Call for a Rosary Novena
Among the most important titles we have in the Catholic Church for the Blessed Virgin Mary are Our Lady of Victory and Our Lady of the Rosary. These titles can be traced back to one of the most decisive times in the history of the world and Christendom. The Battle of Lepanto took place on October 7 (date of feast of Our Lady of Rosary), 1571. This proved to be the most crucial battle for the Christian forces against the radical Muslim navy of Turkey. Pope Pius V led a procession around St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City praying the Rosary. He showed true pastoral leadership in recognizing the danger posed to Christendom by the radical Muslim forces, and in using the means necessary to defeat it. Spiritual battles require spiritual weapons, and this more than anything was a battle that had its origins in the spiritual order—a true battle between good and evil.
Today we have a similar spiritual battle in progress—a battle between the forces of good and evil, light and darkness, truth and lies, life and death. If we do not soon stop the genocide of abortion in the United States, we shall run the course of all those that prove by their actions that they are enemies of God—total collapse, economic, social, and national. The moral demise of a nation results in the ultimate demise of a nation. God is not a disinterested spectator to the affairs of man. Life begins at conception. This is an unalterable formal teaching of the Catholic Church. If you do not accept this you are a heretic in plain English. A single abortion is homicide. The more than 48,000,000 abortions since Roe v. Wade in the United States constitute genocide by definition. The group singled out for death—unwanted, unborn children.
No other issue, not all other issues taken together, can constitute a proportionate reason for voting for candidates that intend to preserve and defend this holocaust of innocent human life that is abortion.
I strongly urge every one of you to make a Novena and pray the Rosary to Our Lady of Victory between October 27th and Election Day, November 4th. Pray that God’s will be done and the most innocent and utterly vulnerable of our brothers and sisters will be protected from this barbaric and grossly sinful blight on society that is abortion. No woman, and no man, has the right to choose to murder an innocent human being.
May God grant us the wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and counsel to form our conscience in accordance with authentic Catholic teaching, and then vote that well-formed Catholic conscience.
God Bless You
Fr. John Corapi
A message from Father John Corapi (links and emphasis mine):Education, Faith & AmericaIn speaking with faithful Catholics all over the world for the past twenty years there is a consensus among them that the average Catholic doesn’t know much about their faith. Likewise there is an overwhelming consensus that if we did, the world would be a very different place. In the United States of America we have over sixty million Catholics. If these Catholic citizens knew their faith and then voted and lived their faith, this country would be incalculably better off. In turn, so would the entire world.
In the past few months leading up to what may prove to be the most crucial presidential election in this country’s history, it is outright frightening how many Catholics think they can vote for a pro-abortion candidate. As many of our good bishops have pointed out, under the current circumstances this is not possible. Abortion is the overridingly most important moral issue of our times, all others being important, but rendered irrelevant if the preeminent right—the right to life—is destroyed.As Bishop Robert Vasa of Baker, Oregon recently pointed out, clarifying the teaching of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops in their excellent pastoral letter "Faithful Citizenship," a candidate or office holder is disqualified from receiving the vote of a Catholic in good conscience if they hold a pro-abortion position. In other words pro-choice candidates under the current set of circumstances are disqualified because of their pro-death political positions. We cannot vote for them. As the Bishops of Kansas recently asserted in their excellent voter’s guide, "Catholics would 'commit moral evil' by voting for a candidate who supports abortion and other intrinsically evil things. Voting is a moral act, and voting for pro-choice candidates is evil in itself. One becomes a collaborator in evil by so doing. No amount of rationalization can escape this logical and moral conclusion."
There was some confusion over this based on a statement made some time ago by Pope Benedict, who was speaking in general terms, saying that for a “proportionate reason” it would be possible to vote for such candidates. However, in the concrete situation we face, with a candidate who is pro-life, this would not be possible. No amount of “other reasons” would excuse voting for a pro-choice candidate. The Church clearly teaches that life begins at conception. As Pope John Paul II stated many times, “abortion is murder.” Following logically from this, if a single abortion is murder, then 48,000,000 (the approximate number of abortions in this country since Roe v. Wade) of them is genocide. What would be the “proportionate reason” supporting such an outrage? There is none.
Lack of understanding of what the Catholic Church teaches is grossly harmful to the individual Catholic and to society in general. It is for this reason that I have always tried to promote and teach the Catechism of the Catholic Church. It is a sure norm for teaching the faith, as Pope John Paul II asserted in promulgating the Catechism. “Guarding the Deposit of Faith is the mission which the Lord entrusted to His Church,” are the first words of the Apostolic Constitution "Fidei Depositum." These are the words the Holy Father used to introduce us to the Catechism.For this reason we are making my series “The Teaching of Jesus Christ” more and more available through television, radio, and the lowest prices ever offered for DVD and CD versions. Ignorance of the Faith can prove fatal—for individuals and for nations. Learning our faith is the best investment we can make. The Catechism of the Catholic Church is the very best way to do this.
May God bless you, each one, and may God bless America in this time of national crisis,
Father John Corapi
ON THE SEVENTH ANNIVERSARY OF 911
Today the world remembers the day of infamy that has come to be called 911. On September 11, 2001 the unthinkable happened—We were attacked by a hostile force deep within our own country. We were all shocked, many people were surprised, angry, saddened, or had their faith shaken.
Political correctness and genuine civility restrain us seven years later from saying much of what many of us think. We must love our country in season and out of season, convenient or inconvenient, whether the rest of the world does or not. That, however, does not mean we can’t correct ourselves, better ourselves. “Know thyself,” the Philosopher says.
Seven years later I admit that I am weary of the arguments at both extremes. At times the far left seems to truly despise the hand that feeds it. America bashing in some quarters has taken on the respectability of a rite of passage, if not a religion. You might expect it from some of the western European nations we have repeatedly bailed out of the hell visited on them by the Hitlers, Stalins, and other assorted thugs and mass murderers. It is shocking, however, when immigrants that have gone from relative rags to riches (most of us) hate themselves so venomously (We are the country after all).
On the other hand, there are those on the far right that seem to have a blind patriotism that discounts the evils this poor nation “under God” has subjugated itself to. We are in an economic crisis of unprecedented proportions, not just because of dependence on foreign oil, the housing crash, etc., but because of the crass negligence of the leaders we have voted into office—in both parties. Poor and weak leadership is punishment for sin. In an indirect way, so are all of the other evils that beset creation. An increasing number of countries hate us for various reasons. Terrorism has intruded itself into our daily life. We worry constantly about a host of evils. Why?
Do you suppose that a nation and the people that have democratically elected the leaders of that nation can be pleasing to God if they were guilty of the outrageous crime of genocide? If a nation legally and systematically had murdered 48,000,000 unwanted women over 60 years of age, would that nation be favored, blessed, and protected by God? Alright, change it to men under 30 years of age. Human beings are human beings.
We have under the specious pretext of law—the law of the highest Court in the land—murdered 48,000,000 innocent human beings through abortion in this country since that dark day Satan donned judicial robes and issued his decision in Roe v. Wade. The nation, and most of the world, is “bewitched” into thinking that this is somehow acceptable because a court of morally blind, if not insane, men said so. Hitler said many things, as did Stalin, and every other individual or institution living apart from God and His unalterable law. They are all gone. The immutable will of God and His truth still stand and always will.
As we recall the hell of 911 and pray for the victims, their families, and the nation in general, remember that God is not a fool, nor is He a disinterested party in the affairs of men. God knows every human being He created from all eternity by name. He loves each one as if they were His only child. How shall one nation under God answer God when He calls for an accounting for these beloved souls? Will we be protected from our enemies, from a never-ending cascade of natural disasters, from financial ruin?
May the Holy Spirit, Lord and Giver of Life, enlighten our minds and strengthen our wills to love the good and fight evil tirelessly; to defend the most innocent and helpless of our brothers and sisters—the unborn. The hour is late, darkness is falling, a day of reckoning is fast upon us. Now is the time to attack the evils of the day, abortion being the preeminent evil, for if the right to life is undermined, eroded, and ultimately destroyed, no other rights are relevant or meaningful.
God Bless You,
Father John Corapi
By now, you probably heard the big news about how the Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama has selected Senator Joe Biden as his Vice President candidate. Joe Biden is a "Catholic" in support of intrinsic evils such as abortion and embryonic stem cell research and thus goes against his faith in such matters.Why should Catholics oppose Senator Joe Biden?
Catholic Teaching on Abortion and the Obligation of Catholics in Public LifeIn his encyclical Evangelium Vitae ("The Gospel of Life"), Pope John Paul II stated that
Among all the crimes which can be committed against life, procured abortion has characteristics making it particularly serious and deplorable. The Second Vatican Council defines abortion, together with infanticide, as an "unspeakable crime."Regarding laws which seek to legitimize abortion, the Pope asserted that Catholics have a "grave and clear obligation to oppose them by conscientious objection."
Speaking on the topic of Catholics in Political Life, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops affirm an "unequivocal commitment to the legal protection of human life from the moment of conception until natural death," stated that "the killing of an unborn child is always intrinsically evil and can never be justified," and emphasize the duty of Catholic legislators:To make such intrinsically evil actions legal is itself wrong. This is the point most recently highlighted in official Catholic teaching. The legal system as such can be said to cooperate in evil when it fails to protect the lives of those who have no protection except the law. In the United States of America, abortion on demand has been made a constitutional right by a decision of the Supreme Court. Failing to protect the lives of innocent and defenseless members of the human race is to sin against justice. Those who formulate law therefore have an obligation in conscience to work toward correcting morally defective laws, lest they be guilty of cooperating in evil and in sinning against the common good.
Senator Joe Biden: At Odds with the Church
On August 23, 2008, it was announced that Illinois Senator Barack Obama -- a Christian politician with his own lamentable record on the "life issues" -- had selected DE Senator Joe Biden to be his running mate in the 2008 U.S. Presidential elections.As with Senator John Kerry in 2004, Biden's prominent role as a Catholic in public service, together with his deplorable record on abortion and embryonic stem cell research (in addition to other issues), has placed the matter of the responsibilities of Catholic legislators and the reception of the Eucharist by those unworthy before the public eye.
According to the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Biden "strongly support[s] Roe v. Wade":He said he is "prepared to accept" the Catholic Church's teaching that life begins at conception but said Roe v. Wade "is as close to we're going to be able to get as a society" to incorporating diverging religious views on the issue. Although he voted in favor of the bill to ban late-term abortions, Biden said the Supreme Court's April 2007 decision to uphold the ban was "intellectually dishonest," saying its language undermined Roe v. Wade.A summary of Joe Biden's recognizably mixed record on abortion and Embryonic Stem Cell Research (ESCR) can be obtained from OnTheIssues.org; a list has also been provided by the Family Research Council.
Biden voted in favor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005, which was vetoed by President Bush. The bill would have allowed federal funding for research on stem cell lines obtained from discarded human embryos originally created for fertility treatments.
On a positive note, Biden opposes public funding of abortion, stating on Meet The Press in 2007 that "It goes to the question of whether or not you're going to impose a view to support something that is not a guaranteed right but an affirmative action to promote."
Voted for the Partial Birth Abortion Ban: S. 1692, Partial Birth Abortion Ban, Roll Call 99-340, October 21, 1999 -- but, as the FRC points out, "He did not vote on the one that became law in the 108th Congress."
That said, Biden's general support of Roe v. Wade and a number of his specific votes on abortion and life-related issues merit the concern of Catholics:
- He voted against a ban on transporting minors across state lines for an abortion (S.403, Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, Roll Call 06-216, July 25, 2006.
- He voted against parental notification of minors who get out-of-state abortions: S.403, Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act, Roll Call 06-216, July 25, 2006.
- He voted against the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which made it a criminal offense to harm or kill a fetus during the commission of a violent crime. S.1019/H.R. 1997, Unborn Victims of Violence Act, Roll Call 04-63, March 25, 2004.
- He voted for increasing taxpayer funding for destructive embryonic stem cell experimentation: S.5/H.R. 3, Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, Roll Call 07-127, April 11, 2007.
- He voted for increasing funding to Planned Parenthood and similar clinics by $100 million: S.Amdt. 244 to S.Con.Res 18, Appropriation to expand access to preventive health care services, Roll Call 05-75, March 17, 2005.
- Voted against a ban on abortions on military bases: S. 2549, Roll Call 00-134, June 20, 2000.
- Voted against a ban on human cloning: Motion to proceed for S. 1601, Roll Call 98-10, February 11, 1998.
The FRC also points out that Senator Biden co-sponsored the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) in the 102nd and 103rd Congresses but -- in fairness -- has not done so since. FOCA would overturn hundreds of state laws on the books that limit abortion.
In an interview with the Christian Science Monitor, Senator Biden disputed the notion that disobedience to Catholic moral teaching placed one at odds with the Church:"My views are totally consistent with Catholic social doctrine ... There are elements within the church who say that if you are at odds with any of the teachings of the church, you are at odds with the church. I think the church is bigger than that."In 2007, he boasted on MSNBC: "I strongly support Roe v. Wade... That's why I led the fight to defeat Bork, Roberts Alito, and Thomas."
On the Profanation of the Eucharist by "Pro-Choice" Catholic PoliticiansOn the matter of dispensing communion to admittedly "pro-choice" Catholics, one can appeal to no greater an authority than Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI. In a 2004 memorandum -- Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion: General Principles -- sent to Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Bishop Wilton Gregory:
5. Regarding the grave sin of abortion or euthanasia, when a person’s formal cooperation becomes manifest (understood, in the case of a Catholic politician, as his consistently campaigning and voting for permissive abortion and euthanasia laws), his Pastor should meet with him, instructing him about the Church’s teaching, informing him that he is not to present himself for Holy Communion until he brings to an end the objective situation of sin, and warning him that he will otherwise be denied the Eucharist.
6. When "these precautionary measures have not had their effect or in which they were not possible," and the person in question, with obstinate persistence, still presents himself to receive the Holy Eucharist, "the minister of Holy Communion must refuse to distribute it" (cf. Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts Declaration "Holy Communion and Divorced, Civilly Remarried Catholics" [2002], nos. 3-4). This decision, properly speaking, is not a sanction or a penalty. Nor is the minister of Holy Communion passing judgment on the person’s subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person’s public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin.The issue was explored at greater length by Archbishop Raymond Burke, who in 2007 published an article in the prestigious canon law journal Periodica de re Canonica, entitled: The Discipline Regarding the Denial of Holy Communion to Those Obstinately Persevering in Manifest Grave Sin.
In June 2008, Archbishop Burke was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI to the office of Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura (the highest tribunal of the Vatican). In a recent interview, Archbishop Burke reiterated his position that Catholics, especially politicians who publicly defend abortion, should not receive Communion:“Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ unworthily is a sacrilege,” he warned. “If it is done deliberately in mortal sin it is a sacrilege.”
To illustrate his point, he referred to “public officials who, with knowledge and consent, uphold actions that are against the Divine and Eternal moral law. For example, if they support abortion, which entails the taking of innocent and defenseless human lives. A person who commits sin in this way should be publicly admonished in such a way as to not receive Communion until he or she has reformed his life,” the archbishop said.
“If a person who has been admonished persists in public mortal sin and attempts to receive Communion, the minister of the Eucharist has the obligation to deny it to him. Why? Above all, for the salvation of that person, preventing him from committing a sacrilege,” he added.(Source: Catholics who support abortion should not receive Communion, says Archbishop Burke Catholic News Agency. August 19, 2008).The Catholic advocacy group Fidelis points out, Biden's former bishop, Michael Saltarelli of Wilmington has said that the issues pertaining to the sanctity of human life are the "great civil rights issues of this generation" and warned against the profanation of the Eucharist by unworthy reception:
Bishop Saltarelli denounced the notion that politicians can 'personally oppose' abortion, but refuse to pass laws protecting the unborn.Bishop Saltarelli reached the age of retirement on January 17, 2008. The Diocese of Wilmington’s new bishop, W. Francis Malooly, will be installed September 8th.
"No one today would accept this statement from any public servant: 'I am personally opposed to human slavery and racism but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena.' Likewise, none of us should accept this statement from any public servant: "I am personally opposed to abortion but will not impose my personal conviction in the legislative arena,” said Bishop Saltarelli.
In fact, Bishop Saltarelli made clear that pro-abortion Catholic politicians should refrain from receiving the Eucharist.
"The promotion of abortion by any Catholic is a grave and serious matter. Objectively, according to the constant teaching of the Scriptures and the Church, it would be more spiritually beneficial for such a person to refrain from receiving the Body and Blood of Christ. I ask Catholics in this position to have the integrity to respect the Eucharist, Catholic teaching and the Catholic faithful.”
Further Reading
Vote for Real Hope and Change, by Charles J. Chaput. First Things' "On The Square" August 19, 2008. Excerpt:"Obviously, we have other important issues facing us this fall: the economy, the war in Iraq, immigration justice. But we can’t build a healthy society while ignoring the routine and very profitable legalized homicide that goes on every day against America’s unborn children. The right to life is foundational. Every other right depends on it. Efforts to reduce abortions, or to create alternatives to abortion, or to foster an environment where more women will choose to keep their unborn child, can have great merit—but not if they serve to cover over or distract from the brutality and fundamental injustice of abortion itself. We should remember that one of the crucial things that set early Christians apart from the pagan culture around them was their rejection of abortion and infanticide. Yet for thirty-five years I’ve watched prominent “pro-choice” Catholics justify themselves with the kind of moral and verbal gymnastics that should qualify as an Olympic event. All they’ve really done is capitulate to Roe v. Wade."
New, new, new from Planned Parenthood! From the organization that distributes contraception devices, advocates chemical abortifacients, and provides unlimited (and often illegal and racist) abortion on demand, comes a brand new website campaign aimed towards helping your children "Take Care Down There". That's correct, Planned Parenthood wants to teach your kids "the ins and outs of the ins and outs".Death WishThe Impending Suicide of a Once Great Nation"A large number of endangered, unwanted, and unborn children held a town hall meeting on the 4th of July--alarmed at the brutal and untimely killing of millions of their brothers and sisters in recent years. That the murderous war waged on them had the full force and respectability of the law made their plight all the more terrifying.
Their complaint was humble and it was simple. They were not distressed by rising gas prices, or the deteriorating economy in general. They were not even frightened by the exponential increase of natural disasters. The threat of global warming or global terrorism did not greatly disturb them.
They had become an endangered species, and little had been done to answer their terrified and silent screams from the womb... "---An excerpt from Father Corapi's new article and video entitled "Death Wish" Click here to download the entire article in PDF format to print or electronically distribute as you like.
On the 40th Anniversary of Humanae VitaeThe Catholic Church is in the process of celebrating the 40th anniversary of the prophetic and landmark encyclical of Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, on human life. At the time the Holy Father promulgated the encyclical there was a general spirit of dissent in the air. This inspired document put the dissenters into yet a new orbit, even further from the center of Church teaching. Their lack of humility resulted in disobedience, ultimately resulting in moral death for them and countless others.
What has resulted from the rejection of the principles contained in this great document is a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions. “Life begins at conception. Abortion begins at artificial contraception.” Pope Paul VI prophetically predicted that if artificial contraception were to become generally acceptable in society, then abortion would inevitably become just another means of artificial contraception. Today, not only have what is approaching one billion children been murdered in the name of “choice” worldwide, but a host of incredible evils have followed in the wake of the rejection of the Holy Father’s teaching on life.
Pope John Paul II called abortion murder in the clear and inspired language of his encyclical Evangelium vitae. If a single abortion is homicide—and it is—then the cumulative result of abortion on demand is genocide. Numbers of innocent and helpless children totaling more than the population of large countries have been annihilated. Can a society that elevates such an outrage to the noble status of law be pleasing to God? Or, will God’s patience soon run out and visit an avalanche of natural disasters, wars, chaos, and economic collapse on the perpetrators of such violence and evil?
I have no doubt whatever that the Western world is headed for collapse and annihilation, and it will be by suicide, not at the hand of terrorists or enemy states—although that may well facilitate the demise. As Abraham Lincoln asserted, “If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.”
The Western world’s wholesale rejection of the teaching of “Humanae Vitae” ushered in a death wish that is even now well on its way to completion. Pseudo-Christian Europe has had an extremely low birthrate for decades, while the burgeoning Muslim population is growing exponentially. With the average European family having less than 2 children and the average Muslim family having 8-10 children it won’t be long until Europe as we know it will be no more. Muslims vote and they will vote to radically alter laws that facilitate gross immorality. God may use them to chastise a decadent West. I assure you they will not need bombs and bullets; mathematics will more than suffice.
The unspiritual person cannot see reality as it is, hence they cannot discern the advancing disaster of our rejection of both common sense and proper morality. The spiritual person must pray fervently for the Spirit of God to discern reality as it is. (i.e., 1 Corinthians 2:12-16). Things such as artificial contraception, abortion, homosexual sex, and euthanasia all have something in common—They have no life in them. They are part of a death wish that when brought to its inevitable conclusion will result in the annihilation of the West as we know it, if something isn’t done to change course immediately.
Every one of us, as disciples of Christ, must pray and sacrifice for the cause of life, and do so with earnest. The hour is late and time is now short. The battle between truth and lies, good and evil, life and death rages on toward its consummation. We know the ultimate outcome—truth, the good, and life is victorious in Christ the Conqueror. We, however, must fight the good fight. How we shall live forever is determined by how we live now. We are being called upon by the Spirit of God to be the saints of these times. How we respond to the call will dictate the rise and fall of nations, and the eternal salvation of many.
“Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).
God bless you,
Fr. John Corapi
On this, the 40th anniversary of the promulgation of the papal encyclical "Humanae Vitae (On Human Life)" on July 25th, 1968, allow for me to share some very important resources and thoughts surrounding this very important, if not prophetic, writing by Pope Paul VI (262nd Pontiff: 1963-1978). Humanae Vitae contains the basic teaching on birth control fundamental to Christian (not just Catholic) marriage and includes other uplifting topics such as the dignity of women.
When Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae, he wasn't coming up with something new. He wrote the encyclical to apply the existing natural law and church teachings to a new question -- whether or not contraception (of any kind) was moral and acceptable. In the encyclical, the Pope stated that contraception is intrinsically evil and warned us all of the consequences to marriage, families and society if contraception were accepted.
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