This week, we moved our blog over to http://katholikosvideo.wordpress.com. There were a few reasons that we did this, among them being issues with this blog’s RSS feed and the limited space to post pictures here. The new blog is up and running, so please check us out there! All the old posts will be visible, so after a time we will be deleting this account. Please update your bookmarks and RSS feeds.
Also, if you would like to follow us on Twitter, we can be found at: http://twitter.com/Katholikosvideo.
Praised be Jesus Christ! Have a very blessed Christmas! 
The Katholikos Team
]]>It was a roller coaster ride during my years at John Paul the Great Catholic University. Lectures and homework assignments, projects and finals, vacations and new beginnings… through all of it, I was able to stay close to God. Every time I was concerned, stressed, or just in need of comfort and strength, Jesus Christ was waiting for me in the Adoration Chapel just down the hall. I was nourished with the Eucharist at the school’s daily Mass, giving me the grace to do my work and fulfill my duties. When I fell and was in need of forgiveness, the sacrament of Reconciliation was available during the week. How bountiful the Lord has been, showering blessings upon me and my classmates!
While I value the spiritual aspects above all, I cannot leave out the educational aspect of my experience. Since September 2007 when I arrived at JP Catholic, I have gained an abundance of knowledge, something that I am very grateful for and will treasure. I would like to thank my parents for giving me the opportunity to learn, my fiancée Lisa for supporting me through it all, each of my professors for sharing their wisdom and knowledge with me, and the staff of JP Catholic for making it possible to gain so much, enabling me to serve God though my future work.
This leads me to the update on Katholikos that you may be expecting, due to the title of this post. Over the past quarter we have:
- Compiled a Press Kit and 40+ page Business Plan
- Created a 60-second commercial, promoting our first catechetical video
- Begun initial production on the first video
- Produced a 3-minute promotional video, giving a little company background, an introduction to its members, and reasons why we chose the topic of the priesthood
Please keep an eye out for this commercial and promo video, as they may be added to our Katholikos Facebook business page within the next several weeks or so!
If you are already a Facebook member but not a Katholikos fan, type the word “Katholikos” into the search bar on the top right corner and look for a group with (as of the date of this post) roughly 225 members with a logo that says “Katholikos Video Catechetics” on it. If you are not yet on Facebook but would like to see the video in several weeks, look for a link on this blog!
Have an excellent day and week, and God bless!
Why can’t every day be the same as these wonderful holidays? Of course, we know that each of us have duties to attend to, but why must we lose the spirit of generosity, joy, and thankfulness? We don’t need to!
Many of us as Catholics may lose sight of the fact that every day is Thanksgiving, and in a more profound way than one may imagine. Tell me, how many of you remember the familiar word that means “thanksgiving?”
Indeed, you are correct… “Eucharist.”
What could we ever be more thankful for? The gift of Jesus Christ in his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity is deeper and more beautiful than any other blessing. If you read the recently-ended blog series on marriage, you are familiar with some parallels between earthly marriage (between a man & woman) and the mystical union of Christ and his bride, the Church. Yet, instead of receiving an imperfect human being in intimate communion (even one who we love more than all other humans), with all of his or her baggage, in the Eucharist we receive the infinite God, who is love (1 Jn. 4:8).
He who took the consequences of all guilt, all of the lies, slander, gossip, hate, murder, fornication, and all other sin… He who took everything upon His own sinless shoulders and went to the cross for us… this same Jesus Christ offers Himself to us in the Eucharist on a daily basis. He offers His once-for-all sacrifice to us, becoming available for us in the Mass every day. He waits for us and calls us to Himself because He knows that we need Him more than we need to breathe.
Let us go to this Jesus and thank Him for His selfless sacrifice, one that He was not obligated to offer, but did anyway so that we could have a chance to be with Him for all eternity.
It is in the Mass and in living a holy life that we can have Thanksgiving every day of the year. Thank God for Thanksgiving!
P.S. For anyone who has trouble believing in the Eucharist as the real body and blood of Jesus Christ (or who knows someone that has trouble), consider this: If someone can believe that an infinite God existed before all time with no beginning and no end, created the world out of literally nothing, that the same infinite God made Himself human in Jesus Christ, and that he could turn water into wine (foreshadowing the Eucharist), why in the world can’t someone believe that the infinitely powerful and merciful God was being serious when he said “This is my body which is given for you” (Lk 22:19) and “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” (Lk 22:20)?
Please feel free to comment, whether to ask questions or add thoughts!
The Church’s Wisdom Regarding Contraception and Marriage (cont.)
The wealth of John Paul II’s wisdom is indeed vast, springing from his intimate relationship with God and his experience in life, especially as a confessor. He points out for us some of the problems that face a woman who faces the potential conception of children with fear, saying “Fear then is a powerful negative stimulus that can destroy the natural regularity of the female sexual cycle. Clinical experience also confirms the thesis that fear of pregnancy also deprives a woman of that ‘joy in the spontaneous experience of love’ which acting in accordance with nature brings.”[18] In order to alleviate this fear of conception, then, women may decide to insist on using contraceptives, either with or without the initial support of the male. On the other hand, the male may also be the instigator of this idea, placing the burden of fear on the woman in order to manipulate her into using contraception. Within the bonds of Holy Matrimony, these actions can be seen as little less than abominable.
Aside from the psychological damage of fear, which is the chief cause of biological irregularities[19], are the physically unhealthy aspects of contraceptives.
“Contraceptives are of their very nature harmful to health. Biological methods besides causing temporary barrenness, may bring about serious and irreversible changes in the organism. Chemical means are in their very nature cellular poisons, otherwise they would not have the power to kill genital cells, and so they must be physically harmful.”[20]
“Anyone who is prescribing oral contraceptives has a duty to tell women that 21 of 23 studies showed an increased risk [of developing breast cancer].”
Who can deny the assertion that contraceptives of certain types are physically damaging? In 2006, a journal called Mayo Clinic Proceedings published an article that stated “Anyone who is prescribing oral contraceptives has a duty to tell women that 21 of 23 studies showed an increased risk [of developing breast cancer].”[21] The list of negative side-effects can go on and on, but for now we will continue in our examinations.
Perhaps the greatest threat, above both physical and emotional/psychological aspects, is the destructive attitudes that can be instilled in one or both spouses by the use of contraceptives. Pope Paul VI saw the many potential dangers that could arise from the use of such items. In Humanae Vitae he explained how, imploring his flock to think about “how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards.”[22] Not only can the use of such items cause marital infidelity in an obvious sense, but also in a less direct but no less harmful way.
“Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.”[23]
‘…a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and… reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires…”
What a travesty this situation presents us with! The selfless gift of a man to a woman and her reciprocal gift, all within the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, is tarnished and distorted by the objectification and utilization of the other spouse for pleasure. Rather than imitate Christ’s selfless gift of himself to Church as his bride, the husband would seek to use his wife as a means, or the wife would use the husband in the opposite and equally horrible situation, and one or both would then fail to see the other as an end unto themselves. To see the beauty of a holy marriage that we have become so familiar with through the first two sections of this document degraded, albeit in a theoretical way, is no less saddening because of our knowledge that this happens in reality as well.
It seems appropriate that, after having examined documents spanning almost a century, we may return to the earliest writings used here. Looking back to the 1930s, we can revisit Pius XI’s encyclical Casti Connubii and see that, even eight decades ago, Holy Mother Church was able to foresee the problematic situation in which we currently find ourselves as an entire people. When one sees this statement, made so long ago, it may give one a sense of awe and a desire to praise God for his gracious blessings. Almost 80 years ago, Pius XI stated,
“…no reason, however grave, may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may become conformable to nature and morally good. Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.”[24]
Multiple popes have continued in this vein, each further developing and enriching the content of the Catholic Church’s infallible plethora of teachings. The faithfulness and cohesion with which these documents come together tend to compel one to thank Jesus Christ for his promise to Simon when he said, “I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it” (Mt 16:18).
Conclusion
Our journey through the resplendent teachings of the Catholic Church has led us to a deeper and more complete understanding of marriage and family. We have seen the completeness and solidity of these precepts, along with the reasoning behind them. The Church has been kind enough not only to guide us into all truth, but to explain why she maintains these truths. The popes and teachers who authored the documents we referenced revealed the splendor of marriage and family as it should be and showed us the consequences of violating these institutions. Who would not want to experience John Paul II’s vision of marriage? Who would prefer slavery to one’s passions over the continence and selfless love? Surely, only those who do not know or understand the excellence of the Church’s teachings can reject such beauty. Together, let us pray that our brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world may come to see God’s plan for their lives, especially those who are called to live the married life. We ask this and all things through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
[18] Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), p.281
[19] Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), p.281
[20] Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1993), p.282
[21] Chris Kahlenborn, M.D. et al., “Oral Contraceptive Use as a Risk Factor for Pre-menopausal Breast Cancer: A Meta-analysis,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings (October 2006)
[22] Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 17
[23] Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 17
[24] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 54
The Magisterium’s Words on Living the Sacrament of Marriage (cont.)
Expanding on the issue of the family, we can turn to John Paul II’s 1994 Letter to Families, written for the year of the family. “The family is the first and the most important”[9] way by which we are led to know, love, and serve God, and it is in the family that mankind shares in the “same love with which the Creator embraces the created world, as was already expressed ‘in the beginning.’”[10] In line with Pius XI’s ideas in Casti Connubii, John Paul II describes that “the words of consent define the common good of the couple and of the family.”[11] In agreeing to commit oneself to another for one’s entire lifetime and to be open to children, all with the goal of growing in relationship with God and one another, the spouses faithfully set up the stable and holy structure of the family.
Beautifully connecting theses ideas is a sentence from John Paul II’s brilliant mind, which says “In the newborn child is realized the common good of the family.”[12] The result of receiving a newborn child from unity and procreativity is even greater unity among the members of the family and an increased appreciation and desire for participation in God’s creative power. The community of a family, which springs from love, also constitutes the domestic church about which we have already written, albeit indirectly, when we discussed the proper Christian upbringing of children through education and love.
It is in this community of love that begets love that one finds communion. “The love between… [all] members of the household-is given life and sustenance by an unceasing inner dynamism leading the family to ever deeper and more intense communion, which is the foundation and soul of the community of marriage and the family.”[13] One can see how, through this “ever deeper and more intense communion,” the family becomes an earthly image of God’s Trinitarian love. How beautiful the gifts that the Lord God has given us, and how misunderstood and misused are his bountiful blessings!
“The domestic church, the Christian family, is the foundation and model for the interactions of society…”
The domestic church, the Christian family, is the foundation and model for the interactions of society on a larger scale. With this in mind, it becomes obvious both that the world has failed horribly in its duty to raise holy families and that the excellence of God’s plan calls us back to himself, that we may work towards perfection and communion with him. For those Christians that have lived the plan of God, the fruits of their labors are clear.
“From the communion that Christians experience in Christ there immediately flows the communion which they experience with one another: all are branches of a single vine, namely, Christ. In this communion is the wonderful reflection and participation in the mystery of the intimate life of love in God as Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit as revealed by the Lord Jesus. For this communion Jesus prays: “that they may all be one; even as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (Jn 17: 21).”[14]
We can see here that Christians are called to live in communion and that this communion is supposed to imitate that of the Trinity. It becomes increasingly obvious, then, that this communion must first be learned in the setting of the family, and thereby passed on to those outside of this nuclear family in the entirety of the Catholic Church. To think of ourselves as one Body in Christ and one family in the Church is, perhaps, the greatest way for us to transition into the larger context of family. After all,
“…there is a real, essential and constant bond uniting each of them and this is why the universal Church exists and is manifested in the particular Churches. For this reason the Council says that the particular Churches ‘are constituted after the model of the universal Church; it is in and from these particular Churches that there come into being the one and unique Catholic Church’(85).”[15]
The Church’s Wisdom Regarding Contraception and Marriage
It is quite clear that the Roman Catholic Church understands the evil of artificial contraception and that it has been the only institution to steadfastly take a stand against this evil, clearly and faithfully. The Church has seen what effects contraception can have not only on single people and their lives, but also on the lives of those who use it within their marriages. The negative effects are physical in nature for some and spiritual in nature for all. We will now look into the teachings of the Catholic Church regarding artificial contraception, aiming to show the particular evil of its use within marriage.
“Many people today even group children and sexually transmitted diseases into the same category of unwanted consequences…”
“Nowadays Christianity of the past is often criticized as having been opposed to the body,”[16] because people do not understand why the Church holds as true those things that it teaches. As a result of this ignorance, modern man rejects these teachings as archaic and outdated. Instead of seeing his body as a “reciprocal self-gift,” he looks upon it as “a mere object that he attempts, as he pleases, to make both enjoyable and harmless.”[17] With this mindset of the body as an object to be used for pleasure, contraception seems to logically follow as an apparent good. To modern man, his body is to be used for enjoyment and, in order to prevent unwanted side-effects or consequences, he tries to render his actions in these pursuits harmless. Many people today even group children and sexually transmitted diseases into the same category of unwanted consequences of sexual activity!
It is in this environment that we find ourselves today, and it is with these challenges that we must grapple. Mankind’s misunderstanding of his sexuality, particularly his genital sexuality in this case, fosters his bad behaviors and the culture of death about which John Paul II spoke so often. So much can be said about contraception on a broad scale, but we must look specifically at the problems to be found with contraception in marriage.
[9] John Paul II, Letter to Families, 2
[10] John Paul II, Letter to Families, 2
[11] John Paul II, Letter to Families, 10
[12] John Paul II, Letter to Families, 11
[13] John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 18
[14] John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 18
[15] John Paul II, Christifideles Laici, 25
[16] Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 5
[17] Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 5
]]>The Biblical and Theological Understanding of Marriage (cont.)
Many Old Testament figures were able to live chaste, holy marriages in accordance with God’s will, even considering that they had less grace than their New Testament counterparts. Tobias and Sarah, for example, were a holy couple who faced great danger and still trusted in the Lord, who saved them and made them prosperous. Boaz and Ruth, too, were good people in the sight of the Lord, and they followed his precepts. Certainly Mary, the mother of God, had devout, righteous parents as well. What one should take away from this is that, while probably more difficult, it has never been impossible to live marriage as God intended it. Our Lord would not give us a task too great for us to accomplish, as captured in Scripture when it says, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Cor. 10:13).
What of the New Testament view of marriage? This has been partially discussed already, but there is an even deeper understanding to be gained by turning to biblical exegesis of key texts. In part two of John Paul II’s book Man and Woman He Created Them, labeled “The Sacrament,” he begins by writing about Ephesians 5:21-33. For the sake of reference, we will include this passage in this document:
“21 Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ. 22 Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 Even so husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ 32 This mystery is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church; 33 however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.”
This is the crowning passage in all of Scripture regarding marriage, and most especially because it reveals a great mystery and gives us a deeper understanding of the true and perfect meaning of marriage. We can see that “all monogamous marriage today is a symbol of the union of Christ and the Church,”[2] as can be seen in verses 23-24 and 32. We can also see that the husband and wife are meant to be “reciprocally subject in the fear of Christ.”[3] This means that the husband gives himself to his wife because of his reverence for God and his sacraments, and the wife does the same. Each of the two is meant to understand that their marriage is an image of Christ’s marriage to the Church and, because of this great truth, they should be compelled to love one another “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:25).
“…all monogamous marriage today is a symbol of the union of Christ and the Church”
A stunning and wonderful connection can be made between this passage in Ephesians and the accounts of the Last Supper. When one ponders the fullness of Christ’s gift to his church in light of Saint Paul’s analogy regarding marriage, it becomes easy to see that human marriage mirrors Christ’s actions in yet another way. Just as man was made to give himself totally, as a free and reciprocal gift, to his wife, so, too, was woman made to surrender herself to her husband and receive from him the complete gift of himself. In the Eucharist, Christ gives himself, in a truly complete and unique way, to his bride, the Church. He offers his Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to his bride as a selfless gift, and he does so for her sake. Seen in light of God’s plan for our salvation, when two become one flesh, we can now see how the marital embrace foreshadows the perfect unity of God and his people in heaven.
So much more could be said about the biblical and theological understanding of marriage. Countless books by numerous authors address marriage from each standpoint, and some of the greatest combine the two aspects, as does Man and Woman He Created Them. We must now move on, however, to examine the Catholic Church’s writings on the sacrament of marriage and how it is to be lived.
The Magisterium’s Words on Living the Sacrament of Marriage
Let us now address the guiding wisdom with which the Church leads her people through her encyclicals, beginning with Casti Connubii, or On Christian Marriage. One of the most definitive statements made in this encyclical is that “amongst the blessings of marriage, the child holds the first place.”[4] Speaking on the other aspect of marriage, the unitive, Pius XI says “conjugal faith, or honor, demands… the complete unity of matrimony which the Creator Himself laid down in the beginning when He wished it to be not otherwise than between one man and one woman.”[5] Of course, this statement is in line with the teachings of the Church found in the Catechism, which say “By safeguarding both these essential aspects, the unitive and the procreative, the conjugal act preserves in its fullness the sense of true mutual love and its orientation toward man’s exalted vocation to parenthood” (CCC 2369). We will now briefly address the Church’s wisdom regarding the procreative and unitive aspects of marriage, after which we will turn to a discussion of the family.
Regarding the procreative aspect of marriage, the Holy Father had several things to say to the lay faithful. The main text for understanding his ideas says that the married are not only supposed to produce children and educate them in a general sense, nor “to educate any kind of worshippers of the true God, but children who are to become members of the Church of Christ.”[6] The obligations of parents include proper education of their children in the faith along with providing shelter, clothing, and nourishment, all according to the parents’ means.
On the topic of unity within marriage, Pius XI also had a beautiful statement that truly reveals the importance of this unity. He wrote,
“[The] mutual molding of husband and wife, this determined effort to perfect each other, can in a very real sense, as the Roman Catechism teaches, be said to be the chief reason and purpose of matrimony, provided matrimony be looked at not in the restricted sense as instituted for the proper conception and education of the child, but more widely as the blending of life as a whole and the mutual interchange and sharing thereof.”[7]
“…if the man is the head, the woman is the heart, and as he occupies the chief place in ruling, so she may and ought to claim for herself the chief place in love.”
Still commenting on the unity of the spouses and the family as a whole, he wrote about the subjection of husband and wife to one another. In section 27 of Casti Connubii, Pius XI takes up much of what John Paul II discusses in Man and Woman He Created Them, speaking of the equality but difference of spouses within marriage. As guidance and teaching for the proper living of a Christian marriage, we are told that women are to be subject to their husbands as the Church is subject to Christ, but she is also not to be given too much freedom, to the detriment of the family. In addition, as already addressed, the man is to love his wife as Christ loves the Church and to act as head of the family, always seeking the good of his family, even over his own good. Finally, as a sort of summary, Pius XI tells us, his flock, that “if the man is the head, the woman is the heart, and as he occupies the chief place in ruling, so she may and ought to claim for herself the chief place in love.”[8]
[2] Dom Wulstan Mork, O.S.B., Transformed By Grace: Scripture, Sacraments & the Sonship of Christ (Cincinnati: Saint Anthony Messenger Press, 2004), p. 227
[3] John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2006), p. 472
[4] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 11
[5] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 20
[6] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 13
[7] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 24
[8] Pius XI, Casti Connubii, 27
]]>As my marriage to my fiancée Lisa draws ever nearer and the months seem to rush by, I am beginning to think more and more about the journey that lies ahead of us. Thankfully, I have been provided with an excellent education at JP Catholic, part of which included a marriage and family class with Professor Michael Barber this summer. In the process of taking this class, I was required to write a final paper, and I wish to share it with all of you. I hope and pray that it will at least inspire you because of the subject, if not teach you a bit as well.
I would like to make it clear that this is an original work, and so is protected by copyright; anyone who wishes to spread it about need only cite where they found it. I am happy to share the information, or I would not have provided it for you here!
As a sort of disclaimer, this was originally in formal paper format with a cover page, table of contents, and all citations provided by footnote and cited properly in a bibliography. It will not be quite the same here, but I assure you that the content is the same (in academic style).
It will be divided into several parts over the next few days to keep the amount of content more bearable, for those of us who do not like long posts. Enjoy!
Introduction
Holy Matrimony is, sadly, a largely misunderstood sacrament in this day and age. Due to modern society’s allowances for divorce, contraception, abortion, and homosexual unions, the meaning of marriage has been confused and obscured in the minds of contemporary man. Of course, this confusion is not unique to the modern era because mankind has been committing the same types of sins throughout history. Even with this widespread confusion, there is and has been a beacon of hope and light in the world. This beacon is the Bride of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church, and she has the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who “will guide [us] into all the truth” (Jn 16:13). It is our desire in this document to address Holy Mother Church’s teachings on the sacrament of Holy Matrimony, including scriptural references and analogies, and to discuss the negative effects of the previously mentioned social ills on marriage in society. We intend to expound on these topics under three headings; namely, the biblical and theological understanding of marriage, the Magisterium’s words on living the sacrament of marriage, and the Church’s wisdom regarding contraception and marriage.
The Biblical and Theological Understanding of Marriage
The Lord our God created and brought together Adam and Eve in the first marriage “in the beginning” (Gn 1:1). These two people were created “in the image of God… male and female” (Gn 1:27) and, because of the special nature given to them by God’s grace, both they and their offspring are able to partake in the divine life and love of the Trinity. The Lord’s will for the beautiful and holy gift of marriage can be found in the first pages of Genesis, where he sets forth in simple but powerful terms what man must do to please his God. In a wonderful section on marriage, the Catechism of the Catholic Church explains how the relation of the spouses is meant to bring them closer to their loving God:
“Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone.’ The woman, ‘flesh of his flesh,’ his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a ‘helpmate’; she thus represents God from whom comes our help. ‘Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh.’ The Lord himself shows that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator had been ‘in the beginning’: ‘So they are no longer two, but one flesh’” (CCC 1605).
“The woman, ‘flesh of his flesh,’ his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a ‘helpmate’; she thus represents God from whom comes our help.”
It is plain to see that man and woman, equal while different, have unique roles to play in the world, and especially within the bonds of Holy Matrimony.
The gift of spouses, each fully giving themselves to the other, was not fully appreciated in all biblical times. Throughout the Old and New Testaments, evidence abounds of abuses and offenses against God’s original plan for marriage. Take as an example the first polygamist, named Lamech. In Genesis 4:19, it states that “Lamech took two wives; the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.” This clearly violates the simple yet irrefutable fact that, from the beginning, the Lord intended for marriage to consist of one man and one woman. Another instance of polygamy, in a certain sense, can be found later in Genesis, when Abram took his wife’s servant girl “as a wife” (Gn 16:3) and conceived a child with her. It was because of Abram’s lack of faith in God that he took this action, and there is clear evidence for this assertion. One need only read from the previous chapter of Genesis to see that God had already promised Abram his own son (Gn 15:4).
Polygamy was not the only offense against the dignity of marriage; indeed, there were many, even among God’s own people. Leviticus tells us that Moses allowed a man to divorce the wife of his own bosom and remarry, but this was not in accordance with God’s will from the beginning. The most definitive refutation of all arguments in favor of divorce and remarriage was delivered by the Lord himself in Jesus Christ, who said “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mk 10:11-12) and again “What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mk 10:9).
Encompassing both polygamy and the divorce-remarriage mindset is the issue of adultery, which God condemns in the sixth and ninth commandments: “You shall not commit adultery… you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” Adultery includes many particular types of actions, most of which will not be named or discussed in this document. It is possible, however, to eliminate any doubt about what one must avoid in order to abstain from adultery. Jesus Christ clarifies this doubt with the light of truth, saying “…every one who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28).
John Paul II addresses this particular statement extensively in his book Man and Woman He Created Them, also known by many as A Theology of the Body. He refers to Christ’s word in the Sermon on the Mount not as an addition to the law but, rather, as the fulfillment of the sixth commandment. Indeed, John Paul II summarizes what Christ truly meant and was trying to reveal to mankind in his statement from verse 28 of Matthew 5:
“The new dimension of ethos is always linked with the revelation of the depth that is called “heart” and with the liberation of the heart from ‘concupiscence’ so that man can shine more fully in his heart: male and female in all the inner truth of the reciprocal ‘for.’ Freed from the constraint and disability of the spirit, which are the result of the concupiscence of the flesh, human beings, male and female, find themselves again in the freedom of the gift, which is the condition of all life together in the truth, and, more particularly, in the freedom of reciprocal self-gift, because both, as husband and wife, must form the sacramental unity willed, as Genesis 2:24 says, by the Creator himself.”[1]
“Freed from the constraint and disability of the spirit, which are the result of the concupiscence of the flesh, human beings… find themselves again in the freedom of the gift”
Essentially, this quote is stating that, when humans are in communion with God through grace, they are able to participate in the “freedom of the gift” and abstain from actions like adultery by virtue of their relationship with God. Only in this divine-human relationship can mankind learn to become a “reciprocal self-gift” and fully participate in marriage in the true sense. It is for this reason that the members of the Old Covenant were not able to live marriage perfectly. They had not received the fullness of grace in Jesus Christ, who brought about our redemption through his salvific passion and death.
[1] John Paul II, Man and Woman He Created Them (Boston: Pauline Books & Media, 2006), p. 300-301
Today is the feast of St. Martin of Tours, a holy man who gave us a strong example of humility, simplicity, and Christian charity. He became a Roman soldier at a young age, and it was during this time that one of the greatest legends of his life springs from. On the road on a cold night, he split his cloak, giving half to a poor beggar that was freezing. Later he became a monk, and then a bishop; he was opposed to Arianism during the time that the heresy was strong within the Church, and continually prayed and preached the truth. In our modern times, we must work just as tirelessly as he did.
For a full biography, you can read here: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=81 or here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09732b.htm.
St. Martin, pray for us!
]]>Before we go any further into this examination, let us first define what an indulgence is exactly. According to the Apostolic Constitution Indulgentiarum doctrina, written by Pope Paul VI in 1967, “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints.”
“An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven…”
“‘An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin.’ The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead” (See 2 Maccabees 12:38-45).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1472, contains a quote from the Council of Trent (1545-1563) explaining this doctrine: “To understand this doctrine and practice of the Church, it is necessary to understand that sin has a double consequence. Grave sin deprives us of communion with God and therefore makes us incapable of eternal life, the privation of which is called the ‘eternal punishment’ of sin. On the other hand every sin, even venial, entails an unhealthy attachment to creatures, which must be purified either here on earth, or after death in the state called Purgatory. This purification frees one from what is called the ‘temporal punishment’ of sin. These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin. A conversion which proceeds from a fervent charity can attain the complete purification of the sinner in such a way that no punishment would remain.”
“These two punishments must not be conceived of as a kind of vengeance inflicted by God from without, but as following from the very nature of sin.”
Now, with that understanding, let us discuss indulgences a bit further. The sale of indulgences, or the acceptance of monetary compensation in exchange for the remission of temporal punishment, is wrong and an abuse of the doctrine of indulgences. One cannot buy such remission; rather, it must be given freely by a proper authority (God through His ministers, especially the Pope).
Having researched this topic and read through the list of prayers and actions which have indulgences attached to them, we can confidently say that there are none that include a monetary transaction. To find this list, one need only reference the Enchiridion of Indulgences, which was put out by the 1968 Decree of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary. To see the Norms on Indulgences, which are the “rules and regulations” around indulgences, either click on its link or scroll to the bottom of the page found in the “Enchiridion of Indulgences” link.
Since we find it wonderful that so many everyday and extraordinary things have indulgences attached to them, and that one must have the intention to gain an indulgence for it to be credited to them, here is a list of such “indulgenced” actions:
The Sign of the Cross- partial
Act of Contrition
The Angelus and Regina Caeli- partial
Soul of Christ (Anima Christi)- partial
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament- Less than 30 minutes=partial; 30 minutes or more=plenary
Reciting the Apostles’ or Nicene Creeds- partial
Adoration of the Cross- plenary on Good Friday
Teaching or Studying Christian Doctrine- partial
The Memorare- partial
Mental Prayer- partial
First Communion- plenary
First Mass of Newly Ordained Priests- plenary
Recitation of Marian Rosary (in church, oratory, w/ family, religious community, or pious association)- plenary under certain conditions
Reading the Sacred Scriptures- less than 30 minutes=partial; 30 minutes or more=plenary (must be w/ veneration due to God’s word and as a form of spiritual reading)
Hail, Holy Queen- partial
Stations of the Cross (devoutly)- plenary
There are more, and if you click on the links provided on this page it will tell you any special conditions. Hopefully this list is helpful and assists you in your spiritual life!
As a final note (and an important one at that), we would like to inform you that, in order to gain an indulgence, certain overarching conditions must be met. These are 1) exclusion of all attachment to sin, even venial, 2) sacramental Confession, 3) Eucharistic communion, and 4) prayer for the Pope’s intentions. If anyone has questions about indulgences after reading the documents linked to in this post, please contact us by commenting or at the email address provided below.
For the purpose of meditation, here is one of the New Testament verses that refers to purification through fire, as in Purgatory: “For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw — each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire” (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
God bless & Mary keep you, and go obtain some indulgences… I know I am about to try!
Daniel Williams
Katholikos Co-founder, CEO
katholikos.catechetics@gmail.com
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