February 27, 2020

Part II

Artificial birth control quickly created a number of societal and moral problems. It promoted infidelity among the married and promiscuity among the unmarried. Married couples began to limit the number of children in their families in a sinful manner. Instead of emphasizing the need to sacrifice for the sake of the family, it became all about selfishness, where couples wanted the best home, cars, etc. One will commonly be told the couple cannot afford more than one or two children. Since they wish to live like royalty instead of the common working man, this is probably true. Their selfishness has truly blinded them, to the detriment of their souls.

Catholic couples may have been a little slower in using birth control, but still, by the 1960’s Catholics were ignoring the laws of the Church. In addition, couples were lied to by the Catholic clergy who routinely approved inquiring couples about its use. As a result, otherwise good Catholics found themselves living in opposition to the Church’s teachings and being guilty of mortal sin and not being fully aware of it. By the 1990’s, Modernist sources reveal that about 90% of Catholic couples have used some form of artificial birth control during their married life. Although many might object to the analogy, this is like a couple walking into an area known to have land mines, not concerned with the damage it would do to them. It is one thing to endure the enemies (moral) assaults, but quite another to carry out self-inflicting attacks.

Artificial birth control has struck at the very heart of marriage-the Divine command to procreate. It truly has had the effect of a mortal wound, where the patient (the married couple) is on life-support, but in this situation they are totally unaware of their serious condition. For the couple that has used birth control to a greater degree, they have been spiritually blinded and are clearly unaware they are not able to see.

Many of these families in the past would have had several children (several here means 4-7 children), but today they might have three. One wonders at the underlying frustration of marriages because they have not carried out their duties properly. A frustration which may go unrecognized yet is the cause of so many Catholic divorces.

It is here that a comment must be made on the poor instruction these couples generally have received in preparation for their wedding. This writer has been in a position to have had some of these couples become members of Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Lubbock, Texas. When inquiring about this instruction, one is left “shaking one’s head” at the lack of proper instruction, leaving these men and women at a loss at how to properly conduct themselves in married life. Unfortunately, their ignorance brings with it problems which easily could have been avoided if those in charge of these classes would have responsibly carried out their duties. Perhaps the worst comment which has been conveyed is, the local priest telling the couple “if it doesn’t work out, just get a divorce!” Apparently, that man does not accept the indissolubility of marriage. Should one be surprised at the divorce rate among Catholics when not only are they ignorant of the Faith and are so poorly prepared for the married state, but are especially not taught the two essential principles of the married life: the unity of the married state and the indissolubility of marriage.

Abortion is without a doubt the most important moral issue in the world and is the greatest attack against the family and marriage. If artificial contraception is to be thought of as a mortal wound which put the family on life-support, then abortion must be the heart attack and stroke which puts marriage into a coma. Why does one say both heart and stroke? Because the unthinking masses (a stroke often disrupts the normal functions of the brain) strike at the very heart of marriage (procreation) by their own young, something which does not normally happen among animals.

Any woman who is willing to kill her own child is nothing more than the most selfish monster science fiction could ever create. It is a mockery of God as Creator of all human life. Unfortunately, it has become the accepted form of human sacrifice. Most who fight against abortion (pro-lifers, etc.) miss the more important point of the soul of this child never being able to go to Heaven. Does one not realize that Satan knows where these souls go? Would he desire abortion if all of these infant souls went to heaven?

The significance of this issue is displayed each day since 1973 (Roe v. Wade) with the battle between those who want abortion to end against those who want the murdering to continue. The battle goes far beyond flesh and blood. It is, indeed, a battle between Principalities and Powers, literally between Heaven and Hell.

An issue which many would not consider an attack upon the family is precisely that, because of its many effects. To use the war analogy, it is like being pelted with machine-gun fire which often misses the target but eventually kills the soldier with multiple rounds. The machine-gun does not generally seem to be as threatening as the guided missile, the bomb or even tank rounds, but the results are just as deadly when it hits the target, in fact, it usually shreds the body of the victim, thus, the use of the analogy.

The issue at hand is chastity and purity. The effect of these virtues is an outward modesty and an inward meekness. The parents have a responsibility to teach supernatural virtue to their children. Too often the parents are not equipped to do so because they know little or nothing of these virtues. It must be said, though, that a good example and basic instruction will go a long way in teaching children how they ought to conduct themselves.

It wasn’t that long ago that many Catholic mothers, and mothers in general, taught their children, and especially the girls, about basic common decency and modesty. When these natural virtues were taught, women generally lived their adult lives as good, decent people.

Something changed, though, in the 20th century. Fashions and styles changed in such a way that had never been seen before. How many are aware that Freemasonry in the late 1920’s set out on a plan to destroy the morals of women? Why would they attack the women and not the men? Because they understood better than most, that women, and mothers in particular, are the moral backbone of society. Thus, the war upon the family became engaged in a battle which literally blind-sided the family.

Moving forward through the 20th century one sees clearly how the fashions of women became more and more immodest. For the doubting Thomases, I would like to refer you to the different papal documents of Pope Pius XII who warned us of the “tyranny of fashion.” The tyranny of which he speaks refers to those women who will wear the latest fashions even when they are sinfully immodest.

This sinful attitude should not be a part of the Catholic home. It is reprehensible and undermines who a woman is. The degradation which has taken place is beyond the description of what defines otherwise decent women. Yes, it has made women who have the desire to be decent Catholic mothers far too loose in their moral foundation. Part of this tragedy is that too many of these women are quite oblivious to this fact. A simple way to look at this is, you are what you wear. One is sadly convinced today that far too many women, most of whom are mothers, are so clueless about their feminine dignity, they will nearly degrade themselves to that of brutes.

Society has become so accustomed to the immorality of today, little regard is given to the destructiveness of the family. This one moral issue has done more to undermine common decency on one hand and the desire to be virtuous on the other. Unless good women speak out and lead the way, families will further sink into nothing more than housing for the young, who are given little instruction into that which right and good, and are too often led down the road to perdition.

As the family continues to be attacked from all sides, only the astute person will understand what is taking place. There are some who do have a correct understanding of this war for the souls of the family, and for the family itself. In recent years, the war has taken on a whole new set of enemies. One is not to be blamed if you didn’t see this coming fifty years ago, but then, who would have thought the decline of the family would have happened so quickly.

Homosexuality and the so-called same-sex marriage battle came about as the result of the failure of the U. S. Catholic bishops and society to speak out and condemn the attacks of the family over the past century. These enemies of God and Natural Law are attacking from multiple fronts, making it difficult for those who are still willing to fight this ongoing war. Artificial contraception and abortion produced promiscuity on a scale never seen before. Pornography fed this fire until it became a raging out-of-control forest fire. All of this opened the door for the acceptability of homosexuality.

This moral perversion has affected the minds of the parents by influencing either the man or woman to leave the family and live with someone of the same sex. Yes, they went from being a married spouse with children to a homosexual that is willing to give up their marriage and children. One supposes the war analogy would be like having an atomic bomb dropped on the family. Is there anything left of the family?

Then you have the children who are being brainwashed to believe that homosexuality is perfectly normal. The big lie, of course, is that they are born this way. Over time an increasing number of schoolchildren began to think they are homosexuals. Students at all levels must face either homosexual teachers in the classrooms who are promoting this perversion or teachers and administration who are permitting sympathetic teachers to again indoctrinate these young, gullible minds. The only real solution at the present time is to not send your children to public schools.

The harm being done to the family is simply devastating. When the Supreme Court is allowed to redefine marriage, one now has a court that has placed itself above Natural Law and God Himself. This is plainly a level of arrogance of a human court that can only bring further destruction to what remains of the family.

The more recent transgender issue is a not-so-quiet attack upon Divine Providence. To say that God “got it wrong” when He determined the gender of a person is actually blasphemy. Once again, these human devils have quickly allowed this in the classroom. The result is that one now has young children under the age of ten wanting a gender change. The greater tragedy here is that mindless, clueless parents display their parental irresponsibility by allowing their child to go through this supposed transformation.

It is no surprise that one is already witnessing the destructive psychological effects of these changes. Whether children or adults who go through these changes, once having understood their terrible decision, are able to recover is to be seen. One has seen a similar situation among those who have realized their mistake and stopped living a homosexual lifestyle. It is these persons who understand the lies which have been told in order to further this diabolical agenda and expose the truth to those who are willing to listen. Unfortunately, one must deal with a complicit media who is going to either downplay this news or refuse to print it all together.

One cannot overlook the attack upon parenthood. How often has one seen movies or television programs mock fatherhood, making men look like bumbling idiots and otherwise irresponsible fathers; mothers who find raising children to be boring, aggravating and a waste of their time. The family rarely has more than one or two children. How long has it been since a family was portrayed in a positive manner?

Today there are fewer marriages and more men and women living in sin outside of marriage. These adults give no thought to raising illegitimate children. The dishonor means little to them. The birth rate in the United States has been below the ability to sustain its native population because of artificial contraception and abortion for a number of years which explains why the federal government is willing to admit millions into this country legally.

The divorce rate has been around fifty percent for many years, leaving tens of millions of children in broken homes. How many of these children have been put on some type of drugs because of the “mental” problems they have? How many of these school shooters have been from broken homes?

Catholic couples need to understand the battles they are fighting, or will fight. It is imperative that they know who the enemies are? They need to properly understand the moral issues facing the family and what the correct answers are to these serious situations. Most of all they need to have a desire to live as Catholic parents who pray each day for God’s blessings on their family, avoid all immoral decisions, and persevere in raising their children to be saints.

Fr. Joseph Noonan, OFM