TOB Tuesday: I Believe in Love!

ChelseaLove, Theology of the Body, TOB TuesdayLeave a Comment

Today’s contribution to the Register’s Theology of the Body Symposium comes from Fr. Jose Granados:

Is it possible to believe in love?

To our culture, love seems funny, interesting, desirable, maybe necessary … but certainly not trustworthy. It does not seem to be solid and lasting enough so that one can build one’s entire life on it.

Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body is precisely an attempt to show that we can believe in love (1 John 4:16), that love is strong enough to provide an explanation for the whole of our life: our origin, our identity and our destiny.

Three points are crucial to understand John Paul II’s vision.

Read more on those three points. Also check out Called to Love: Approaching John Paul II’s Theology of the Body which Fr. Granados co-authored with Supreme Knight Carl Anderson.

TOB: Past, Present and Future

ChelseaTheology of the BodyLeave a Comment

TOBTwo more articles to highlight at the Register’s Theology of the Body Symposium. Last week Sr. Prudence Allen wrote about how the TOB is important in understanding “the complementarity of marriage and continence for ‘the Kingdom of heaven’ in their meaning and manifold importance.”

In the early autumn of 1979, Pope John Paul II introduced to the universal Church his teaching on the theology of the body during a series of general audiences. As Karol Wojtyla, he had already published in Poland Love and Responsibility and The Acting Person and given lectures on the family and parenthood as a community of persons. These lectures are now available in English in Person and Community.

Read more

And today, Christopher West talks about how the TOB is John Paul II’s antidote to the culture of death:

As John Paul II insisted, “It is an illusion to think we can build a true culture of human life if we do not … accept and experience sexuality and love and the whole of life according to their true meaning and their close interconnection” (Evangelium Vitae, 97). For as our understanding of sexuality goes, so go marriage and the family. As marriage and the family go, so goes civilization.”

This is the great gift of John Paul II’s theology of the body: By revealing the glory of God’s plan for man and woman, it provides the antidote to the “culture of death” and the surest foundation for building a “culture of life.”

Read more as West goes on to comment on the present “Great TOB Debate” and the future of the TOB and how it could relate to the message of Fatima.

How to Take Care of a Pregnant Wife

ChelseaFamily, Love, Marriage, Men, Pregnancy1 Comment

pregnant-wife.pngI love the Art of Manliness website…probably because I love men. Today, Brett has a sweet post giving advice to men on how they can help take care of their pregnant wives:

A lot of guys find the pregnancy process a little bewildering. Not knowing what to do, they end up nervously backing away instead of stepping up the support when their women need them the most. So I decided to start a series for dads-to-be to discuss the ins and outs of this very cool but nerve-racking period in your life. Today, we’ll talk about how to take care of your wife while she’s with child.

Read more. Advice includes: read books on pregnancy, accompany her to doctors appointments, help her get rest, how to handle frequent peeing, help through morning sickness and more. I thought it was a cute post, anyway. It would be good to share with any first-time dads you know.

Men: How do you take care of your pregnant wife? Ladies: how has your husband helped you out when you were pregnant?

Duelling Youth on Defunding Planned Parenthood

ChelseaPlanned Parenthood, video2 Comments

I was a little disgusted to come across this first video late last week featuring young people proudly confessing fornication and their support for Planned Parenthood:

I have to admit, that video did make me weep for our youth and the future of our country. I still do, but I was happy to also come across this video and be reminded that there is some hope for our future after all.

Baby Joseph Transferred to St. Louis Hospital!

ChelseaEuthanasia2 Comments

This is great news for Baby Joseph and his family! From FoxNews:

The baby who was hours from being pulled off life support at his Canadian hospital has been rescued by the national director of Priests for Life and taken to the U.S. for treatment.

Thirteen-month-old Joseph Maraachli, who is currently kept alive by a respirator and was recently denied a transfer to a Michigan hospital to undergo a tracheotomy, arrived in the U.S. early Monday morning with Fr. Frank Pavone and other Priests for Life staff.

“Priests for Life staff toiled through the night for many nights, working in concert with dozens of people to make this possible,” Father Pavone said in a statement. “Now that we have won the battle against the medical bureaucracy in Canada, the real work of saving Baby Joseph can begin.”

Joseph is at to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center in St. Louis, Mo., a non-profit health-care facility open to all children in need of medical care.

Here are a few Twitter updates from Fr. Pavone very early this morning:

baby-joseph-twitter.png

He then tweeted these two pictures of himself with Baby Joseph and the boy’s father (click to enlarge):

baby-joseph-twitter.pngbaby-joseph-twitter.png

Thanks be to God for Priests for Life, the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition and the Terri Schiavo Life and Hope Network, whom I think has also been involved behind the scenes. Thank God also for little Joseph’s dedicated parents for not giving up on their son when he needs them the most and, of course, for the continued prayers of countless others!

For some background on Baby Joseph see my previous posts here and here and check out the Save baby Joseph Facebook page where they have been keeping regular updates on his condition and his case.

See more pictures of Baby Joseph’s transfer on the Priests for Life website here along with this press release.

On a related note, see Wesley Smith’s post on how the Alliance Defense Fund has helped Rachael Nyirahaabiyambere and others in situations similar to Baby Joseph: Alliance Defense Fund Saves Lives of the Medically Vulnerable

Minnesota Seeks Ban on Human Cloning

ChelseaCloningLeave a Comment

Lawmakers in Minnesota have proposed legislation to make human cloning illegal throughout the state. Good for them! I hope they have better success than we did in Missouri a few years ago (see this post for an explanation of that disaster).

It is a common misconception among Americans that our country prohibits human cloning. But, then, most people also think there is a ban on embryonic stem cell research that was enacted during the Bush administration. Sadly, neither of those things are true. *Sigh* How I wish we were more like Germany! Wait. What? Did I say that out-loud? Well, I do. At least in one area. Not only does Germany prohibit human cloning, but they have a law limiting the number of embryos that can be created outside the womb via IVF and requiring that each of those embryos be implanted – so no “leftover” embryos sitting around for scientists to get greedy over.

Now, I don’t think that policy in the United States should be determined by the example of other countries, but, hey, when they’re right, they’re right and Germany has it right when it comes to cloning and they’re not the only ones. Here is a chart that Rebecca Taylor compiled from BioPolicyWiki on the regulation of reproductive technology in various countries compared to the United States (click to enlarge):

repro-tech-policy.png

Remember, we’re no longer talking hypotheticals with regard to human cloning. Here in America, we know scientists in California successfully cloned fully human, as well as human/animal hybrid, embryos and, as Minnesotans discovered, scientists are trying to expand on this research in labs all over the country. Scientists are also seeking approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to clone 3-parent embryos (which has been done in the UK) and bring them to term!

Wake up and smell the clones, people! When it comes to legislation, a ban on cloning at the federal level should be as much of a priority for pro-lifers as defunding Planned Parenthood is right now, if not more so! We need to put an end to this kind of experimentation before it gets even more terrifying – before we’re forced to work within a legal system that, like abortion, recognizes such research as a constitutional right, and only allows us to limit the harm done with restrictions on government funding and other minor regulations.

Related:
Why We Need to Ban Cloning, ASAP!!
UK Scientists Clone 3-Parent Embryos

Update: Immigrant Woman Who Was Being Starved to Death is Alive & Being Fed!

ChelseaEuthanasiaLeave a Comment



Good news! This update just in from Wesley Smith about Rachel Nyirahabiyambere, the severely brain damaged Rwandan immigrant whose feeding tube was removed after her family was removed from making medical decisions for her.

She was off sustenance for more than two weeks. Yet, she lives!

My sources have told me that the family obtained legal counsel, a court ordered food and fluids restored. More details as they become available. Great news.

But I think the hospital, the guardian, and the judge have a lot of explaining to do.

A lot of explaining, indeed. I was surprised to get quite a few “let me play devil’s advocate” comments in favor of the hospital on my previous post about this situation. I can see their claims, but, even if it’s a money issue for the hospital and the family wouldn’t take financial responsibility, I don’t think killing the patient is the correct answer – uh, especially for a Catholic hospital.

*UPDATE* According to LifeSiteNews the family is getting legal counsel from the Alliance Defense Fund. More to come, I’m sure.

Previous posts:
Immigrant Family Forced to Watch Mother Dehydrated to Death
Food and Water are Universal Human Rights
JP II, the Church on Withdrawing Nutrition and Hydration

Theology of the Body, Chastity and the New Evangelization

ChelseaChastity, Theology of the BodyLeave a Comment

TOBA few more articles added to the Register’s Theology of the Body symposium.

Janet Smith on how the TOB’s teaching on chastity affects pastoral practice, and how do we teach and live chastity as a result:

It is important to remember that the theology of the body was not written to provide a program for teaching chastity. John Paul II wrote it to establish a biblically based anthropology adequate to defend the teaching of Humanae Vitae. That is, he tried to show how Scripture could provide us with an understanding of the human person that would help us understand why the Church condemns contraception. This led him to meditate deeply on the meaning of the human body as a means of revealing the truth about God and man.
John Paul II establishes that our bodies reveal that we are meant to make gifts of ourselves to others and receive others as gifts. John Paul II explains that Adam and Eve were able to be naked and without shame because they were without sin; they understood and lived the “spousal meaning” of the body. They respected each other as persons and were not capable of using each other. Sin brought disordered passions, fig leaves, and the ever ready possibility of sexual misuse.

Read more.

And Father Walter Schu talks about the relationship between theology of the body and evangelization and how the TOB is not just about sex:

As he gazes down from the window of the Father’s house at the exuberant fans of his theology of the body, John Paul II must be smiling. How could the Pope who once exhorted the Church to “put out into the deep” in quest of the New Evangelization not be pleased?

After all, nothing could be nearer the heart of the New Evangelization than the true meaning of sex, right? Or is that right? Or, just as crucially, is sex really what theology of the body is all about?

Not according to Michael Waldstein, translator of the definitive English version of the 129 Wednesday audiences containing John Paul II’s teaching on married love, celibacy and fruitfulness. In a 2010 summer course, Waldstein did not hesitate to affirm, “John Paul II’s concern in the theology of the body is the Gospel. It would be an error to get sidelined with what is always attractive to people: sexuality.”

Read more

Stay tuned for more articles. I am loving this!

Love…Naturally

ChelseaContraception, IVF, Natural Family Planning, Reproductive Technology, videoLeave a Comment

The following videos present a great overview of the benefits of modern day “NFP” science – the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology:

IVF = circumventive therapy & contraception = suppressive therapy. The Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology actually help identify and treat problems associated with PMS, postpartum depression, infertility, male-infertility, frequent miscarriage and much more! And, as the couples in the video attest to, NFP helps foster intimacy and communication between husband and wife. Find out more from: NaProTechnology.com/ and Creighton Model.com/ and the Couple to Couple League

Also recommended: in their last podcast, Greg and Jennifer Willits talk to gynecologist Dr. Kathlene Raviele and tackle Every NFP Question You’ve Ever Asked

How Can Pastors Use the TOB?

ChelseaTheology of the BodyLeave a Comment

I told you I would highlight the latest articles that are part of National Catholic Register’s Theology of the Body symposium. The latest comes from Fr. Brian Bransfield on how the Church can use the Theology of the Body, which was the product of a concerned pastor, more for effective pastoral practice:
TOB

Karol Wojtyla regularly escaped.

He escaped from not one, but two of history’s most terrifying totalitarian regimes: German Nazism and Soviet Communism. His method of escape was not to rally across the border with military might. Nor was it simply to negotiate footholds through diplomatic skill. Rather, Wojtyla escaped into the mountains of Poland with young married couples to discuss with them the nature and meaning of the human person and marriage as a communion of persons through the authentic gift of self.

The Nazis and Communists knew that the first step to destroy a people was to take away their cultural identity. Karol Wojtyla knew this too. The regimes outlawed discussion of the prime coordinates of culture: the meaning of the human person and marriage. That which the regimes forbade, the mountains invited.

The theology of the body was not born in a lecture hall or a library. It did not originate as a discourse of academics or theoreticians. It arose from the common conversation of ordinary parishioners with their concerned pastor. The theology of the body is, therefore, front-loaded with pastoral experience. The reflections that led to the theology of the body emerged on a grassroots level from Wojtyla’s own combination of reading, reflection and risk. As a result, it is ready-made for pastoral effectiveness.

Read more. Our pastors today could learn a lot from the way Karol Wojtyla tended to his flocks large and small.