Preaching the Gospel in Season and Out
Finally, I imagine most every priest and deacon who preaches from the pulpit wants to be well-received. The consolation that comes from a pat on the back after a good sermon feels good. Thus, to broach on subjects that make people squirm in their seats means risking to be disliked.
Pope Saint John Paul II foresaw this and has an exhortation for those facing this human frailty.
[click to continue...]“This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses—sometimes specifically ‘produced’ for this purpose by in vitro fertilization—either to be used as ‘biological material’ or as providers of organs or tissue for transplants in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act” -Pope Saint John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, 63, emphasis added).
[click to continue...]“This moral condemnation also regards procedures that exploit living human embryos and fetuses-sometimes specifically ‘produced’ for this purpose by in vitro fertilization—either to be used as ‘biological material’ or as providers of organs or tissue for transplants in the treatment of certain diseases. The killing of innocent human creatures, even if carried out to help others, constitutes an absolutely unacceptable act” (Evangelium Vitae, 63).
[click to continue...]“Even if the presence of a spiritual soul cannot be ascertained by empirical data, the results themselves of scientific research on the human embryo provide ‘a valuable indication for discerning by the use of reason a personal presence at the moment of the first appearance of a human life: how could a human individual not be a human person?’
[click to continue...]The late Holy Father, Pope Saint John Paul II addressed the Bible’s silence on direct abortion. He speaks about it in section 61 of his papal encyclical, Evangelium Vitae (‘The Gospel of Life’).
[click to continue...]If you heard this once, you heard it a million times. If only we all increased use of contraception, then we would see the number of abortions decrease.
Does such an argument hold up under scrutiny?
Let us turn to a papal encyclical, written by Pope Saint John Paul II, for some clarity. After all, no one else more famously opposes contraception and abortion as the Catholic Church.
[click to continue...]Is it possible for the Catholic Church to declare abortion morally acceptable someday?
The Church, as it is, seems out of step with so much of the rest of the world. Does the appeal of “getting with the times” attract the Church’s hierarchy?
After all, the Catholic Church remains the most steadfast, ardent defender of life known to the Western world. It is unpopular for its hardline stance against the murder of the unborn.
Could the pope or the bishops decide one day to reverse Church teaching?
[click to continue...]Modern radical feminists are so caught up in downplaying differences between people they miss the forest for the trees. Where they find any difference between human beings, they incorrectly assume inequality.
But what the late pope was calling for in this new feminist movement was something much different. He wants women to notice the dissimilarities between women and men, and from person to person.
He does this, not so one group or person can be deemed more valuable than another. Rather, he calls for this new feminist movement to practice their God-given gifts, as women and as mothers, to accept others in charity.
[click to continue...]The former Bishop of Rome explains in the next paragraph why this occurs. He says, “at the heart of every culture lies the attitude man takes to the greatest mystery: the mystery of God” (#96).
“Where God is denied and people live as though he did not exist, or his commandments are not taken into account, the dignity of the human person and the inviolability of human life also end up being rejected or compromised” (#96, emphasis added).
I want to stand up and cheer. This is dead on!
[click to continue...]Pope Saint John Paul II continues his assessment in Evangelium Vitae, showing how wide reaching this Culture of Death pervades.
“A general and no less serious responsibility lies with those who have encouraged the spread of an attitude of sexual permissiveness and a lack of esteem for motherhood…,” the late Vicar of Christ writes (#59).
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