Today, you are going to hear an explanatory homily, which will be about 10 to 13 min. longer than usual. Homilies like this are given at times, to better explain a certain topic, and to be sure its said with the utmost love and charity possible when its given.
In the Gospel, while the apostles were in the boat tossed by waves, Jesus came walking on the water. Peter got out of the boat, and began to walk on water. But, he became frightened and began to sink. Jesus stretched out his hand, and both entered the boat. He calmed the storm & there was peace. Jesus reveals His divine power and gives peace to the fearful hearts of Peter and the Apostles.
We are at times, afraid. Out of fear, we may do things our way, instead of God’s way. But, when we realize our mistake, if we cry out, “Lord save me!”, and trust Jesus, He will make it work out, and give peace to us and our family. If we trust Jesus & follow His ways, even if a family is battered by a storm, faith in God will get them through the difficulty.
God wants every family to prosper, to have peace, to enjoy life, to grow in holiness and love. We are all God’s children, and He infinitely loves each of us. Every family is an image of the Trinity, a communion of persons living in unity and love.
My name is Fr. Edmond Kline, a priest from the diocese of Wichita, Kansas. I was invited by your parish group Catholic Family Ministry, celebrating the 55th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae, meaning “Human Life”. The document was to give moral guidance to Christians when the birth control pill first came out in 1960.
Today, I hope to explain why the pope said birth control is wrong. You will hear his amazing predictions about birth control, that came true. How birth control affects marriages, and I will explain how marriages can be protected and strengthened.
Back in the 1960’s, and later, the rhythm method was the only known method to prevent conception. But, it didn’t work well for irregular cycles. So, what were Catholics to do, when they felt they couldn’t have a child, due to a serious reason? Some felt they were forced to get a tubal ligation or a vasectomy or had to use the pill because they had no choice.
Back then, few bishops and priests explained what the Church teaches. But, today, there are new natural methods and more priests are getting the word out to help couples.
Pope Paul VI gave us the document, Humanae Vitae to give principles and guidance to the people. So why is birth control seriously sinful? He said there cannot be a separation from the unitive action of marital relations, from the procreative action of having children. I will first explain why the unitive action is necessary.
Today, children can be immorally created without the union between a man and a woman. For example, scientists can create children in a laboratory, such as a test tube baby or a petri dish, for the purpose of in vitro fertilization or scientific research. But, children are not anyone’s property and God desires they be created in a marital union of love.
When there is marital union between a man and woman, there must also be openness to procreate (to have children). During marital relations anything that impairs the capacity to transmit life, that God the Creator, through specific laws, has built into it, frustrates God’s design, contradicts His will, and is seriously sinful.
Artificial birth control (the pill, injection, patch, an IUD, condom or sterilization, prevents a child from coming into the world, and doesn’t allow for God’s natural design. It tells God, “No! You who may not bring a child into the world.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church states contraception is a refusal to be open to life and a failure to give oneself totally to another during the marital act. #2370
The problem with tubal ligations and vasectomies is they remove healthy body parts to prevent conception. Mutilating the body is a sin against the 5th commandment, “Thou shall not kill”. Smoking, drunkenness, illegal drugs can also harm the body, and goes against this commandment. My friends, our body doesn’t belong to us, it belongs to God. St. Paul said, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” (1 Corinthians 6:19)
However, the Pope indicates when it's necessary to cure bodily diseases, for therapeutic purposes, medicine, or surgery is acceptable, even if it causes in the inability to have children, such as a hysterectomy.
To be open to conception, does not mean, God always wants couples to conceive. Pope Paul VI said parents should practice Responsible Parenthood by making reasonable decisions when having children. Sometimes physical or psychological conditions of the spouses are unfavorable for procreation too. For example, the husband loses his job. The wife is ill or a woman in her 40’s at risk of having a miscarriage or a child with health problems. I know of a couple, who had twins one year and two years later had triplets. They have 5 children under the age of 2.
During these serious circumstances, couples follow God’s design by abstaining from marital relations during the fertile time, to avoid having a child. Through prayer and the circumstances of their life, they responsibly plan their family by morally acceptable natural means, that are 99% effective. By doing this, we follow God’s natural design for the human body and for marriage.
When I do marriage preparation classes, I ask couples, “How many children do you want?” They usually say, 2 or 3. But, that’s not the right answer. Couples may not realize it, but, that way of thinking treats children like property. They unknowingly disregard God’s command: “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.” (Gen. 1:28) The right answer is to have as many children as God wants. It's up to Him. He knows what we can handle. We need to trust Him that He will provide for all that we need. We may not live the high standard of living we had hoped for, but we will live the standard of living that will make us most happy. All married couples are called to be open to the gift of children. Children are the supreme gift of marriage. God does not expect us to have children randomly, rather we cooperate with Him in bringing a child into the world.
Let’s now turn our attention, to the pope’s predictions in Humanae Vitae. Paul VI predicted 5 things. 1. birth control would open wide the way for marital infidelity. 2. there would be general lowering of moral standards; 3. the government would force contraceptives upon married couples; 4. there would be a loss of respect for women by men using them as an object of pleasure; 5. contraceptives would make it easy for young people to be tempted to pre-marital relations.
According to statistics, marital infidelity has dramatically increased. A study from The Journal of Divorce and Remarried, said women who took the Pill divorced at a rate 54% above average. Women with tubal ligations divorced at a rate 78%. Men who used condoms divorced at 67% above average. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, quote CMR (Current Medical Research), which says, there’s a 3% divorce rate for Natural Family Planning users, meaning 97% will never divorce by following God’s natural plan.
The pope predicted there would be a lowering of moral standards. God’s moral law has always been in our hearts. The 10 Commandments can never change. For example, it has been and will always be wrong to commit adultery, to kill, to lie, to steal or take God’s name in vain, etc…
The Didache, is a document in the early Church written about 70 AD. It condemned birth control. Since the beginning of Christianity, Catholics have always forbidden it.
Protestant churches always forbade it, until 1930, when the Anglican church, began to permit it. When individual Catholics began to follow the Protestant view, as the pope predicted, moral standards were lowered.
Another papal prediction came true that governments would force contraceptives on married couples. Today, governments mandate birth control in poor countries, otherwise, they won’t receive financial assistance. Some governments coerce sterilization for marginalized women. China and Russia use abortion to regulate birth.
The pope also predicted a loss of respect for women. Due to a lack of periodic abstinence, men view women as an object of pleasure, women feel used, as men become more selfish.
The pope predicted contraceptives would make it easy for young people to be tempted to pre-marital relations.
It leads to a lowering of teenage moral standards, by way of promiscuity, a loss of self-discipline, an increase in venereal diseases, and non-marital pregnancies. Today, young people are more apt to live together cohabitating before marriage. Rather, then promoting abstinence and chastity, adults encourage teens to use birth control. Pope Paul VI said, “It is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break the law (of God).”
Why do so many marriages fail, when using birth control?
Some get sterilized or use birth control to live a more carefree life, have nicer material things, a larger house, newer cars, etc.. By limiting children, they think it leads to happiness, more wealth, comfort and less problems. But, birth control causes children to be viewed as a burden and property and material things become idols.
Couples cannot receive sacramental grace, when habitually living in serious sin. A mortal sin causes spiritual death to the soul. Unrepentant sin prevents spousal love from growing. Less virtue is practiced, then sin and vice reek havoc in the marriage. Selfishness grows. There is a loss of self-discipline and sacrificial love disappears. Communication is hampered. If one never confessed using birth control or sterilization, and if they receive Holy Communion, in the state of mortal sin, they make sacrilegious Communions, which are additional mortal sins. If we purposely withhold a serious sin in confession, then it makes all confessions after that invalid. And every time the Eucharist is received, the person does not receive any graces at all, but rather deeply offends Our Lord.
Every sin hurts Jesus. Before St. Faustina entered the convent, she had a vision of Jesus, crowned with thorns, with His hands tied to a rope and blood flowing down His face. Sin causes Jesus pain and suffering. The movie, The Passion of the Christ shows how sin hurts Jesus. Jesus was crucified once. But, Pope Pius XI said, “Every sin must be said to renew in a certain way the Passion of Our Lord, crucifying again in themselves, the Son of God and making Him a mockery.” When we commit mortal sin, we crucify again in our self, Jesus. Every sin affects our soul, but it also affects every soul in the mystical body of Christ and wounds the Heart of Jesus. We should not take sin lightly, but rather do everything we can to avoid it, and immediately ask Our Lord for forgiveness when we sin grievously. We should never stay in the state of serious sin, but to go to Confession.
The Church teaches there is no forgiveness after death. If we die unrepentant, in the state of mortal sin, we will go to hell for all eternity. The Virgin Mary showed the three children of Fatima a vision of hell. They saw a sea of fire and forms of humans, men and women, shouting and crying in despair. They saw demons in the forms of ugly animals. The vision was so horrible the children feared that they would die from fright. Rather than causing them to be afraid of God, they were afraid souls would go to hell, so they began to do penances, to prevent people from going there. They tied a rope around their waste and give their food away to poor children.
Hell is eternal, its forever. The mercy seat of Christ is the Confessional. But, the judgment seat of Christ is at our death and our judgment is permanent.
God sees our unhappiness and misery caused by birth control, and He deeply wants to help couples in their marriage to grow in love and have peace. The Church’s role is to guide souls to eternal salvation. God wants us to trust Him-- by following the teachings of His Church, given to us by popes and saints. Openness to procreation affirms the dignity of women. The practice of periodic self-denial strengthens the marriage by converting selfish love into charity. Receiving the Eucharist in the state of grace, couples receive untold graces to live out their marital commitment. Regular Confession, helps the couple to grow in humility, to forgive injuries, avoid grudges and jealousy, and it keeps their souls in the state of grace. When a couple begins to use natural family planning, marriages are greatly strengthened. For example.
A couple in Wichita used birth control the first 3 years of marriage, but stopped, and began to regulate births naturally. After they started following God’s plan for marriage, the woman said, “One day my husband came home from hunting. Mud was splattered all over his truck. When he fell asleep on the couch, I went outside and washed his truck. When finished, I came back inside and a few minutes later, he woke up, and said, “I’m going to the convenience store to get a slush puppie, do you want one?” She said, “No, thank you.” When he saw his cleaned truck, he came back inside the house, and said, “What do you want?” She said, “I don’t want anything.” He said, “You must want something, you cleaned my truck.” She said, “No, I don’t want anything in return. I just cleaned it because I love you.” It was at that moment, the couple realized when they abstain from relations during the fertile time, it caused each to grow in greater love for the other- by finding new ways to show their love.
When couples practice the natural way of regulating births, it encourages them to be more sacrificial. They learn self-discipline, patience, humility and to talk things out better.
When Pope Paul VI wrote Humanae Vitae, he was unaware of another reason why birth control is seriously sinful. He could have not predicted this terrible effect of birth control. Back then, the side effects and dangers of drugs were not well known. Today, commercials from drug companies list possible side effects. If the birth control pill, Depro pavera was advertised on TV, perhaps you would see a woman running through a field, while the speaker gives the possible side effects: headaches, nervousness, depression, changes in appetite, weight gain, breast cancer, liver disease, acne, heart attack, loss of hair, and stroke. These are the actual side effects as listed by WebMD.
Now there is one more side effect. This is very difficult to say, and It's very difficult for you to hear. Before I tell you, you must remember, that you never heard it before. You should have been told prior to using birth control, by either the doctor, the pharmacist, your parents or by us priests. The last side effect applies to all birth control pills, patches, injections, and the IUD. This is the side effect: All of these may prevent a fertilized egg from implanting. My friends, a “fertilized human egg” is a baby. The pill, the IUD, the shot, and the patch - all cause the womb to be irritated in such a way, a newly conceived baby, is unable to implant, and so, a child may die within 5 days of conception, and the mother did not know she was pregnant. While this does not happen very often, it can happen.
When the Virgin Mary visited Her cousin Elizabeth,which was a 5-day journey from Nazareth to the city of Ain Karem, the baby Jesus was just 5 days old from conception. He therefore, had no hands or feet, no eyes, and not even a beating Heart. But the unborn John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb at the presence of the unborn baby Jesus.
I have 6 sisters and a brother. When I was a seminarian, I learned one of my sisters was taking the pill. I read the contraindications on the label from the pill at her home. The label said, “May cause the death of a zygote.”
A zygote is a newly fertilized egg, a new baby. I told my sister the Church teaches it's seriously sinful to take birth control, and the pill can cause the death of a baby. But, she continued to take it. She later said, despite taking the pill, she had three children, one was an ectopic pregnancy, and so died. So, if a woman takes birth control, can conceive three children, and bring two to full term, then how many children are dying within 5 days of conception, because the child is unable to attach to the womb? This is one of the main reasons why birth control is so dangerous and immoral.
My dear parishioners, sadly, you may have lost a child or even multiple children by taking birth control and never knew you were pregnant.
At the moment of conception, God gives a new child a soul and a body and a new human being is created in God’s image and likeness. A person is a person no matter how small from conception.
Pope Paul VI, gave advice to doctors and nurses, “For then, when married couples ask their advice, they may be in a position to give right counsel and to point them in the proper direction. Married couples have a right to expect this much from them.” If there are any Catholic doctors and nurses here at Mass, I encourage you to learn more about what the Church teaches and be ready to explain it to your patients. You have a moral obligation to present the truth.
I am not here to judge anyone. How many of you heard of this before? Almost none of you. Truly, you didn’t understand what you were doing. Jesus understands that. God is rich in mercy. In the Confessional is the merciful Jesus. Our Lord told St. Faustina, “Let not even the weak and very sinful fear to approach me, even if their sins be as numerous as all the sand of the earth all will be forgiven in the fathomless pit of my mercy.” In Confession, the arms of Jesus are opened to embrace you. All He wants of you-- is for you to give Him your sins, to relieve you from this burden. He is the merciful shepherd, who loves His sheep and seeks out the lost and when He finds the lost, He picks us up, and holds us to His beating Heart carrying us home rejoicing. If you have never confessed using birth control or getting sterilized, run quickly to Jesus in Confession and you will have peace and joy in your heart.
Humanae Vitae also suggested the promotion of chastity. Chastity speakers like Jason Everett will speak at Catholic schools and public schools, and also at churches. He spoke at our public school in Halstead, KS a few years ago.
Pope Paul VI asked scientists to develop new natural ways to space children. Today, there are 6 new natural methods. All are 99% effective, which is more effective than birth control. The Sympto-thermo, Family of the Americas, FEMM, Billings, Marquette & Creighton Method.
Go to your Archdiocese website. In the search engine, type “Natural Family Planning” or “NFP”. A list of doctors and instructors will come up, who can help you learn these natural methods and strengthen your marriage. You can also download apps from your website and connect to a teacher.
Jesus is not asking you to do something that's impossible. He's not placing on you a burden too heavy to carry. You can receive help to understand the natural design of your body and fertility. You can do it.
There is great hope. More young couples are now using natural methods and also now breastfeeding, than ever before. Our diocese has a new class for high school girls called the “The Wonder of Eve”, to help them to learn about how God designed their fertility and their body. In my diocese, NFP classes are required for all couples preparing for marriage.
My friends, the key to successfully regulating births naturally is to truly come to know the way God designed your body. NFP teachers can help you know your body and the way God created it to function. If you do, you will have a 97% chance of not divorcing, rather than a 58% chance you will, if you use birth control?
I would like to address men. Now is the time for men to be men. When the devil was trying to trick Eve, Adam should have done the manly thing. He should have told the serpent, “Listen, buddy, you stay away from my wife, or else, you're gonna have to deal with me.” He should have come to her aid, and risk his life to defend her.
St. Paul said, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy,…” (Ephesians 5:25) This means, that men are the spiritual head of the family. Men and women are equal. But, the action of the man leading the family spiritually, makes his wife and children holy—it sanctifies them. Just as Adam should have been willing to lay down his life for Eve, and just as Jesus laid down His life for His bride, the Church, so you are called to be strong and do the same.
This is how marriage and the family will become stronger, when the man leads the family spiritually. Fathers, you reflect the image of God the Father. You are called to be the protector of the family, especially from sin, and to help the family grow in love and holiness.
Men. Listen. As a suggestion, when you go home today, take your wife by the hand, look into her beautiful eyes, and say, “Sweetheart, I love more than anything. When we use birth control, we are hurting our souls and receiving Communion sacrilegiously which deeply offends Jesus. We need to open our heart to do what God wants. I think He is calling us to live a more sacrificial life. I love you so much, and I want to help you and our children to get to heaven. From now on, we are going to step out of the boat, and take the hand of Jesus. We are going to keep our eyes on Him and trust Him and His Church. We're going to go to Confession regularly, and we will trust in God’s plan for marriage.
We are going to follow the teachings of the Church. I don’t want to take the risk of losing one of our unborn children due to some chemical or device. It's not going to be easy for us, because we have to trust. We will learn to practice patience, communicate better, and be more self-disciplined. I want the special time when we come together to be sacred, and not sinful. Let’s pray together every night, 10 Hail Marys and then over time, we will pray the Rosary as a family. Let’s use God’s natural way to grow in love for each other. Let’s take the classes together. Let’s make Jesus and Mary the King and Queen of our family by consecrating our family to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary.”
Then, listen to what she has to say.
In conclusion, my friends, God loves you infinitely, and He knows what is best for you and your family. He has given His authority to His Church, the body of Christ, to help you obtain salvation. Jesus told His apostles and their successors, popes, bishops & priests, “He who hears you, hears me. He who rejects you, rejects me and the one who sent me.”
On our part, we need to admit, out of fear, we made a mistake in not trusting God by doing things own way. When we follow God’s natural plan for fertility, we are doing God’s will. We take our Catholic faith seriously. May every family become a holy family, in imitation of THE Holy Family, Jesus, Mary, and Joseph who is a model for us.
They prayed together, sacrificed for each other, were faithful to God’s laws, and lived a life of purity and chastity. Jesus is here today, stretching out His hand to save you and your family. He wants you to step out in faith. But do you trust Him? Will you take His hand?
Journal of Divorce and Remarried - https://naturalwomanhood.org/marital-problems-birth-control/
CMR – US Bishops Website https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/medical-research/upload/CMR-Summer-Fall-2013-Divorce-and-NFP-edited.pdf
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