Homily on Exaltation of the Cross

Sep 14 - Homily: Exaltation of the Holy Cross by AirMaria

Does Evil Exist?

This Article Hits the Nail On The Head

This article hits the nail on the head with regards to how hard it is for faithful Catholics to deal with the cross of infertility.  My heart aches so that someday my husband and I may be blessed with a child.  We pray and leave it in God's hands but it is so hard for us...

This week is Infertility Awareness Week. According to the CDC, over 2 million married women in America are currently experiencing infertility. This is a deeply painful experience for any couple, but faithful Catholics face unique challenges in this department—yet in all the discussions about Natural Family Planning and how and when to avoid pregnancy, the struggles of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are not able to achieve pregnancy often get overlooked. So this week I spent some time chatting with friends who are facing infertility, including a woman whom I’ll call “A.,” who chronicles her journey online at This Cross I Embrace. They shared some of the challenges unique to being Catholic and infertile:

Temptation to Use Illicit Treatments: In modern culture, the words “infertility” and “in-vitro fertilization” go hand-in-hand. Even though IVF doesn’t always succeed, and often costs tens of thousands of dollars when it does, the success rates are high enough that it’s widely touted as a solution that is likely to give couples the children they so desperately desire. This is a source of temptation for the women I talked to, even though they understand and agree with Church teaching against IVF on an intellectual level. “I would never do it, but it’s like a punch in the gut when other women go to the IVF clinic and are then planning baby showers seven months later,” one friend said. Added to this, there can also be tremendous pressure from family members who don’t understand Church teaching and see IVF as a path to having grandchildren or nieces and nephews.

Loneliness: Catholics who face infertility often find themselves in a social no-man’s land. In terms of day-to-day lifestyle, they have little in common with fellow Catholics who have kids, and often find that friends with children are so busy that it’s hard to make plans with them. Sometimes it’s possible to find community among fellow Christians who are infertile, but tensions inevitably arise over differing views about IVF and other reproductive technology. Other childless couples tend to be much younger. “The main people you can really relate to are other infertile Catholics who are faithful to Church teaching, and they are few and far between,” one friend told me.

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Catholic Culture Clash Links 4-16-11

The Pope turns 84 today. Happy Birthday Pope Benedict!!

The "pro-immigration" a.k.a. pro-illegal immigration (pro-amnesty) crowd is up in arms over the fact that a meeting on immigration was moved from the Catholic Church to another location since the representative speaking there who purports to be Catholic is pro-abortion.  Oh cry me a river....   Bishop Joe Vasquez did the right thing by having the public meeting moved since Rep. Louis Gutierrez has voted in favor of abortion rights legislation, which is in direct contradiction of Catholic teaching and policies. You do not check either your conscience or your religious beliefs at the door when you serve in Congress.  These Catholyc pro-abort politicians need to either get with the program and follow the precepts of the Catholic faith, including all social social teachings, or find another church which endorses the murder of innocents, which would be more in line with their beliefs. article here 

What do you think of the last minute deal that averted a government shutdown?  Do you think that Rep. Boehner and the leaders in the GOP caved?  I think that they should have stood their ground with regards to stopping funding of Planned Parenthood.  The GOP got some things they asked for but it seems like the Democrats got the better end of the deal.  The GOP needs to take back both the Senate and the White House in the 2012 election.

An evangelical pastor, John Piper, compared the burning of the Koran to crucifying Christ.  This is absurd!!  A book is merely a book.  The Koran can be reprinted.  Christ died for all of our sins. Christ was a person who was killed and not merely a book.  He said this in light of people being killed in the Middle East because the pastor in Florida burned the Koran.  Those who murdered people in the Middle East are murderers and his ludicrous comparison  is in effect justifying the Islamic extremists murderous reaction to the Koran burning.  The Florida pastor, whether you agree with him or not, was expressing his first amendment rights according to the Constitution. article here 

Have you heard of the latest controversy to do with Michael Voris of RealCatholicTV?  His recent Vortex video called "Pagan Easter" called for people to leave their church if the priest mentions Earth Day on Easter Sunday.  I agree with Michael Voris about 99.9% of the time but I disagree with him here.  I agree with most of that video but should he really be encouraging people to leave their churches?  Maybe, if there are other Catholic Churches around one can do some church shopping to find a parish that is in line with their traditional beliefs but what if there is no other parish in the area?  IMO Voris should have used a qualifier in his video.  Maybe, he even should have encouraged those to stay in their parishes to try and change their parish from the inside, so it follows the Magisterium and more laity know the true faith?  This is the same sort of thing he has encouraged us to do in some of his other videos. What do you think of this whole situation? 

Fr. James Kubicki on Living The Eucharistic Life