The greatest moment in all of human history was when a humble virgin co-operated with the Holy Will of God and consented to become the Mother of God bearing within her Womb the Second Person of the most Blessed Trinity. It was at this moment that Eve’s disobedience was undone and our salvation secured for into the world had come the Savior.
"Consequently, then, Mary the Virgin is found to be obedient, saying: 'Behold, O Lord, your handmaid; be it done to me according to your word.' Eve, however, was disobedient; and when yet a virgin, she did not obey.... having become disobedient, was made the cause of death for herself and for the whole human race; so also Mary, betrothed to a man but nevertheless a virgin, being obedient, was made the cause of salvation for herself and for the whole human race.... Thus, the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. What the virgin Eve had bound in unbelief, the virgin Mary loosed through faith." -Saint Irenaeus, Against the Heresies, Book II, 180 AD
The amazing thing is that Mary could have said “no” to this child, but she didn’t and because she didn’t every generation shall call her blessed (Lk 1:48).
As Catholics we need to remember that we are Catholics not “Pro-Lifers”, though at times those two terms may be synonymous they are not always. The Pro-Life movement in many cases is not Catholic, and all too often its champions and heroes are not Catholic and when they fail it hurts the Pro-Life movement and it’s message and often scandalizes many Catholics.
We need to remember that as Catholics our heroes and role models must be first of all Our Lord and Our Lady and then the Saints. We must look to them as our examples and point to them as the basis of our convictions.
I’ve heard far too many conversations amongst younger Catholics and younger Catholic couples concerning their disposition about how many children they want/expect to have. And I have to say that in almost all cases I was most un-edified.
I find that all too often young Catholics are so deeply and subtly poisoned by the world in which we live that totally unaware of what is happening they begin to adopt the position which they believe they actually hold against. And while so many young "Pro-Life" Catholics say they reject contraception they have unknowingly imbibed a contraceptive mentality from the culture they live in.
I wonder then if the great Saints we hope and pray for in these dark days simply have not come because they have not been allowed to be born in all too many cases.
I began considering who we might not have had if Catholics of past generations thought as so many Catholics think today.
The most striking example of the consequences of a lack of openness to life might have to be to consider what might have happened if the parents of Saint Vincent Ferrer had not been open to life? He was their 4th child and he would go on to actually avert the end of the world. So had his parents thought 2 or 3 children were "enough" then you and I and everyone who was born, has lived, and who have died since the middle of the 14th century would never have existed.
And what if the great and noble Fieschi family had not been open to life? We wouldn’t have known the youngest of their 5 children: Saint Catherine of Genoa.
Or what about Saint Gerard Majella who was also the youngest of 5 and who we now have as the patron Saint of expectant mothers?!
And what a great loss to the Church, and the world, it would have been if we had not had Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque to whom our Lord revealed his Most Sacred Heart so that it could once again be better known as it once was. She was the 5th of 7 children.
How much would the world and the Church have lost had not that noble family of Napels in the 13th century had their 6th and youngest child? If they had not been open to life we would not have the greatest thinker, philosopher, and theologian the world has ever seen. Saint Albert the Great would never have had his unmatched pupil to teach, the Council of Trent wouldn’t have had the clear and sure guide in that great gem of the Dominican Order from which to base the majority of their pronouncements, for indeed we would have been deprived of Saint Thomas Aquinas!
Easily the most incredible example of a saintly and large family is the family of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who was the 3rd of 7 children all of whom have been canonized including their parents, as well as the spouse and daughter of the eldest son. The entire amazing store is recounted in “The Family That Overtook Christ”.
And then we come to my favorite Saint who is most dear to my heart and who was born not all that long ago in 1873. She was the youngest of 9 children. What if Saints Louis and Zelie Martin were not open to any more children, especially after they had lost four children in infancy? We would never have had that young Carmelite who has touched the lives of countless souls, become the 33rd Doctor of the Church, whose name was taken in religious life by Blessed Mother Teresa, and who was called by Pope Saint Pius X: “the greatest Saint of modern times”. The world would have been deprived of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.
And what about the great hero of Pro-Life Catholics: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla? What if her parents hadn’t been open to life? She was the 10th of 13 children in her family, and she would never have given birth to her four children (the last of whom she died so that they could be born).
Another incredible family to go along with that of the Clairvaux’ is the family of Saint Basil the Great who was 1 of 10 children including also Saint Gregory of Nyssa and the youngest of the 10 was another Saint: Peter of Sebaste. Their mother, Emilia, is also a Saint.
Consider also, when our Lady appeared in Fatima Portugal, how many children would she have met tending the sheep if Ti Marto and his wife had not been open to life despite being poor farmers? Only Lucia would have been there and not her two youngest cousins who were the 10th and 11th children in their family, and we would not have dear Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto of Fatima.
Living at the same time we have a great and holy Saint: Gabriel Possenti, known in religion as Gabriel of our Lady of Sorrows, who was the special mystical friend of Saint Gemma Galgani. He too wouldn’t have existed because he was the 11th of 13 children.
Still more terrible would it have been for the world if a certain set of parents hadn't been open to life. These were the parents of the founder of one of the most prolific missionary religious orders in history. How many countless souls would have been lost and how many saints would not have been able to pursue a vocation in the once great Jesuit order if it had never existed if Saint Ignatius of Loyola had never been born since he was the youngest of 13 children.
And for those who say that these numbers are more reasonable and that Catholics can’t be expected to have 20+ children let us recall one more example. She is quite possibly one of the most influential Saints in the history of the Church and thus was declared a Doctor of the Church. She is also one of the holiest Saints in all of history, and she had a powerful influence on me personally when I was young. Of course she is the great Saint Catherine of Siena and what if her parents had stopped at 15 children? Or even 20? Then we wouldn’t have ever known their 25th and youngest child who brought the Pope back from Avignon to Rome. She also did a great deal for both of her parents. She converted her mother so far as to cause her to join the convent she lived in, and suffered all the pains of purgatory due to her father for him. Had they had only 24 children they would not have had this immense blessing, nor the Church, nor the world.
Still, more than all these stories there is one that moves me to tears every time I hear it, and it is that of a priest I know who has had a massive, even life altering, effect on my life by his preaching.
As Catholics we need to remember that we are Catholics not “Pro-Lifers”, though at times those two terms may be synonymous they are not always. The Pro-Life movement in many cases is not Catholic, and all too often its champions and heroes are not Catholic and when they fail it hurts the Pro-Life movement and it’s message and often scandalizes many Catholics.
We need to remember that as Catholics our heroes and role models must be first of all Our Lord and Our Lady and then the Saints. We must look to them as our examples and point to them as the basis of our convictions.
I’ve heard far too many conversations amongst younger Catholics and younger Catholic couples concerning their disposition about how many children they want/expect to have. And I have to say that in almost all cases I was most un-edified.
I find that all too often young Catholics are so deeply and subtly poisoned by the world in which we live that totally unaware of what is happening they begin to adopt the position which they believe they actually hold against. And while so many young "Pro-Life" Catholics say they reject contraception they have unknowingly imbibed a contraceptive mentality from the culture they live in.
I wonder then if the great Saints we hope and pray for in these dark days simply have not come because they have not been allowed to be born in all too many cases.
I began considering who we might not have had if Catholics of past generations thought as so many Catholics think today.
The most striking example of the consequences of a lack of openness to life might have to be to consider what might have happened if the parents of Saint Vincent Ferrer had not been open to life? He was their 4th child and he would go on to actually avert the end of the world. So had his parents thought 2 or 3 children were "enough" then you and I and everyone who was born, has lived, and who have died since the middle of the 14th century would never have existed.
And what if the great and noble Fieschi family had not been open to life? We wouldn’t have known the youngest of their 5 children: Saint Catherine of Genoa.
Or what about Saint Gerard Majella who was also the youngest of 5 and who we now have as the patron Saint of expectant mothers?!
And what a great loss to the Church, and the world, it would have been if we had not had Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque to whom our Lord revealed his Most Sacred Heart so that it could once again be better known as it once was. She was the 5th of 7 children.
How much would the world and the Church have lost had not that noble family of Napels in the 13th century had their 6th and youngest child? If they had not been open to life we would not have the greatest thinker, philosopher, and theologian the world has ever seen. Saint Albert the Great would never have had his unmatched pupil to teach, the Council of Trent wouldn’t have had the clear and sure guide in that great gem of the Dominican Order from which to base the majority of their pronouncements, for indeed we would have been deprived of Saint Thomas Aquinas!
Easily the most incredible example of a saintly and large family is the family of Saint Bernard of Clairvaux who was the 3rd of 7 children all of whom have been canonized including their parents, as well as the spouse and daughter of the eldest son. The entire amazing store is recounted in “The Family That Overtook Christ”.
And then we come to my favorite Saint who is most dear to my heart and who was born not all that long ago in 1873. She was the youngest of 9 children. What if Saints Louis and Zelie Martin were not open to any more children, especially after they had lost four children in infancy? We would never have had that young Carmelite who has touched the lives of countless souls, become the 33rd Doctor of the Church, whose name was taken in religious life by Blessed Mother Teresa, and who was called by Pope Saint Pius X: “the greatest Saint of modern times”. The world would have been deprived of Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and of the Holy Face.
And what about the great hero of Pro-Life Catholics: Saint Gianna Beretta Molla? What if her parents hadn’t been open to life? She was the 10th of 13 children in her family, and she would never have given birth to her four children (the last of whom she died so that they could be born).
Another incredible family to go along with that of the Clairvaux’ is the family of Saint Basil the Great who was 1 of 10 children including also Saint Gregory of Nyssa and the youngest of the 10 was another Saint: Peter of Sebaste. Their mother, Emilia, is also a Saint.
Consider also, when our Lady appeared in Fatima Portugal, how many children would she have met tending the sheep if Ti Marto and his wife had not been open to life despite being poor farmers? Only Lucia would have been there and not her two youngest cousins who were the 10th and 11th children in their family, and we would not have dear Blessed Francisco and Jacinta Marto of Fatima.
Living at the same time we have a great and holy Saint: Gabriel Possenti, known in religion as Gabriel of our Lady of Sorrows, who was the special mystical friend of Saint Gemma Galgani. He too wouldn’t have existed because he was the 11th of 13 children.
Still more terrible would it have been for the world if a certain set of parents hadn't been open to life. These were the parents of the founder of one of the most prolific missionary religious orders in history. How many countless souls would have been lost and how many saints would not have been able to pursue a vocation in the once great Jesuit order if it had never existed if Saint Ignatius of Loyola had never been born since he was the youngest of 13 children.
And for those who say that these numbers are more reasonable and that Catholics can’t be expected to have 20+ children let us recall one more example. She is quite possibly one of the most influential Saints in the history of the Church and thus was declared a Doctor of the Church. She is also one of the holiest Saints in all of history, and she had a powerful influence on me personally when I was young. Of course she is the great Saint Catherine of Siena and what if her parents had stopped at 15 children? Or even 20? Then we wouldn’t have ever known their 25th and youngest child who brought the Pope back from Avignon to Rome. She also did a great deal for both of her parents. She converted her mother so far as to cause her to join the convent she lived in, and suffered all the pains of purgatory due to her father for him. Had they had only 24 children they would not have had this immense blessing, nor the Church, nor the world.
Still, more than all these stories there is one that moves me to tears every time I hear it, and it is that of a priest I know who has had a massive, even life altering, effect on my life by his preaching.
In a sermon discussing the common misuse of NFP by many Catholics he explains, in a way that pierces the heart, the fact that he is happy to exist considering that he is the son of a 10th child, his mother is the daughter of an 11th child and his father the son of a 10th child and the grandson of a 19th child.
Had any of a number of people over generations not done their duty according to their state in life as married men and women then this good and holy priest would never have existed and so deeply touched my life and the lives of so many others, as he is still continuing to do to this day.
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