St. Anthony's Catholic Church

What would you do if Jesus came to your house?

            This week’s question was submitted anonymously through the “Ask Father” box, and it’s truly a foundational question with regard to our faith, so – as always – thanks for asking!

            Of course, we all know the answer already – in fact, we say this every time we come to Mass.  At Mass, we come to Jesus’ house – but more importantly, He comes to our houses.  At that time, we all say:  “Lord, I am not worthy that You should enter under my roof; but only say the word, and my soul shall be healed.”

            Jesus comes to us in all the Sacraments – but especially in Holy Communion where He comes to enter the under the roof of our very body (our dwelling place, the place of our abode, our … house).  He also comes to us through the Sacred Scriptures, and, as He has told us in Matthew 25, “I was hungry … I was thirsty … I was naked … I was homeless … I was sick or in prison … Amen I say to you, whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Me.”  With that in mind, I think that we can all see that He comes to our house all the time!  The key virtue for us then, I think, is the virtue of hospitality.

            In particular, these two comings of Jesus (through the Sacraments and in the least of these brothers or sisters) converge most practically for most people in the sacrament of Marriage.  Through the grace of this sacrament, Jesus truly wants to enter the home of a husband and wife in a most literal fashion as “one of the least of these.”  Of course, I’m talking now about the supreme gift of marriage:  children.  That’s why God gave us the gift of sexuality – so that we might be able to welcome Him to our house (under our roof) in a dazzlingly infinite array of forms and personalities as children – “the least of these.”

            Perhaps this can help us to begin to see why the Catholic Church values the sacrament of Marriage so highly and why She continually prompts us to see that sexual activity belongs only in Marriage and Marriage involves perpetual openness to God’s gift of children – because sexual intercourse and children have been joined together by God, and “What God has joined together, let no man cast asunder.”  As Catholics, we must never be complicit in saying to Jesus, “no trespassing,” and therefore, we must never cooperate in contraception.  Rather, let us acknowledge, “Lord, I am not ready (worthy) that You should enter under my roof … but only let it be done according to Your Word, not mine.”

          Thanks for another great question!  I know, as is almost always the case, that this response has necessarily been too brief, so if you have another way of looking at this or other questions of our Faith, please sign onto our website (www.stanthonyniagara.org), and post your own question or response in the Forums section under “Ask Father”.  May God bless you and your loved ones!

Thank you Fr. Matt for opening the conversation about contraception.  This is one very misunderstood teachings of the Catholic Church.  One could read Humanae Vitae by Pope Paul VI and Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II for more detailed information.  However, Father Matt, thank you for the brief explanation of church teaching. I understand that the Church sees contraception as morally wrong, but at the same time the Church does not expect Catholic couples to have a large families or to have more children than they can financially and emotionally care for.  Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a morally acceptable and responsible  way to plan a  family.  NFP  is a general term for modern, healthy, scientifically accurate natural and reliable methods of family planning.  Without going into too much detail, the methods help the couple understand the monthly changes in a woman's body to determine times of fertility.  The couple can then use   or abstain from sexual activity during the fertile period depending on whether they wish to conceive or postphone pregnancy.  This method is so wonderful because the couple cooperates with rather than suppresses a couple's fertility.  It calls for shared responsibility and cooperation by husband and wife.  It requires and enhances spousal communication.  It fosters respect for and acceptance of the total person.  These methods are 99% effective when the couple carefully follow the rules all the time if they are postphoning pregnancy.   There are no harmful side effect and it is virtually cost free.  What is expecially beautiful is that the couple  uses sexual intercourse in conjunction with the unitive and procreative purposes of marriage and the couple sees their fertility as the blessing that God intended it to be.

What most couples do not know is that most contraceptive methods are abortifacient.  That is, they do not always prevent conception; sometimes they prevent implantation of the newly conceived fetus in the uterus.  So this person could actually be taking part in an abortion without knowing it! And this is only part of the problem.  Read more about the serious consequences of the use of artificial methods of birth control both personal physical and psychological repercussions by the woman as well as societal repercussions that were foreseen by Pope Paul VI in 1968 when he wrote Humanae Vitae that have already happened. 

For more information about NFP call Elizabeth Ministries @ 920-766-9380.