Buying babies

A gay couple interviewed on 60 Minutes paid $40 000 to adopt twin girls from India by donating their sperm to a donor mother and a surrogate mother.
The surrogate mother was paid $5000.
Their sperm was flown to India and the gay couple only had to be in India for the birth of these 2 innocent baby girls, who will grow up with gay fathers.

Read more HERE and HERE and HERE.

Forgive them Lord, for they know not what they do!

"Legalized abortion was a mistake" - Dr. Bernard Nathanson

Thanks to Aussie Coffee Shop.

Embracing the Cross of Infertility

An Interview with Marie & Joseph Meaney









We were looking forward to having a family, and we had no reason to think this would be a problem; every young couple goes into marriage thinking children will simply come along. We were very open to life and willing to embrace the number of children that God would give us. So I guess most couples who suffer from infertility are surprised when they suddenly realize things don’t go as they expect.

When pregnancy is not happening, the temptation is to go into denial. “This can’t be happening to me”, one is tempted to think! Furthermore, one wants to think positive and not make matters worse by getting stressed about the issue.
Looking into the medical side of the issue means having to admit that there is a problem – and this is very painful, especially for the woman.

If the husband is not encouraging her to go through the medical tests and if he does not take things in hand to get himself checked out either, then the woman feels very alone in this situation.
These are the beginnings of this difficult journey during which one realizes just how hard and painful infertility is. It took me by surprise. I had never thought that the suffering would be that great.

Children are the fruit of the spouses’ mutual love for each other. They desire them therefore as a gift from God and as a gift to each other. They want to launch together on that great adventure of raising children, and when that doesn’t happen, it is really terrible.

First you are standing at the foot of the cross, and after a while you realize that you’ve been nailed to it. I think this is particularly true for the woman.
Of course, the man suffers from this too, but he experiences this differently than the woman. Giving life is so intrinsically bound up with the woman’s being that it is absolutely agonizing for her not to have children.

Again, it depends on how that suggestion of adoption is made. If the person enters into your pain and says, “Well, why not consider adoption?”, then this is fine. For it is true that adoption is a beautiful option for the couple. But if the implication is: “Oh, therefore you won’t be undergoing such pain any more”, then this simply misses the point.

Now, my husband and I have simply not felt the vocation to adopt so far.
Adoption, I think, is a call in and of itself. But other couples that I’ve talked to who are infertile and have adopted, love their adopted children just as much as they would love the children that they might have biologically fathered and mothered. But they still feel the pain of not having children of their own.

MSA: The other level of temptation you spoke of were cultural temptations: in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination.

Marie: Yes, this is a further dimension of suffering that is added on to the suffering of infertility.
My husband and I are very lucky in that our families are very faithful Catholics. So both our families have never put pressure on us by telling us, “Oh, if only you did in vitro, then you could fix the problem.”
But when this happens, then an extra burden is put on the infertile couple which wants to do the right thing and is left alone in its sorrow.
Again, the implication is to go for an “easy fix” and if the couple is not willing to use that option, well then it only has itself to blame.

I think that it is very helpful for you to realize that God is with you in this suffering, there, at its deepest and most painful point. He is not simply standing under the cross, he is hanging on it with you – right there.
You will probably go through phases were you are angry with God for denying you the children that you would welcome so lovingly. You have to wrestle with God in this situation like Jacob who wrestles with the angel during a whole night - and it will seem like a long, long night.

God will probably not give you an answer that you can formulate as to why He is not giving you children (and it is a temptation and wrong to try to construct answers along the lines of “I don’t deserve children”, “I would have been a bad mother or father”, for they are false and contradict God’s love for us), but He will give you an inner peace which will satisfy your heart without necessarily taking the pain away.

Another way of dealing with this cross in a spiritually fruitful way is realizing how you can use it in this battle of the culture of life against the culture of death. I think that God will bring great fruit out of the acceptance of the cross by an infertile couple.
It may be helpful if we offer our suffering up for children who are in danger of being aborted. We won’t know the spiritual fruits we are bearing on this side of eternity; we don’t know how many children we will have saved through this.
But on the other side, we will meet all the spiritual children that were born to us.

Death

Don't be afraid of death...


Be PREPARED for death.

Interesting Read

Go HERE to read.

The good & the bad

One day God was looking down at earth and saw all of the rascally behavior that was going on.
So he called one of his angels to go to earth for a time.

When he returned, he told God, "Yes, it is bad on Earth; 95% are misbehaving and only 5% are not."
God thought for a moment and said, "Maybe I had better send down another angel to get a second opinion."

So God called another angel and sent him to earth for a time, too. When the angel returned he went to God and said, "Yes, it's true.
The earth is in decline; 95% are misbehaving, but 5% are being good."

God was not pleased. So he decided to email the 5% who were good, because he wanted to encourage them, give them a little something to help them keep going.

Do you know what the email said?

No?

Okay, just wondering. I didn't get one either....

Guardian Angels

Every person on earth has a guardian angel who watches over him and helps him to attain his salvation. Angelical guardianship begins at the moment of birth; prior to this, the child is protected by the mother's guardian angel. It continues throughout our whole life and ceases only when our probation on earth ends, namely, at the moment of death. Our guardian angel accompanies the soul to purgatory or heaven, and becomes our coheir in the heavenly kingdom.
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Angels are servants and messengers from God. "Angel" in Greek means messenger. In unseen ways the angels help us on our earthly pilgrimage by assisting us in work and study, helping us in temptation and protecting us from physical danger.
The idea that each soul has assigned to it a personal guardian angel has been long accepted by the Church and is a truth of our faith.

To read more, go HERE.

Garabandal and the Passion of Jesus

John Tauler, a great mystic of the Middle Ages, once wrote that when a venerable servant of God asked our Lord, "What would a man gain if he devoutly strove to meditate on the Passion?"
Our Lord answered;

* His sins would be washed away

* His negligences would be made up for by the merits of My sufferings.

* He would be given great strength so that he would not be easily overcome by his enemies.

* My grace will be renewed in him as frequently as he meditates and reflects on My sufferings.

* I will not deny him anything that will serve for his own good if he prays sincerely to Me for it. I will lead him to the state of perfection before his death.

* I will assist him in his last hour, protect him from his enemies and I will give him assurance of salvation.


To read more, go Here.

Exactly how far is too far to go with a girl? Be specific.

Answer from Catholic Answers.



I'll give some specifics, but before I do, let's lay down a foundation. If we're asking how close to sin we can get girls, we're asking the wrong question. We need a change of heart. We need to start asking, "How close to God can I get her? How far can I go to lead this girl to holiness, and guard her innocence?" Until we have this transformation of our heart and will, it'll be difficult to determine where to set the physical boundaries in a relationship. Also, whenever we operate with the "how far is too far" mentality, where do we usually end up? More often than not, we end up going right up to that boundary, and inching it forward each time we visit it.

We need to remind ourselves that purity is not simply a matter of staying on one side of a line that we've drawn. It's a battle for our hearts and minds as well as our bodies. Just because a guy hasn't crossed a line, it doesn't mean that he's pure. It may mean that the he's never had the opportunity to cross it.

Anyway, here are a few guidelines for how you can know how far is too far. Whenever you are considering doing something with a girl, ask yourself if you would do that if Jesus were in the room. In our hearts, we all know what is pleasing to God. Also, consider how you would want a guy to treat your future daughter or future bride, and treat women accordingly. Let this sink in. Often, we get so involved in intense relationships that it's hard to sit back and really look into our hearts.

Some people assume, "So long as I'm being a virgin, I'm being good." They compare themselves with others who are sleeping around on a regular basis, and as long as they see the world from that perspective, they feel like they're right on track. Meanwhile, they give away bits of themselves in passing relationships, all under the pretense that their friends are worse.

Do yourself a favor: Don't get technical about drawing a line at virginity, and saying that all else goes. If you can't decide if a particular action is "too far," imagine what the look on your future bride or groom's face would be if you ever told her or him that you shared that act with another person. Make decisions now that would bless the heart of your future spouse, not wound it. (And do not be quick to discuss the specifics of your prior experience with potential spouses; a lot of that information could do far more harm than good.)

So where does the line go? For starters, know that the line begins in your mind. As soon as you begin to lust after a girl, stop. In regards to physical lines, an easy guideline to remember is, "Don't touch what you don't got." Also, I'd recommend no passionate kissing, kissing below the chin, or lying down together. That may seem extreme to some, but the more you become sensual and physical in a relationship, the more the relationship begins to revolve around that.

I'll admit that it's easy to see this as a litany of "no's" but think of it like this. There's a highway in California that runs up the coast. It's a gorgeous ride that takes you along the side of a sheer cliff that drops hundreds of feet to the ocean. Imagine that you were cruising along in your priceless sports car, and the passenger with you remarked, "Man, there's another one of those stupid guardrails. And look, another sign saying there's a sharp turn ahead. I hate how the California highway system inhibits your freedom, and tells you what to do." Odds are, you wouldn't let the guy drive your car.

When we hear different moral laws about our sexuality, they are there for the same reason that guardrails and signposts mark a person's drive along the Pacific Coast Highway. If you want to express your freedom as you drive off the cliff, you're free to do so. But the purity of your soul is worth much more than a car. The Church's moral laws are there for our sake, so that we don't fall for counterfeit versions of love.

If you have tried everything else for years, try purity. You won't regret it. I've spoken to over a hundred-thousand teens about dating, sex, and relationships, and I have never met one who regretted what he or she did not do with a date. I've never had a high school girl come up to me in tears after a chastity talk because she did not sleep with her boyfriend. I've never had a guy confide in me that he was scared to death that his girlfriend was not pregnant. They regret what they've done, not what they've saved.

Imagine you were dating a beautiful young woman who you hoped to marry, and she had never kissed anyone because she wanted only her husband to know the touch of her lips. What man would not be flattered by her integrity and purity? What man would send her away to go a little further with the other guys? If we would be so honored by her, why would we not want to make a woman feel honored in the same way?

Remembering Mothers & Fathers that have experienced a miscarriage

WAITING FOR YOU

I'm pregnant, I just got the news
I sit rubbing by belly waiting for you.
Although you can't move yet I still feel you there
As I close my eyes and fall deep into prayer.

"Dear God, thank you for this precious child
This is a miracle from Heaven, there is no denial.
I imagine holding you as you place your hand into mine
As I opened my eyes and realized the time.
The time was in the past
But that vision of you is a memory that still lasts.
You left me too early
And for this I still weep
My womb is empty
The pain is so deep.
I can't help but wonder if you are okay
I imagine you placing your hand into mine one day
As we soar side by side in the Heavens above
But for now my angel, I will still give you love
As I rub my belly, you are not there
As I look up to Heaven with a wondering stare.
I close my eyes and begin to pray
Jesus, will you please bless me again one day."