Letter to Lori

This is a wonderfully inspiring blog. Ms. Schuster is an excellant writer, who has had quite the life to write about in the last year or so. Warning: do not expect to read her blog without crying.
http://lorischuster.tblog.com/

I wrote the following to her as I know her pain, and I wanted to give her words of comfort.

Letter to Lori:

I happened upon your site last week, looking for the lyrics of the song "Then all the world would be upside down". Hoo boy! Your world certainly IS upside down!

My dear sister, you write wonderfully! It will be your peace, I found it to be mine.

I too have had to release a little one to return to God. This was many years ago, when she was a toddler. Our situations are different, but such losses have their similarities. At the time I had encountered other people whose life as parents brought them to 'this side' of despair. They all told me that in their experience, it is true that time heals all wounds. It seemed then, as it still seems now, to me, that it is almost like a 'special club', those of us who have had children go on before us. When we discover each other, we look into each others eyes, no words need to pass. In just a look, our pain is shared, and we comfort each other with an understanding that no one else can have. (In fact, there are times I have confided to another of my little one's passing, and the look in the other's eyes tells me they know of my pain - I know before they tell me. And I have had others say the same when they were the first to confide.)

I wish I could share this look with you now, for there is comfort in it. There is comfort in knowing your cross is shared, and the burden eases a bit. I will tell you I have been crying with you, in the depth of the night when no one but God can hear. I share your pain as only a mother can. You are not alone.

19 years will have passed, June 1st, since the death of my beautiful Allison Nicole through a 'freak accident' entailing her crib. She would have been 20 this past January. I will always miss her, and at times I cry. But I do have Peace. And I can tell you that time, thru the grace of God, will heal your wounds. Your Peace will come, in time. Grieve, grieve in any and all manners, let no one rob you of it. Months and years from now, you may come across those who will not understand and may tell you 'to get on with your life' (in so many words), but your grief will be yours for a lifetime. Only it will have a balance to it. It will not be so painful in time. Grieving your child is the right of a mother's love.

I have found comfort and strength thru the example of Mary, Jesus' mother. How her heart must have broken at the foot of the cross! Every Good Friday, I find strength in her example. To stay at the foot thru such a time! She did not want the man who nursed at her breast as a babe to be alone at his death. What love! How could she have been anywhere else, though it must have pained her heart beyond belief! We know Him as our savior, God incarnate, but he was also son of man, a mother's child.

Your Beloved Ali will always be with you. From your writings I can tell she is a part of the body of Christ. You can never be parted from her because of that.

You and Megan are in my prayers.

I am sorry this is such a long "comment" but I as a nonmember was unable to send you an e-mail.

With Love
Your sister in Christ
Paula from MN
p.s. plant a garden. There’s something about digging in the earth that is very healing at this time. Many a tear has been absorbed by the earth.

Is There Biblical Support for Church Teaching on Birth Control?

Originally posted on Catholic Online Forum

It has been asked 'where in the bible does Jesus speak against artificial birth control?' (Or was it 'where in the bible are we told artificial birth control is wrong, sinful?')

Jesus did not speak directly against artificial birth control, for such a thing did not exist at that time. If He had spoke against it, it would not have been understood exactly what He was referring to. Just like if He stated “It is wrong to pull the plug on someone’s feeding tube”. They would have all turned to each other with blank looks on their faces.

But He did address the issue which is the foundation of the Church’s standing on artificial birth control. That is the issue of the importance of our life giving qualities within the context of marriage. Now some may argue that this has to be delved into rather too deeply for understanding, to be a Truth that Jesus wanted us to have. But Jesus’ words have a way of being multilayered. Many meanings and Truths oftentimes share the same words spoken by Him. That is just another wonderful quality of Our Lord. This is why we are to pray to the Holy Spirit for guidance. For our Lord’s words speak to us today of Truths that those in His day would not have been able to comprehend. And I suspect that future generations will have a need for guidance from His words that would be equally incomprehensible for us today. I often wonder how many times He actually stated “Let those with ears hear”.

In Mark chapter 10 the Pharisees question Jesus about divorce, and He answers by first speaking of marriage:

2 The Pharisees approached and asked, "Is it lawful for a husband to divorce his wife?" They were testing him. 3 He said to them in reply, "What did Moses command you?" 4 They replied, "Moses permitted him to write a bill of divorce and dismiss her." 5 But Jesus told them, "Because of the hardness of your hearts he wrote you this commandment. 6 But from the beginning of creation, 'God made them male and female. 7 For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother (and be joined to his wife), 8 and the two shall become one flesh.' So they are no longer two but one flesh. 9 Therefore what God has joined together, no human being must separate."

Let us look in Genesis chapter 1, where Jesus took an actual quote from (one of the few times where the actual scripture Jesus quoted is recorded. So it must be very important).


26 Then God said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground." 27 God created man in his image; in the divine image He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them, saying: "Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that move on the earth."

Notice here that we are made in God’s image, male and female in his image. In sterilizing ourselves, either temporarily or permanently, changing that which God created us to be, we alter the image. For God is life-giving, so therefore we, made in His image, are also made to be life-giving. Bring in the fact that Jesus quoted this scripture verse in talking about marriage, stating that the two shall become one flesh so that they are no longer two, but one flesh. Can we not see how the blessing of marriage is God’s way of showing Himself to us? Can we not see how sterilizing ourselves with ABC alters our beings so that we can no longer reflect a True image of God the way He intended us to? Can we not see how ABC prevents us from becoming one flesh? Is it so surprising that the rate of divorce corresponds so closely with the rate of ABC usage? Sex within marriage, by God’s intent, becomes more then just a physical act of pleasure or a form of procreation. The nuptial act of sex is actually a way of drawing closer to God! It is also a physical manifestation on earth an image of the makeup of the Trinity! If we interfere with the design God gave our sexual unions, we are interfering with our relationship with God. We are interfering with our understanding of God. What kind of guidance would our Church be if it approves of us behaving in such a manner?

The Theology of the Body is not just some human man’s invention. The Theology of the Body is an example of how the Church is ‘modern and updated’ by addressing a modern problem and explaining it with a biblical foundation (Mark 10, Genesis 1). It is inspired by the Holy Spirit

God bless Pope Benedict XVI! May his shoulders be strong.