Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
We as Catholics have many practices that often seem strange or unreasonable to our non-Catholic brothers and sisters.  Our churches are beautiful and lavishly decorated (well… not all of them are these days, but you get the idea).  We are obligated to go to Mass every weekend.  We genuflect when we enter and leave church.  We fast for at least an hour before receiving Holy Communion.  We abstain from receiving Holy Communion if we are conscious of any grave or mortal sin.  The priest wears elaborate vestments at Mass.  The chalice and other vessels used for Holy Communion are made of precious metals.  The priest takes time at the end of Holy Communion to carefully cleanse the vessels.  We have prayers and rituals with the consecrated host: Adoration and Benediction.  On today’s solemnity, there are often outdoor processions with the consecrated host in the monstrance, such as the one taking place in Marshfield.
 
Why do we as Catholics do all these things?  It’s because of our faith in the Holy Eucharist – that Christ is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist.  If this was not our faith in the Eucharist, and if we believed it was only a symbol, then none of the above would make any sense.  The Church gives a great feast such as this one, Corpus Christi, to remind us and strengthen our faith in his special presence with us.  Christ did not come into this world to remove from us all of our problems in this life.  But speaking personally, I am consoled to be reminded of the fact that Christ is with me in a special way in the midst of it all, and this is especially true and clear in the Eucharist.
 
This special presence of Christ the Lord – of God with us in the Eucharist at every Mass should send people rushing in through our doors and packing our churches.  Yes, we have a lot of work to do in evangelizing the world around us – in sharing this good news about our faith.  But, we should be confident as well in the fact that a great product is often not that hard to sell – and we have a great product! 
 
Attending Mass every weekend, as is our obligation in faith, is one thing, and I have spoken about it many times before.  (In fact, if you are taking the time to read this column, chances are you are regularly attending Sunday Mass.)   But one thing that I have often noticed is that attendance at daily Mass in our three parishes is relatively small and sporadic.  Yes, I know most people’s work schedules prohibit them from regularly attending daily Mass.  And yes, I know daily Mass is often cancelled due to funerals or your pastor being out of town (as is hopefully indicated in the bulletin or announced at an earlier Mass).  But I also get the sense that there are many who have the flexibility in their schedules to attend daily Mass often, but do not.
 
If attending daily Mass (or attending it more often) is a possibility for you, here are some reasons to consider:  (1) Receiving Holy Communion devoutly and daily is a source of grace leading us to greater conversion, helping us to work at and conquer our pride, as well as our habitual sins and vices.  (2) By attending daily Mass, we are more consciously placing God first in our lives, offering over to Him our very selves and giving Him due praise.  (3) In daily Mass, we hear a lot more of the Scriptures read, and we give the Lord more opportunities to speak to our hearts.  God’s plan of salvation for us as revealed in the Scriptures becomes clearer.  (4) The graces of the Mass extend into other areas of our lives, healing our wounds and broken relationships.  (5) Finally, in daily Mass, we spend more time with our Creator, learning to love Him, with whom we hope to spend eternity.

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
In last week’s column, I spoke about how the use of artificial contraception denies one or both of God’s intended purposes for sexual intercourse: complete self-giving unity between the spouses, and openness to children.
 
Since the use of artificial contraception has become so widespread in our culture, and so many people have been misinformed about it, I suspect that many reading these columns have used or are currently using one of its forms.  Whatever you’re circumstances, remember that God’s mercy is endless and that He only wants us to come to him and seek out His forgiveness, especially in the sacrament of Confession.  God will write straight with our crooked lines if we let him.
 
It is also important to remember that the Church, in prohibiting the use of artificial contraceptives, is by no means saying that every married couple must have twenty children.  The Church is saying that couples are called to be responsible parents.  There may be times in the married life of a couple that having another child would present a serious health risk or great financial burden.  These would be times in which the couple may decide to postpone pregnancy, however not through artificial means.  Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the natural and scientific method that the Church proposes for couples to space pregnancies.  (There are other natural methods available out there that the Church approves of as well.)  NFP should not be confused with the old “rhythm method” which was largely inaccurate and ineffective.  Through NFP, the couple learns to chart the woman’s fertility cycle.  Then, if the couple has serious reasons to space or postpone pregnancies, they abstain from intercourse during the time the woman is fertile.
 
Some have argued that NFP is the same as artificial birth control.  Bear in mind that NFP can be used for selfish reasons, just like contraception.  A couple could foreseeably use NFP, motivated by greed and self-reliance.  They may see having another child as a limitation to their worldly ambitions, when in fact, another child is reasonable for them to support, and God is calling them to greater trust and surrender to His will.  The key difference with NFP is that the couple is not actively preventing a child from coming into existence.  Rather, the couple is given the opportunity to cooperate with God and the natural cycle of the woman. 
 
Many couples today like NFP simply because it is natural, and not even for particularly religious reasons.  It is also just as, if not more effective, than artificial means.  The other great thing about NFP is that it teaches a couple to grow in intimacy in ways other than sexual intimacy.  It also teaches a greater self-mastery and promotes deeper love – truly willing the good of the other through a greater attentiveness to each other and sacrifice at times.
 
If you would like to learn more about NFP, or find out how to practice it in your marriage, go to the Marriage and Family Life section of the Diocese of La Crosse website: http://diolc.org/ministry_resources/family_life/nfp/.

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
In last week’s column, I gave a bit of history on the Church’s position and the cultural shift in opinion on the use of artificial contraception.  This week, I would like to offer more of an explanation about why the Church teaches what it does on this issue.  To begin to answer this question we have to ask, “what is the purpose of sexual intercourse?”  The Church sees its purpose as twofold: (1) to bring about unity between spouses and (2) for the procreation of children.  These two purposes are simply evident in biology, and they are inseparable.  The sexual act naturally involves a total self-giving of the man and woman to each other, as well as openness to the possibility of conceiving children.
 
Because of these two purposes, barrier protection (condoms and spermicides), withdrawal before the completion of the act, and all forms of hormonal contraception and abortifacient drugs are sinful, as are forms of direct sterilization such as tubal ligation and vasectomy.  The use of surrogate mothers, sperm banks, egg donation, artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, and certain fertility practices are also prohibited by the Church for the same reasons.  Each of the abovementioned products and practices separate sexual intercourse from its intended purposes – either unity of the spouses, or openness to life, or both.  In essence, God is removed from the picture.  When artificial contraception (or fertilization) in whatever form is used, the couple’s self-giving is greatly compromised or non-existent.  It is as if they are saying to each other, “I love everything about you, except your fertility,” as opposed to, “I love everything about you and I give myself to you completely.”
 
As a result of contraception, our culture has divorced sexual intercourse from its natural and God-intended purposes and replaced those purposes with the selfish seeking of pleasure.  In many marriages in which contraception has been frequently used, self-giving love has often been replaced with lust and greed.  Therefore, it should be no surprise to us that as contraception has become widespread in our culture, so has divorce.  Because the consequences of a possible pregnancy are eliminated, promiscuity and adultery become much more common as well.
 
God has given a man and woman united in marriage the remarkable privilege of participating with him in the creation of new life.  Through contraception however, we take the good of physical pleasure from sexual intercourse and reject the privilege of creating life that God has given us.  Next week, I will address the topic of responsible parenthood and what the Church intends by being open to life.

Praised be Jesus Christ!
 
Almost a year ago at this time, I dedicated my bulletin column to a short series on a delicate moral issue.  I spoke about the Church’s teaching on same-sex attraction.  This followed the Supreme Court’s decision to make same-sex “marriage” the law of the land.  Again, I thought I would take up another sensitive issue.  With the spread of the Zika virus earlier this year, a news reporter once asked Pope Francis if such a health concern would be a circumstance that would render the use artificial contraception as being morally acceptable.  The Pope’s off-the-cuff response was rather unclear, and left the media to jump to all sorts of conclusions.
 
Since the Church’s teaching on the use of artificial contraception is so seldom discussed or explained, I thought I would use the next couple columns to offer some teaching.  First a little bit of history.  Up until 1930, it was universally believed by Christians of all denominations that the use of artificial contraception (or birth control) was morally wrong.  In fact, this was the belief of the early Church, which saw such a thing as a pagan practice (…yes, there were forms of artificial contraception in ancient times).  In 1930, caving to social pressures, the Anglican Church, permitted the use of birth control in extreme situations.  Soon afterward, other Protestant denominations followed suit to the point where today, it now has universal acceptance.  The Catholic Church is the only one that maintains the belief of early Christianity on this issue.
 
Responding to this huge shift in attitude.  Pope Paul VI issued an encyclical letter in 1968 entitled Humanae Vitae (Latin for “On Human Life”).  This was probably the most controversial Church document of the 20th century.  Speaking on the whole gamut of life issues, Paul VI stated, “[W]e must once again declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun, and, above all, directly willed and procured abortion, even if for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as licit means of regulating birth.  Equally to be excluded, as the teaching authority of the Church has frequently declared, is direct sterilization, whether perpetual or temporary, whether of the man or of the woman.  Similarly excluded is every action which, either in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible” (HV 14). 
 
In simpler words, Catholic teaching forbids any direct form of abortion, sterilization, or artificial contraception.  So controversial was the Pope’s clarification of the Church’s teaching on the issue of contraception, many within the Church openly rejected it.  In fact, I have heard from many couples whom, years ago, when preparing for marriage, were told by their priest not to worry about such a teaching.  Many were instead counseled to simply “follow their consciences” – as if their consciences had autonomy over the teaching of the Church!
 
The Church has confirmed and reiterated its teaching about the immorality of contraception in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraphs 2370 and 2399).  Pope Paul VI predicted that if contraception became widespread, there would be greater marital infidelity, a general lowering of morality, and a loss of respect for the woman in which she would more often seen by the man as a mere instrument of selfish enjoyment.  I think its fair to say the Pope’s predictions have come to fruition, and then some.  Next week, I’ll speak about why the Church teaches that the use of artificial contraception is a moral evil.