Today, December 30, 2011, is the feast of the Holy Family and the Prolife team wishes you a very happy Feast!
In a homily on 18 April 2005 at the Mass for the election of the Roman Pontiff, the then Dean of the College of Cardinals, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, said, among other things:
"...We must not remain children in faith, in the condition of minors. And what does it mean to be children in faith? St Paul answers: it means being "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Eph 4: 14). This description is very timely!
How many winds of doctrine have we known in recent decades, how many ideological currents, how many ways of thinking. The small boat of the thought of many Christians has often been tossed about by these waves - flung from one extreme to another: from Marxism to liberalism, even to libertinism; from collectivism to radical individualism; from atheism to a vague religious mysticism; from agnosticism to syncretism and so forth. Every day new sects spring up, and what St Paul says about human deception and the trickery that strives to entice people into error (cf. Eph 4: 14) comes true.
Today, having a clear faith based on the Creed of the Church is often labeled as fundamentalism. Whereas relativism, that is, letting oneself be "tossed here and there, carried about by every wind of doctrine", seems the only attitude that can cope with modern times. We are building a dictatorship of relativism that does not recognize anything as definitive and whose ultimate goal consists solely of one's own ego and desires.
We, however, have a different goal: the Son of God, the true man. He is the measure of true humanism. An "adult" faith is not a faith that follows the trends of fashion and the latest novelty; a mature adult faith is deeply rooted in friendship with Christ. It is this friendship that opens us up to all that is good and gives us a criterion by which to distinguish the true from the false, and deceipt from truth.
We must develop this adult faith; we must guide the flock of Christ to this faith. And it is this faith - only faith - that creates unity and is fulfilled in love...."
Keeping the above in mind, we invite you to reflect on one of the basic institutions of society, viz., marriage. Please read through these FAQs on marriage.
What is marriage? Are a man and a woman really essential to marriage? What about the child … and the role of mothers and fathers? Is it discriminatory to defend marriage as the union of one man and one woman? What impact would a redefinition of marriage have on religious liberty?
These are just a few of the many questions about marriage today. They all hinge upon the first question: What is marriage? When the answer to this question is understood, everything else falls into its proper place.
"Marriage is unique for a reason. And Church teaching helps us understand this in a clearer and better way.
In an age where the voices of relativism would seek to impose a redefinition of marriage, let us study what our Holy Mother, the Church, has to say about this issue, and thus equip ourselves spiritually for the fight to defend the true meaning of marriage."
In an age where the voices of relativism would seek to impose a redefinition of marriage, let us study what our Holy Mother, the Church, has to say about this issue, and thus equip ourselves spiritually for the fight to defend the true meaning of marriage."
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
- Eph 6: 12
