Oh no you didn't...just insult my mama.

The other day I was given a printout titled, "Why do Christians Celebrate Easter?" by a woman who I admire as she has dedicated much of her life and work to saving babies. She is Protestant and I am Catholic (in case you didn't catch that tidbit about me yet ;-) So why even bring up our different religious beliefs...well, because I am learning a difficult lesson that is worth sharing as it might help others navigate their efforts in ecumenicalism. 

The printout explored why we celebrate Easter when we do. In it's exploration it talked about how people used to worship the pagan god, Ishtar as well as other gods and stated that Easter is, in fact, derived from these pagan practices. There were quite a few lines that seemed to make sense at first glance as far as where certain Easter traditions may have evolved from. There was also a main, albeit heartbreaking, hypothesis woven through this piece; dare I say that it was the actual objective to this article? What was the proposition ....that the Catholic Church is responsible for bringing in and propagating these pagan worshipping traditions. Here's a few of the most telling lines in the article:

"By now the readers of this tract should have made the connection that paganism has infiltrated the contemporary 'Christian' churches, and further study indicates that this paganism came in by way of the Roman Catholic System.

and

"The truth is that the forty days of Lent, eggs, rabbits, hot cross buns and the Easter ham have everything to do with the ancients pagan religion of Mystery Babylon. These are antichrist activities!"

and

"Worshippers were to meditate upon the sacred mysteries of Baal and Tammuz, and make the sign of 'T' in front of their hearts as they worshipped."

and, my personal favorite, the line that enraged and hurt me most bitterly as I realized that the undeniable, chosen by God  Himself, Mother of Our Lord and Savior, is being mocked, insulted, and placed in such blatant low standing in some protestant circles as to suggest Mary is not only unworthy of devotion, but actually part of and head of an outrageous web of deceit and lies meant to bring worship to the devil. This line also gave birth to the title of this post as I age myself back to a childhood of 'yo mamma' jokes:

"Ishtar, who was now worshipped as the 'Mother of God and Queen of Heaven, continued to build her mystery religion."

I repeat, OH NO YOU DIDN'T. 

Hmmmm, what mystery religion could you be referring to?

Which brings me to speak of the difficult lesson that I am learning which is that many protestants think of Catholicism as a non christian religion, and worse, a heretical, idol worshipping, blaspheming, antichrist driven one. You see, I, as a Catholic, apparently insult many of you with my sign of the cross (which is odd as you too, my brethren, believe in the Holy Trinity), I offend you with my Rosary (which is equally strange because those prayers and meditations are taken directly from scripture), and my intercessory prayers make you squirm as you falsely think that I am worshipping and praying to dead people......the list of my Catholic identity-driven behaviors and practices add insult and offense to you. You are insulted by these things that are essential in helping me grow in my faith and helps in my practice of it, but can you not see the error of your ways? Where is this hatred for Catholicism coming from? I am hoping you are not aware of it's true origin because if you are, it increases your culpability in breaking commandment #8.

Jesus is not smiling...and God will not be mocked. 

Make no mistake: God is not mocked, for a person will reap only what he sows,

because the one who sows for his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows for the spirit will reap eternal life from the spirit.^f

Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.^g

So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all,^h but especially to those who belong to the family of the faith.^*  Galatians 6, 7-10

How can such disunity among Christians be pleasing to him? I need only to think of the promise that someday we will all be united again and that the Catholic church must be a 'sign of contradiction' even in regards to other christian faith communities to put my personal, hurt feelings aside. The big picture of salvation history is truly awesome and I marvel at how God's plan for His church unfolds before us. I look forward to that day when we Christians are all joined together again and am beyond excited for people to come to know some of the fullness of Catholicism and embark on their journeys into exploring the depths, mysteries, and beauties it holds.

I've always harped on, and still believe, that our protestant brothers and sisters have many strong points that we Catholics could really benefit from by mimicking them in those traits. Protestants are great community builders offering amazing support systems. They often have entertaining services, not to mention some pretty hip pastors. And, at least in these parts, have a large young member population which offers a whole slew of enticing attributes- everything from music choice, church social events, community dinners, special small groups that help forge friendships while speaking about God, common interests, mom groups, book groups, playgroups, preschools and even daycare. I credit them and they inspire me in these ways. It would be nice and most welcome, but more than that, extremely POWERFUL if, at the very least, Catholicism was truly respected in thought, word, and action. Do you realize the power (directed in giving glory to God) we will have when we unite? 

My response to the printout:

I read the printout you gave me and just wanted to offer a response. I love that you’re passionate about truth- so am I! I have done a bit of research and can see where the author got the idea that Easter and it’s traditions are derived from Ishtar and other pagan gods.  While I can understand his or her confusion and subsequent anger and frustration on the topic, I feel they’re not looking at the big picture of salvation history nor are they paying attention to some of the important details! First off, they directly say that the Roman Catholic Church brought this paganism...I wish I could say I’m surprised at the the anti-Catholic rhetoric that was inundated in that piece, but sadly I am not in the slightest. Debunking misconceptions about the Catholic church can quickly turn into a full time job as there are hundreds of them, and sadly, millions that believe them. 

“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”

- Fulton J. Sheen  

I’d like to think that you didn’t give me this article that directly attacks and insults my faith to suggest to me that my Catholic faith is actually full of anti-christ driven delusions, but rather that you gave it to me to have me question why we celebrate Easter when we do- and for that, I thank you.

I don’t mean any disrespect in responding to this piece that you shared with me, but it is my duty to defend the Catholic faith, especially when falsehoods are directly attributed to our most holy Catholic Church. As a devout Catholic, I am learning that beneath the amicable facade that most protestants exhibit towards Catholics, there is actually much more hostility than I even thought right beneath the surface. The content in this article is especially deceiving because it has some truths mixed with falsehoods. The line about Ishtar being worshipped as the “Mother of God and Queen of Heaven” continuing to build her ‘mystery religion’ is NOT subtle, but despicable, disrespectful to your brethren, and downright heartbreaking to me. That aside,  I don’t disagree that Easter has nothing to do with bunnies and eggs, but I do strongly disagree that we, as united brothers and sisters in Christ, should not be celebrating the day of Our Lord and Savior’s resurrection. To be honest, even if we do celebrate Easter on the day that was once set aside for worshipping a pagan God, who cares?! We might actually want to consider it a ‘job well done’ in dethroning that pagan god and replacing it with a day of praise, worship, and celebration of the rightful King, Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  The devil must've been fuming when Christians ‘took’ one of the days when people would worship him most, in this case, as he took on the guise of the pagan goddess Ishtar, and now, instead worship the true God, Jesus Christ. The fact is, even if the origins of celebrating mass at sunrise were that of pagan worship of the 'Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and Spring and the annual sacrifices associated with her'- it isn’t any longer! Praise God! We Christians have a universal day to celebrate the greatest, most awesome, event ever! Heaven rejoices with us every Easter.

Here are a few excerpts and links in case you feel called to look into it further. Again, I love and respect you as my sister in Christ. Thank you for the dialogue.

In Christ, -Lisa

*Is Easter Pagan?
by Jimmy Akin 04/04/2012 

You often hear that Easter is "a pagan holiday." This claim is made, variously, by some Christian Fundamentalists (who want to do away with or re-brand Easter), by some atheists (who want to undermine Christianity), and by some neo-pagans (who want to undermine Christianity and claim Easter for their own).

People advancing this argument will argue that rabbits, eggs, and other symbols associated with Easter are fertility symbols--and we all know that fertility symbols are a dead giveaway for paganism, right?

They'll also say that the very name "Easter" is itself a giveaway--that it's derived from the Mesopotamian goddess "Ishtar." (Hear how her name even sounds like "Easter"?)

Or else they'll say that it's derived from an Anglo-Saxon goddess named "Eostre." And when they say th, they even have a saint and scholar--who just happens to be a doctor of the Church!--on their side. (It's the Venerable Bede.)

But there's more to this story than they suppose.

In fact, it turns out, only a person whose native language is English, or perhaps German, would even advance this kind of argument. If your horizons are a bit broader, the true origin of Easter is devastatingly obvious.

In this video, I go into the whys and wherefores of it all.

If you think the video is helpful, please share it with friends--especially those who have heard or who themselves make the "Easter is pagan" claim.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVjrMylfoJE

*Truth about Lent 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LvsOFWxbyRM&list=PLlorkdR6Me8v6Ikbma8SYB4Li-vP9_ALQ

and 

http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/LENT.htm

*Was Easter Originally A Pagan Holiday?- Father William Saunders 

Recently a Moslem co-worker made the comment that Easter was originally a pagan holiday. Where would he get such a notion?—A reader in Alexandria

I think your Moslem co-worker is confused to say the least. In accord with the gospels, Easter is unequivocally the solemn feast celebrating the resurrection of Christ. In the Western tradition of the Church, Easter has been celebrated on the first Sunday following the new full moon which occurs on or immediately after the vernal or Spring equinox. This dating was established by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. As such, the dates for Easter may range from March 22 to April 25. (The Orthodox Churches follow a different dating system and will thereby celebrate Easter one, four, or five weeks later).

The confusion in the mind of the co-worker lies in the etymology of the word itself. In the original language of the gospels, the Greek word <pascha> is used for the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word <pesach>, which means Passover. During the first three centuries of the Church, <Pasch> referred specifically to the celebration of Christ's passion and death; by the end of the fourth century, it also included the Easter Vigil; and by the end of the fifth century, it referred to Easter itself. In all, the term signified Christ as the new Passover Lamb. Together, the mystery of the Last Supper, the sacrifice of Good Friday and the resurrection of Easter form the new Passover - the new Pasch.

Latin used the Greek-Hebrew root for its word <Pascha> and other derivatives to signify Easter or the Easter mysteries: for instance, the Easter Vigil in Latin is <Sabbato Sancto de Vigilia Paschali> and in the First Preface of Easter, the priest prays, <"...Cum Pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus"> ("When Christ our Pasch was sacrificed"). The Romance languages later used the Hebrew-Greek-Latin root for their words denoting Easter: Italian, <Pasqua>; Spanish, <Pascua> and French, <Paques>. Even some non-Romance languages employ the Hebrew-Greek-Latin root: Scotch, <Pask>; Dutch, <Paschen>; Swedish, <Pask> and the German dialect along the lower Rhine, <Paisken>.

However, according to St. Bede (d. 735), the great historian of the Middle Ages, the title Easter seems to originate in English around the eighth century A.D. The word Easter is derived from the word <Eoster>, the name of the Teutonic goddess of the rising light of day and Spring, and the annual sacrifices associated with her. If this is the origin of our word Easter, then the Church "baptized" the name, using it to denote that first Easter Sunday morning when Christ, our Light, rose from the grave and when the women found the tomb empty just as dawn was breaking.

Another possibility which arises from more recent research suggests the early Church referred to Easter week as <hebdomada alba> ("white week"), from the white garments worn by the newly baptized. Some mistranslated the word to mean "the shining light of day" or "the shining dawn," and therefore used the Teutonic root <eostarun>, the Old German plural for "dawn", as the basis for the German <Ostern> and for the English equivalent "Easter". In early English translations of the Bible made by Tyndale and Coverdale, the word "Easter" was substituted for the word "Passover," in some verses.

Even though the etymological root of "Easter" may be linked to the name of a pagan goddess or pagan ceremonies, the feast which the word describes is Christian without question. Exactly why the English language did not utilize to the Hebrew-Greek-Latin root is a mystery. Unlike Christmas which was set on December 25 and "baptized" the former Roman pagan Feast of the Sun, Easter is a unique celebration. Any confusion, therefore, rests with etymology, not theology.”

http://www.ewtn.com/library/ANSWERS/EASTPAG.htm

The truth about easter eggs.

http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=67961

Some salvation history in relation to this. 

http://archive.salvationhistory.com/online/beginner/course2_lesson3.cfm.htm

Truthfully, I have known of the anti-Catholic attitudes that many of my protestant brothers and sisters feel towards us, but I haven't experienced it on a personal level until recently. That makes sense as I went from a Catholic upbringing, to falling away from the Church, to having my St. Paul conversion. Though I've studied a few denominations,  I never dabbled in practicing any one of the thousands that exist thanks to Martin Luther's initial split (you might want to look into his life, teachings, and personal decisions a bit more if you're set on following his church or one of the many that followed from that schism from Rome) 

The following is from a friend, a former protestant:  "If you have no trust at all in the Catholic Church, then why do you trust the collection of scriptures? And the thing is, if you accept the protestant edited Bible, then you 1) have to trust the Catholic Church, and then 2) trust Martin Luther that the Church was right about most of the books and there were no additional letters that should have been included, BUT that they were wrong about those few books that he took out. But who the heck is Martin J Luther? (I just made up the J, lolol). Seriously - Who the heck is he that you should trust him? Why the automatic doubt in the Catholic Church, and the automatic trust of Martin Luther? 

If you have never done it, look up the writings of Martin Luther. See the kinds of things he said and whether he sounds like a man who was led by the Holy Spirit in his "revisions" and splitting off from the Church. This is a dude who took vows before God to be a celibate monk, and then he broke them. He then married a nun who also broke her vows. He was seething with hatred of Jews and literally called them pigs and encouraged people to throw animal poop at them in the streets. Seriously. (Google Martin Luther and dung balls, lol. Sad but true.) And if you then looked up Catholic saints and Catholic miracles, prepare to be amazed. Honestly, this is something that protestants usually have no concept of (and I certainly didn't when I was protestant): how charismatic the Catholic Church is... full of super holy, heroicly holy saints who did wonders, resurrected people from the dead, did super-human feats, practiced selfless acts of charity, had visions, conversed with God, battled with demons, etc, etc. Contrast those people with Martin Luther." 

Here's the deal, we are all called to love and respect each other, but the thing is, that doesn't mean acting as a doormat for some to trample upon and aid in disseminating falsehoods. It is our duty to defend our faith and do our best to do it in a loving way. Though it's true that sometimes we are called too 'turn the other cheek', we cannot use that as an excuse to not defend our most Holy Catholic Church. If that was the case, why even try to participate in the spiritual works of mercy or even preach the gospels?

Talk about God's timing...I went to daily mass this week and this touched my heart:

Responsorial Psalm

PS 69:8-10, 21-22, 31 AND 33-34

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

For your sake I bear insult,

and shame covers my face.

I have become an outcast to my brothers,

a stranger to my mother’s sons,

because zeal for your house consumes me,

and the insults of those who blaspheme you fall upon me.

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak,

I looked for sympathy, but there was none;

for consolers, not one could I find.

Rather they put gall in my food,

and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

R. Lord, in your great love, answer me.

I will praise the name of God in song,

and I will glorify him with thanksgiving:

“See, you lowly ones, and be glad;

you who seek God, may your hearts revive!

For the LORD hears the poor,

and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.”

Sex = Babies

Shocking title there, huh?! “What are you saying Lisa, that sex isn’t solely for pleasure except for when I actually want to aid in creating human life on 1 or maybe 2 occasions?" Gosh I feel bad for you- you’re so oppressed.” Well If you find yourself at all revolted by the title of this post, I’d like to remind you that for thousands upon thousands of years this statement was a ‘no duh’ truth. So while we like to think we have progressed in our thinking and outlooks, we need only to look at what the majority feel as they react to the truth that Sex indeed equals Babies to see where we're at. While we were all playing God and decided it would feel real good to separate the sexual act from procreation, we didn’t quite look at what that separation would do to us, our minds and bodies, and consequently the entire world. Well YOU didn’t, but our most beautiful Catholic church did....and because of it’s divinity, it remains the only Church (correct me if I'm wrong) that has been steadfast in it’s teaching on artificial contraception being unacceptable. I do believe the Church has been under just a bit of pressure to change this teaching for say about 7 decades...and certainly it would be EASIER for the Church to just cave in, follow suit, and just change that darn teaching. Hey, the Church might even get a few youngsters to join if they did that... so why not? Ask yourselves that. Hint: It is not because they want to oppress women. Also, the Church will never change this teaching- it cannot as it's part of doctrine. http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2010/09/catholics-you-must-understand-this.html

So forget about all those people who call themselves Catholics and use contraception- while I pray for their continued conversions, I sincerely want to apologize to you on their behalf as they are really confusing the heck out of you. To my Catholic friends on the pill, I love you and I beg you to delve into the wonderful world of learning what and why the faith you claim you belong to teaches this. If you come at it with an open heart armed with prayer...It will blow your mind. I’ve got a lot to say, but I’ve got these 3 little monkeys climbing on me as it’s Saturday and they want to play. (Are you thinking, well Lisa if you got on the pill, you could control how many kids you have and then you might be able to write more blog posts, I mean you're so good at it, we want more!) Ahhh, right. Why wouldn’t I just take that darn pill and control my life? So many reasons... that I will let you learn for yourself, if you just take the bait, click on the links, and read the excerpts below. (And because this is the world wide web and it seems everyone wants to know if ‘Im done having children’...I will let you in on some personal info- I have ‘tried’ for all three of my monkeys and I hope to have more. Now I’m not saying I started off wanting a litter of children- most certainly not. But God is good and He is real and working in me and I am open to His grand plan. At this point on my journey I can honestly tell you that I would love as many children as He sees fit. In fact, I am yearning to meet any future children I may have. I mean I really love my little stinkers and can't imagine life without them or any of their future siblings. A note here, Natural Family Planning is 99.9% effective at avoiding pregnancy when used properly. (If you have a serious reason to avoid having children- which only YOU and your spouse could determine, then feel free to use NFP in this way) You do have to have some self control over your urges, but remember we are not animals and despite what the world might have you believe, we can, in fact, control ourselves. This technique is so beautiful, logical, and mostly practical ;-) - that it’s main goal is not in preventing pregnancy nor achieving it, but it is meant to take care of you, the individual, while connecting you to your spouse in a more full and whole way, and it simultaneously promotes a more Holy marriage which helps in achieving a deeper connection to God. (The way in which marriage is designed by God to mimic the Holy Trinity is absolutely true and, frankly, awesome and humbling) 

"And the spark, the power of that union is meant to gloriously reveal the very image of God to angels and archangels and all the company of heaven and earth. That is why Satan fights tooth and nail to pervert and distort rightly ordered human sexuality, holy matrimony, the family, and fatherhood in particular.

In fact, the amount of time and effort that Satan expends to destroy the image of God reflected in marriage, fatherhood and human sexuality is a barometer of just how incredibly important it is to God's plan and the expression of His glory.

Beloved, there is a profound and awesome reason for the way God ordered the creation of man—one that is commented on throughout Scripture, and one that we must observe if we are to find the fulfillment of our very being as humans. It is ordered as the union of a man and a woman in marriage—heterosexual and monogamous—an order that Jesus unambiguously reaffirmed in Matthew." -From The Divine Marriage by David Kyle Foster.
 http://www.focusonthefamily.com/marriage/gods-design-for-marriage/marriage-gods-idea/the-divine-order-to-marriage 
   There's a bunch of pretty neat side effects as well...including not inviting a known, recently upgraded to class 1, carcinogen into our bodies on the daily that leads to all sorts of icky issues. In addition to the health benefits of not chemically tricking your body into a constant state of pregnancy, your partner will start to look at you in a more authentically loving way. You might start discussing some pretty important stuff...you'll probably grow closer.

   I know this is pretty daunting for more than a few of you...if you decide to dig a little deeper and begin to grasp the evils of the pill, your whole world will seemingly fall into shambles. While it's true, seeking truth is quite a ride and can be a wee bit uncomfortable, I assure you it is worth it and quite exhilarating. And I'm praying for you so that'll help. Nothing feels better than true freedom so c'mon on in...the water's fine?!

 Some links and excerpts: (C’mon you know you’re interested): There are a ton of links to include so just google and go if you want more!...and you want MORE.

*Also, there are worse things to have than babies...just take a look here:http://thepillkills.org/talkingpoints.php

*And aren’t you curious who thought up this magic pill and promoted it endlessly and why? Look here:https://www.ewtn.com/library/PROLIFE/PP04A.TXT

*What is the pill doing to our water supply...even if you’re not taking it...you’re taking it indirectly. C’mon environmentalist- get on this. http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/birth-control-in-drinking-water-a-fertility-catastrophe-in-the-making

and here: http://www.livescience.com/17028-prostate-cancer-risk-birth-control.html

*And BTW overpopulation is a myth so fear not- have those kiddies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBS6f-JVvTY#t=104  But hey, Muslims are having lots of kids to make up for us: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_kKkY5EpVpY (this video is from 2007 so ya’ know...)

*The secular short film that's finally here to help educate women on their fertility and actually help give real reproductive health resources...it prompted this post. Sure it would've been real nice if they included the fact that Catholic teaching has included this natural technique for years. But hey, it would also be real nice if people at large would start giving Catholicism some credit for a whole bunch of stuff. I mean who started all those hospitals, colleges, schools, and organizations that help the homeless and poor? Oh, wait, what's that- you've decided to drop the Catholic name of your hospital even though it's founders gave their entire lives for the cause (without pay, sometimes even paid with their blood)....Oh okay, seems fair to just keep that Catholic college's name but run from the actual principals, teachings, and ethics for which it was formed. Ummmmm... about right in this day and age when anybody is entitled to anything because ya know...their 'good people'. I know you might not like us, but how can you deny all the good that has come from devout Catholics heeding the call of their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ? Rant over.

https://naturalwomanhood.org/film/?viewable=yes

*NFP https://ccli.org/

*A bit of insight on sterilization:  http://littlecatholicbubble.blogspot.com/2010/12/sterilization-is-it-getting-fixed-or.html

*Struggling to get pregnant- wait, don't think in-vitro, go here instead: http://www.fertilitycare.org/giannacenter

*Now for the stuff that matters most. Taken from “Humanae Vitae” written in 1968 (talk about prophetic):

Consequences of Artificial Methods

17. Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

and how about this:

Concern of the Church

18. It is to be anticipated that perhaps not everyone will easily accept this particular teaching. There is too much clamorous outcry against the voice of the Church, and this is intensified by modern means of communication. But it comes as no surprise to the Church that she, no less than her divine Founder, is destined to be a "sign of contradiction." (22) She does not, because of this, evade the duty imposed on her of proclaiming humbly but firmly the entire moral law, both natural and evangelical.

Since the Church did not make either of these laws, she cannot be their arbiter—only their guardian and interpreter. It could never be right for her to declare lawful what is in fact unlawful, since that, by its very nature, is always opposed to the true good of man.

In preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization. She urges man not to betray his personal responsibilities by putting all his faith in technical expedients. In this way she defends the dignity of husband and wife. This course of action shows that the Church, loyal to the example and teaching of the divine Savior, is sincere and unselfish in her regard for men whom she strives to help even now during this earthly pilgrimage "to share God's life as sons of the living God, the Father of all men." (23)

Read the whole here: http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html

*Theology of the Body https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2TBIND.HTM

And cheers to all the babies being born. So many glowing pregnant women and brand new mama's in my life!  I had the chance snuggle two newborns in the last 6 days...not bad! Hey, it pays to have some practicing Catholics in your life, if for nothing else, but the cuddly, cute, baby snuggles ;-) My Godson, David...and my newest nephew, Dominic :-) I just love these boys sooooo much.