I read an interesting article over at the blog “Standing on My Head” It points out an interesting view of the simple supply and demand economics in the real estate market. Through history man seems always to have wanted bigger and better homes, along with extending that want to the desire for multiple homes in different locations. This demand along with a steady supply of people to buy homes has made the real estate market rise. After all they aren’t making anymore land these days, except in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Also for the past decade there was an increase in the number of people who could seemingly afford homes with the removal of previously held credit worthiness requirements. This additional group added even more people to the demand side of the real estate market helping to drive the prices up at a much faster rate.
Now much of the US is over extended with credit making it difficult to keep up with mortgage payments on high cost homes while still covering daily expenses of fuel, food, and clothing. Living paycheck to paycheck has caused many of the new market entrants to be removed from their homes at the advent of any economic blip in their life. Then when the adversity hits they are forced into a quick sale or eventual foreclosure, forcing them to address their shelter needs down other avenues. This overall change in the economic landscape has reduced the demand in the overall real estate market.
Also adding to this economic bust is a steady decline of real estate market entrants due to the countries reduced birthrate caused by contraception and abortion. The United States is barely at a replacement birthrate. Immigration could fill the gap but is not likely since it’s a hot button issue and most people looking to immigrate are not in an economic class that can afford single family homes upon their arrival. These issues will likely cause home appreciation to remain flat and possibly decrease in the foreseeable future.
The issue of contraception and abortion play directly into simple supply and demand economics. Just look at Europe. The once Christian Europe now has a replacement birthrate crisis. People are having barely 1 child per couple in many European countries well below the replacement rate. Causing a labor gap, which is currently being filled by Muslim immigrants, who as a culture, have a much greater birthrate than the Europeans. This gap in birthrate between the two cultures is slowly but surely helping Europe to lose its Christian heritage at a much quicker pace.
Contraception may be “helpful” in allowing one to have meaningless sex inside or outside of the sacrament of marriage. It will give you a 90% chance of not being confronted with the creation of a child. Although any perceived failures of the contraception will result in the creation of a child, which will be considered burdensome or inconvenient since it was conceived in the confines of a meaningless sexual act. But what contraception is really good at is causing one’s culture to be devastated both morally and economically. It just takes the average citizen half their lifetime to see the consequences, provided they are honest enough to face the blatant facts.
God save use from the evils of contraception, change the hearts in our culture to see the value of life and the design of your creation.
Adapted from “The Advantages of Natural Family Planning,” brochure by Father Paul Marx, O.S.B. Ph.D., as appears in The Facts of Life, by Brian Clowes, Ph.D., (Human Life International™, 2001), p. 98.1
(1) NFP does not interfere with the natural reproductive system and process designed by God.
(2) NFP is morally acceptable to all religions and cultures.
(3) NFP avoids the use of mechanical devices or powerful hormones which may have harmful effects.
(4) NFP is among the most effective methods of nonpermanent fertility regulation known when learned and used properly — up to 99 percent, as described in, “Contraception.”
(5) NFP is virtually free of charge, whereas contraceptive and abortifacient methods cost anywhere from $616 to $2,520 U.S. dollars annually. This point is particularly crucial in areas of developing countries where health care is rudimentary and expensive.
(6) NFP strengthens marriage and family. It allows husband and wife to have the dignity of actual stewardship of the gift of fertility according to their unique circumstances. It fosters sexual self-control, which is central and essential to human freedom, true love and maturity. It also sets a good example of chastity in married life for teenaged children.
(7) NFP is aesthetic. Of all of the methods of fertility regulation, only NFP allows the couple to make love as God and nature intended. It is amusing that “lovemaking manuals” try to work condoms, diaphragms, and various messy jams and jellies into the act of making love — “getting rigged to make love,” as one noted gynecologist calls it. It is an enduring contradiction that many of the same people who pride themselves on the “natural” aspects of their lives don’t hesitate to pollute their bodies with drugs and devices, and cannot let the most intimate aspect of their existence be truly natural and human.
(8) Finally, NFP, unlike all contraceptive and abortifacient methods, lets women and men learn about their bodies and work with them, rather than remaining ignorant and subduing them with chemicals. And NFP allows husbands to more intimately understand the psychology of their wives by understanding the nature of their menstrual cycles.
1 HLI always reminds couples that NFP is not simply a method of “natural” birth control. The Church clearly teaches that NFP is the only method couples may use to space births, but even this method is to be employed only “for grave reasons.” In our pastoral care of engaged couples, we must make sure that they understand the mind of the Church on this matter. Note the teaching from Humanae Vitae, paragraph 16, which says: If, then, there are serious motives for spacing births, motives deriving from physical or psychological condition of husband or wife, or from external circumstances, the Church teaches that it is then permissible to take into account the natural rhythms immanent in the generative functions and to make use of marriage during the infertile times only, and in this way to regulate births without offending the moral principles that we have just recalled.
Q: What is the difference between a couple who uses contraception NOT to get pregnant and a couple who uses Natural Family Planning NOT to get pregnant? Aren’t they both contracepting?
A: No. There is an intrinsic difference between these two acts. One is preventing conception by a deliberate act, and the other is avoiding conception by cooperation with nature. Both have the same result of not producing a baby, but they achieve this result by very different means. The end does not justify the means; rather the right means lead to the right ends, Thus, when it is necessary to avoid a pregnancy for grave reasons, the Church teaches that there is only one moral way to get there, the natural way.
The difference between natural and artificial birth prevention can be likened to the difference between tax evasion and tax avoidance. Both acts lead to a reduction in the taxes paid, but one is illegal and the other is legal. For example, in tax evasion I am committing a fraud by a deliberate attempt to cheat the system of its due. (I am morally obliged to contribute to the common good.) In tax avoidance I am using the various possibilities for tax reduction that the system itself provides in order to avoid some of its costs. There is a world of difference between the two methods, even though in both cases I am paying fewer taxes.1
The human reproductive system has a built-in system of avoiding pregnancy. God built into the woman’s body cycles of fertility and infertility so pregnancy would not result from every sexual act. By learning the natural cycles of fertility, a couple may morally avoid conceiving a baby when they have a serious reason to do so. Conversely, a couple may also use the knowledge to achieve pregnancy.
The morality of the act has to take into account the intention as well as the method. The immoral intention of artificial contraception is birth prevention while the moral intention of Natural Family Planning is birth avoidance using the natural cycles of fertility. With the one, couples take “control” of the sexual function and nullify or sterilize it. Hence the name birth “control.” It turns the divine command “Be fruitful and multiply” right on its head. In the other, the couple cooperates with the natural system consisting of both fertile and infertile periods. If, however, a couple were to use NFP without grave reason for avoiding pregnancy, then their intention would be contraceptive by definition and therefore also gravely immoral. This is a distinction that even many teachers of NFP do not clarify for couples when they teach it, but it is the clear teaching of the Church that couples must not use NFP for “natural” contraception.
We can explain it another way. It all comes down to the “mentality” with which one uses the gift of human sexuality. If couples are masters and controllers of the sexual function, they will be engaging in immoral sex because they will be preventing births with their own selfish designs in mind. However, if they are stewards of God’s gift of sexuality in marriage, they cooperate with the Lord and become channels of His life to the world.
1 The American tax system allows deductions for each dependent child in the family. I know a pro-lifer in the U.S. who has nine children and as a result pays no taxes at all!
Lately I’ve seen “Catholics” who say they can vote for Obama even with his stance on abortion because he opposes the war. On its face the argument sounds good, but does it hold water, or is it just lipstick on a pig?
Fact 1: The Catholic Church has an official opinion condemning abortion in all cases. The Catholic Church has no official opinion on the Iraq war.
Fact 2: Those who are killed by abortion have no say in the matter and are unable to protect themselves. Those killed in the Iraq war volunteered for their service and in most cases are well prepared and have the ability to protect themselves
Fact 3: As of today there have been 4472 allied forces (4158 US) killed in the Iraq war and 87,000 to 96,000 unconfirmed Iraqi civilian deaths. So let’s estimate 100,000 deaths thus far since March of 2003 in the Iraq war. According to the Centers for Disease Control there were 854,122 “legal” induced abortions in the United States in 2003 alone. So abortion kills at a rate of 8 to 1 in one year what the Iraq ware has done in 6 years. Need I remind you that abortion has been legal since 1973 and as of today the National Right to Life organization estimates the number at 48,589,993. That’s 48.5 MILLION.
Yes war is ugly, yes war should be avoided, yes war ruins young vibrant lives. But, abortion is so much worse, and it kills defenseless human beings. If you want to get statistical about it, abortion just in the United States, not including deaths by contraception, and deaths of mothers who died during their abortion (yes it does happen), abortions kills at the rate of 485 to 1 as compared to the Iraq war.
This argument does not hold water, it is nothing but a farce. People vote for candidates for all kinds of reasons but I do not see how anyone who calls themselves a Catholic, can vote for Barak Obama, or any Pro-Abortion candidate. If you can’t bring yourself to vote for another candidate then I would suggest abstaining.
May God Bless You, and may God Bless our political process.
This year once again the Bishops have been unable to come to an agreement on a proper translation of the prayers said at Mass, in the United States, in the vernacular. For almost 40 years we have been using poor prayer translations in the Catholic Mass attended by the vast majority of church going Catholics. This issue is one of the larger objections “traditionalists” have against the Novus Ordo Mass.
In the recent USCCB conference held last month the Bishops were unable to come to a 2/3rds majority agreement in order to accept the new translation that is more true to the original Latin prayers. The Bishops have been arguing over the proposed updated translation provided by ICEL (International Commission for English) for the past decade. Also considering the voting is done by secret ballot so there is no way for you to know how your Bishop voted.
There have been arguments over using words like ineffable, gibbet, and wrought. A long time critic of the new translation Bishop Trautman said the text’s preference was to mimic the longer sentence structure of the Latin, and featured long sentences with a large number of dependent clauses and impedes the understanding in English. Trautman said “John and Mary Catholic have a right to have prayer texts that are clear and understandable. The document before us needs further work.”
This is very interesting considering the word ineffable is used 25 times within the USCCB website. Ineffable is used in the Catechism, in at least 10 magisterial documents in the past century, in the New American Bible, 2 Cor. 12:4, and a USCCB document of “Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America”
I think John and Mary Catholic are smart enough to look up a word if they don’t know its meaning. I think it’s high time the Bishops stopped trying to dumb things down and teach up to their laity. This lay person can even use ineffable in a sentence.
I think it is ineffable that the Bishops have allowed us to use poor English translations in the Mass for the past 4 decades.
In case you didn’t know, since we don’t always hear about contraception from the pulpit, contraception in many instances also acts as an abortifacient. This is one of the reasons the Church teachs against contraception.
How is this? In simple terms the birth control pill makes the lining of the uterus very thin and does not always stop ovulation. In cases where ovulation is not stopped eggs can be ferilized by sperm. The pill also causes a reduction in the thickness of the wall of the uterus. This means a fertilized egg, i.e. a human person, dies because it cannot implant itself to the uterus wall and is passed through in menstration. If you are trying to prevent pregnancy by use of the pill and sexually active you are undoubtably also causing fertilized eggs, i.e. human beings, to be aborted. You may not have known that until now but now you do, take action, stop the use of the pill in your marriage and get to confession. If your using the pill outside of marriage then you have other issues for another post.
We all need to make sure we stay in physical and spiritual shape. Some of us even need to work on our Catholic "Buts". Have you ever heard yourself say any of the following statements or something similar? If so, you need to work on your Catholic "But"
I’m Catholic, but I believe in a woman’s right to choose.
I’m Catholic, but masturbation is okay.
I’m Catholic, but if you miss a Holy Day of Obligation it’s no big deal.
I’m Catholic, but I believe women can be priests.
I’m Catholic, but you don’t need to go to a priest to have your sins forgiven.
I’m Catholic, but I think whatever two consenting adults do in the bedroom is okay.
I’m Catholic, but the Church is wrong about contraception.
I’m Catholic, but I don’t believe in the Real Presence.
I’m Catholic, but no sex before marriage is not realistic.
I’m Catholic, but a little pornography here and there doesn’t hurt anyone.
I’m Catholic, but Mary was not a perpetual virgin, Jesus had brothers.
In 1965 the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut the court ruled that the US Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. By a vote of 7-2, the Supreme Court invalidated the law on the grounds that it violated the "right to marital privacy". The case was brought forward by our dear friends at Planned Parenthood who’s program director had discussed contraception with a married couple, and got a doctor to prescribed the couple a birth-control device.
The majority of the Court summarized their ruling by saying, "Would we allow the police to search the sacred precincts of marital bedrooms for telltale signs of the use of contraceptives? The very idea is repulsive to the notions of privacy…."
However, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart disagreed saying that he could find no "right of privacy" in the Constitution of the United States and wrote in his dissent in the case, "Since 1879 Connecticut has had on its books a law which forbids the use of contraceptives by anyone…. What provision of the Constitution, then, makes this state law invalid? The Court says it is the right of privacy ‘created by several fundamental constitutional guarantees.’
The world was told that contraception would bring;
1. Worry Free Sex without consequences
2. Stabilize Marriages through increased control over family planning
3. Lower the Divorce Rate
4. Prevent Crisis Pregnancy
5. Prevent Child Abuse
6. Reduce Poverty through Population Control
7. Prevent Abortion
8. Protect against Sexually Transmitted Diseases
So what has this landmark decision by the Supreme Court and a contracepting society brought to our country since 1965?
1. The divorce rate has doubled since the ruling
2. Cohabitation has now become acceptable in society
3. Increased single parent homes has gone from 9% to 30% (children living with one parent)
4. Legal abortion came within 8 years of the ruling (after all what are we to do when contraception fails)
5. 60% of Abortions are due to failed contraception
6. Fertility rates have dropped significantly and are now barely above the replacement rate
7. Unmarried households with children have increased from approx 150,000 to 1,800,000
8. 2/3rds of adults disagree with the statement "the main rational for marriage is children"
Maybe its time for the world to brush the dust off Pope Paul VI’s encyclical Humanae Vitae which will be 40 years old this July 25th. Humane Vitae can now be found at www.GetToMass.com under the Documents & Writings menu.
I read an interesting article over at the blog “Standing on My Head” It points out an interesting view of the simple supply and demand economics in the real estate market. Through history man seems always to have wanted bigger and better homes, along with extending that want to the desire for multiple homes in different locations. This demand along with a steady supply of people to buy homes has made the real estate market rise. After all they aren’t making anymore land these days, except in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
We all need to make sure we stay in physical and spiritual shape. Some of us even need to work on our Catholic "Buts". Have you ever heard yourself say any of the following statements or something similar? If so, you need to work on your Catholic "But"
In 1965 the Supreme Court case Griswold v. Connecticut the court ruled that the US Constitution protected a right to privacy. The case involved a Connecticut law that prohibited the use of contraceptives. By a vote of 7-2, the Supreme Court invalidated the law on the grounds that it violated the "right to marital privacy". The case was brought forward by our dear friends at Planned Parenthood who’s program director had discussed contraception with a married couple, and got a doctor to prescribed the couple a birth-control device.
The USCCB is Ineffable
In the recent USCCB conference held last month the Bishops were unable to come to a 2/3rds majority agreement in order to accept the new translation that is more true to the original Latin prayers. The Bishops have been arguing over the proposed updated translation provided by ICEL (International Commission for English) for the past decade. Also considering the voting is done by secret ballot so there is no way for you to know how your Bishop voted.
There have been arguments over using words like ineffable, gibbet, and wrought. A long time critic of the new translation Bishop Trautman said the text’s preference was to mimic the longer sentence structure of the Latin, and featured long sentences with a large number of dependent clauses and impedes the understanding in English. Trautman said “John and Mary Catholic have a right to have prayer texts that are clear and understandable. The document before us needs further work.”
This is very interesting considering the word ineffable is used 25 times within the USCCB website. Ineffable is used in the Catechism, in at least 10 magisterial documents in the past century, in the New American Bible, 2 Cor. 12:4, and a USCCB document of “Norms for the Distribution and Reception of Holy Communion Under Both Kinds in the Dioceses of the United States of America”
I think John and Mary Catholic are smart enough to look up a word if they don’t know its meaning. I think it’s high time the Bishops stopped trying to dumb things down and teach up to their laity. This lay person can even use ineffable in a sentence.
I think it is ineffable that the Bishops have allowed us to use poor English translations in the Mass for the past 4 decades.