Synod on the Family - A More Appropriate Outline

On October 16, Jadwiga and Jacek Pulikowski spoke to the synod fathers and asked them to "appreciate and encourage" the following:

• spouses who are faithful to each other and to God
• marriages raising many children
• responsible husbands
• mothers loving their children
• married couples who cannot have their own children but reject unethical methods of conception
• those who are left by their spouses but are still faithful to the sacramental wedding vows and live alone
• young people preparing for marriage and living in chastity
• all those who did not start own families but live alone and are faithful to the teaching of the Church.

These bulletin points seem to be a more appropriate outline for a document for the synod.

Their full speech can be viewed here.

Wisdom from the Saints: The Sermons of the Curé of Ars (20th Sunday after Pentecost)

That as soon as a woman is pregnant, she should say some prayers or give some alms. Better still, if she can do so, she should have a Mass said to ask the Blessed Virgin to take her under her protection, so that she may obtain from God the blessing that this little child may not die without having received holy Baptism. If a mother truly had the religious spirit, she would say to herself: "Ah! If I could only be sure of seeing this little child becoming a saint, of seeing him for all eternity by my side, singing the praises of God! What a joy that would be for me!"

Excerpt from this sermon was taken from Una Morrissy, trans. The Sermons of the Curé of Ars (Rockford, IL: Tan Books and Publishers, 1995), 80.

A Bishop Addresses Catholic Men

This type of leadership is refreshing. Read Bishop Thomas Olmstead's exhortation to Catholic men here. While addressed to the Catholic men of his diocese (Phoenix), it is nevertheless applicable to all Catholic men.