The Catechism in a Year (with Fr. Mike Schmitz) - Day 310: The Gift of a Child (2024)

Episode Date: November 5, 2024

Children are a gift from God. Children have integrity and rights. With these key principles in mind, Fr. Mike reviews the Catechism’s teachings about marriage, family, child bearing, sterility, and adoption. Because “a child is not something owed to one but is a gift”, we must protect the dignity of the child at the forefront of all decisions. Today’s readings are Catechism paragraphs 2373-2379. This episode has been found to be in conformity with the Catechism by the Institute on the Catechism, under the Subcommittee on the Catechism, USCCB. For the complete reading plan, visit ascensionpress.com/ciy Please note: The Catechism of the Catholic Church contains adult themes that may not be suitable for children - parental discretion is advised.

Hi, my name is Father Mike Schmitz and you're listening to the Catechism in a Year podcast where we encounter God's plan of sheer goodness for us, revealed in scripture and passed down through the tradition of the Catholic faith. The Catechism in a Year is brought to you by Ascension. In 365 days, we'll read through the Catechism of the Catholic Church, discovering our identity in God's family as we journey together toward our heavenly home. This is day 310. We're reading paragraphs 2373 to 2379.

As always, I'm using the Ascension edition of the Catechism, which includes the Foundations of Faith approach. But you can follow along with any recent version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. You can also download your own Catechism in a year reading plan for the last 55 days. If you want to, you can go to ascensionpress.com slash C I Y, and you can click follow or subscribe in your podcast app for daily updates and daily

notifications, just the last quick. Thank you for all those who have supported the production of this podcast with your prayers. Thank you so much. Your financial gifts. We could not literally could not do this podcast without you. Thank you so much to get us here today. Three 10.

As I said, we're reading paragraph 2373 to 2379 yesterday. We talked about the fecundity of marriage and conjugal fidelity. So faithfulness, remember we had those four marks of God's love. The four marks of God's love are God's love is always free, total, faithful and fruitful. And so we recognize that here in paragraph 2364 and 65,

the faithfulness of marriage, that's a essential part of this love. Also fecundity and that fruitfulness is an end of marriage and so it naturally tends to be fruitful. Now, what do you mean by fruitful? Well, today, we're looking at 2373 and 2379 is the gift of a child. And so today we're gonna actually take a couple paragraphs

and talk about what is that gift? And not only what is the gift of a child but because children, not just children in general, but every child each and every child because each and every child is a gift and has a dignity. is intrinsically connected to the sexual act. Because of that, there is a massive boundary, I say, or even protection around children. Since children are a gift, and since the creation of a child is intrinsically connected to the reality of the sexual act, there is, again, there's a thick and powerful boundary protecting that dignity of each and every child

and connecting them to the sexual act as well as preserving the integrity of the sexual act for the sake of what? Not just for the sake of the sexual act, for the sake of persons, right? For the sake of the dignity of each and every person. If that doesn't make any sense to you, it's going to make sense hopefully

as we read these paragraphs. Let's launch into today. I know the last couple of days have been long days, so let's hopefully as we read these paragraphs. Let's launch into today. I know the last couple days have been long days, so let's see what we can do today. Let's pray. Father in heaven, we give you praise and glory and thank you. Thank you for bringing us to this moment, bringing us to this day. Today 310. Lord God, thank you so much for revealing to us truly what our gifts, the gift of life and the gift of family, the gift of friendship, the gift of love.

Thank you for the gift of conjugal love in the context of marriage. Thank you so much for all those people who have been called to marriage. Amidst trials, amidst thorns, amidst thistles, amidst the burdens of life, we thank you for the blessings of life. And amidst the struggles of life,

we also thank you for the gift of life. And amidst the struggles of life, we also thank you for the gift of life. And in the midst of the dangers of life, we thank you for the gift of children. Thank you for the gift of children. We pray this day for all those who have children, for all those who do not have children. We thank you and praise you. And we ask you to please, Lord God bless all of those who

long for children and all those who fear the presence of children in their lives. Help us all to take on your lens to see as you see and to see that every child, every human life is a gift from you. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. It is day 310. We are reading paragraphs 2373 to 2379. The Gift of a Child. Sacred Scripture and the Church's traditional practice

see in large families a sign of God's blessing and the parents' generosity. Couples who discover that they are sterile suffer greatly. What will you give me?' asks Abraham of God, for I continue childless. And Rachel cries to her husband Jacob, "'Give me children or I shall die.'" Research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged, on condition that it is placed at the service of the human person, of his inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God. Techniques that entail the disassociation of husband and wife by the intrusion of a person other than the couple—donation of sperm or ovum, surrogate uterus—are gravely

immoral. These techniques—heterologous, artificial insemination, and fertilization—infringe the child's right to be born of a father and mother known to him and bound to each other by marriage. They betray the spouse's right to become a father and a mother only through each other. Techniques involving only the married couple, homologous artificial insemination and fertilization, are perhaps less reprehensible, yet remain morally unacceptable. They dissociate the sexual act from the procreative act. The act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give

themselves to one another, but one that entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists, and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person. Such a relationship of domination is in itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children. Under the moral aspect, procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act, that is to say, of the specific act of the spouse's union.

Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person. A child is not something owed to one, but is a gift. The supreme gift of marriage is a human person. A child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged right to a child would lead. In this area, only the child possesses genuine rights—the right to be the fruit of the specific act of the conjugal love of his parents, and the right to be respected as a person

from the moment of his conception. The Gospel shows that physical sterility is not an absolute evil. Spouses who still suffer from infertility after exhausting legitimate medical procedures should unite themselves with the Lord's Cross, the source of all spiritual fecundity. They can give expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others. Okay, there we have it, paragraphs 2373 to 23 79 as we've been saying as I've been saying for the last number of days The sixth commandment touches on a lot of topics that are very close close to our hearts right close basically Hmm, we can feel the pinch right we can feel this squeeze of God's commandments in our lives

And sometimes that squeeze sometimes that pinch is not very comfortable in fact the sixth commandment touches on so many things that are so, again, just lack of a better phrase, close to the human heart. Yesterday we talked talking about contraception, the day before talking about same sex attraction, the day before that, or before that talking about

sexual assault, all of these issues are so deep and so profound and again, they touch on the human heart in such a way that we have to be careful whenever we talk about them. And at the same time, I think it's worth just noting that we have to talk about these things. It's worth noting that, okay, what is the church's teaching? So let's start at the very beginning in paragraph 2373.

It says, very clearly, sacred scripture and the church's traditional practice see in large families a sign of God's blessing and the parents generosity. And let's like just pause for a moment on that because I know I sometimes talk to parents of families that are not necessarily large and they say, oh, you know, we've only got X number of kids. I'm not even going to say a number. We've only got X number of kids and I know people are thinking that we're not Catholic enough because we only have X number. Like maybe that's the case. Maybe that's what someone has said.

Maybe that's what you think. But I think sometimes we get really sensitive about areas where we're not quite sure. Right, I mean sometimes we're sensitive about things we're just sensitive about, right? Like you know those things, maybe you have this, maybe I don't think I'm the only one, but you have those things about your appearance

that you notice every time you walk by a mirror, or you have those things about your appearance that you notice every time, like, just go out for the day. And if someone were to look at you, they would never even notice that thing, right? But you're extra sensitive about it, like that, you know what I'm saying?

I think sometimes a lot of life and a lot of the spiritual life, a lot of kind of the sense of, remember the church doesn't say you have to have a certain number of children in order to be Catholic. It doesn't say that at all. In fact, we talked about this,

how the church encourages responsible parenthood, the responsible parenting. And so that means that the parents themselves, you get to decide that, okay, is this a time that we need to space out the births of our children? Now, again, called upon to be as generous as possible, but at the same time,

that is between the couple and the Lord, right? So just that's essentially the church's teaching here. At the same time, the church does see in large families a sign of God's blessing. I mean, this is, it goes back to the Bible where it just in large families a sign of God's blessing I mean this is goes back to the Bible where it just that's a sign of God's blessing Also, it is a sign of parents generosity I was with a family the other day a couple months ago that I believe they have 16 children

16 children and now eight of those children are biological children eight of those children are adopted children They are all all 16 are their children. And that is an incredible sign of God's generosity because that family can handle it. And being with that family, it's like, wow, you do handle this really, really well. There's a lot of joy in that family. There's a lot of love in that family.

And yet you could find another family that says, wow, we are having a really, really hard time handling two or really, really hard time handling three. Like, I understand, believe believe me I understand this the recognition is what can you do there is no can the church doesn't give you a number and says this is the number to shoot for obviously 16 is quite a large number then that that's kind of obvious right that's that's on the level of like whoa that not everyone can do that and I don't think everyone's called to do that

At the same time that's a blessing. It's a sign of God's blessing It's a sign of parents generosity that doesn't mean that if you have three that's a sign that you're selfish You know I'm saying okay yet. We're just affirming this we're affirming that large families are a good But also we're affirming this family is a good a good. But also we're affirming this, family is a good. So much so, family is such a good, children are such a good that paragraph 2374 notes this and this is something that no one needs to be reminded of because we know that this is true because this is the reality of so many people's lives. Couples who discover that they're sterile suffer greatly. And this is the story of Scripture, right?

Here's Abraham and Sarah, here's Rachel and Jacob and they find themselves and there's so many people in the in the New Testament in the Old Testament I mean so many people who find themselves unable to have children and it breaks their heart and so many people in our lives In our lives, they find they're unable to have children and it breaks their heart I mean you can Rachel cries out to her husband Jacob give me children or I shall die there is something so profound about that desire for children that would in In some ways can drive a couple to do almost anything almost anything to just Let us have a child and so paragraph 2375 says the research aimed at reducing human sterility is to be encouraged And then that's that's a good thing, but there's a condition there.

Remember, because the child is a gift, because the child, the dignity of the child needs to be protected as much as possible, that research needs to be conditions placed on it that is at the service of the human person. Now, not necessarily, strictly speaking, the service of the mom and dad, but at the service of the human person, the child.

The child's inalienable rights, and his true and integral good according to the design and will of God. So therefore, there are certain things, like for example, surrogate parenthood, that is prohibited, it's gravely immoral. Such things as artificial insemination are gravely immoral. Those are our sins, why? Well, in a technical sense, they're sins because they separate the procreative act

from the unitive act. And because of that, they're gravely immoral. And the last sentence here in paragraph 2377 says, under the moral aspect, procreation is deprived of its proper perfection when it is not willed as the fruit of the conjugal act. So again, procreation and the unity have to be together. That is to say, of the specific act of the spouse's union. This is key line. Only respect for the link between the meanings of the conjugal act and respect for the unity of the human being

make possible procreation in conformity with the dignity of the person. Again, this is one of those remarkable things where so many of us, at least in our culture, I think, so many of us were concerned with, and not unrightly so, not wrongly so, we're concerned with the parents, we're concerned with the potential parents. We want their good and we want their happiness. We want them to have this good thing,

this gift of a child, and yet the church is saying, yes, yes, pay attention to that. And if we can have some research that helps couples have this good thing, this gift of a child, and yet the church is saying, yes, yes, pay attention to that. And if we can have some research that helps couples achieve pregnancy in the context of the conjugal act, then wonderful, so good. At the same time, there is another person involved in here, and the other person involved is the child. And paragraph 2378 highlights this.

It highlights the fact that a child is not something owed to a person but as a gift That that no one has a right to a child and that there's something painful about that, right? But to stop and say wait a second Here are couples that long for a child and again, I'm not talking in an abstract way. I Know couples. I am related to way. I know couples, I'm related to couples, I love couples who are in the midst of this, here we're trying and we're trying and we're trying. And couples who have said, why is it that here we are, we're doing everything right and hearing stories of people who

you know, here's a unintended pregnancy outside of wedlock and like, what the heck is going on here? Where here we're trying to do everything right in the context of marriage, we're trying to do everything right in the context of the Lord's and the church's teaching. And yet here we are, we find ourselves childless. That is a real pain and a just, man, I'm just pleased, hear this.

This is not simply a teaching that is just black and white. It's not simply objective. It's not simply, it's not heartless. And yet at the same time, can we all hear this? Can we all hear that a child may not be considered a piece of property, an idea to which an alleged right to a child would lead? Again, if I have a right to a child,

then that, the temptation of course, or the place it would lead potentially, and maybe maybe even certainly is to see that this is my child as opposed to this is a child who I did not have a right to but is simply simply a gift. I think that there's something powerful about this I think there's something like if we could step back for one moment and say, wait, there is a dangerous place that this could lead, the idea that husband and wife have a right to a child. It could be really dangerous because then,

they're mine, but they're not. It goes on to say, the child, only the child, possesses genuine rights. Have you ever thought about that? I've never thought about that before. Only the child possesses genuine rights, and those genuine rights are the right to be the fruit of the specific act

of the conjugal love of his parents. The right to be respected as a person from the moment of his conception. That's the only, the only person who has a right in this situation is the child. And they have a right to be born of simply to be a gift. They have the right to be a gift. They have the right to be respected as a person, as a gift, not as a right,

from the moment of conception. Now, paragraph 2379 highlights that the Gospel shows that physical stability is not an absolute evil. That, yes, it is a result of the fall. It is a result of living in a broken world. But spouses who suffer from infertility after exhausting legitimate medical procedures, what are we called to do? It's what we're all called to do.

We're called to unite ourselves with the Lord's cross, the source of all spiritual fruitfulness. Every one of us, again, remember, remember this is not us and them, this is every one of us. Every one of us is called to be a saint and that means every one of us in this broken world is called to unite our sufferings, those broken parts of our lives that are so painful and so achy and so wounded that it seems like there is no way for this to be healed and sometimes it isn't healed and when it isn't healed

What is the church telling us to do what Jesus told us to do to pick up our cross follow after him? We can all of us unite ourselves in the greatest pain of our lives What is the greatest pain of your life? You and I are called are called to take that and say okay God use this You and I are called, are called to take that and say, okay, God, use this, unite this with you on the cross. This is me in pain. Let me be united with you on the cross. And finally, it says paragraph 2379 that these couples,

any couple, but these couples can give, can give expression to their generosity by adopting abandoned children or performing demanding services for others. I know again, couples who have done this, couples who have said, this is the cross the Lord has called us to and so how do we open our hearts? How do we open our homes? Here we are, individuals who long to be parents without children. Well there are children who long to have parents but don't. Maybe we can find each other. Maybe we can find each other.

Maybe we can find each other. Maybe we can let God bring us together. And maybe we can love the way we know we're called to love. Because that's what all of us are called to do. We're all called to love. We're called to love in the context. I know it sounds like it's the cards we've been dealt, but because that sounds so random and chancy. But let's say it like that. We've been called to love with the cards we've been dealt because that sounds so random and chancy

But let's say it like that. We've been called to love with the cards. We've been dealt We've been called to love in the circumstances in which we find ourselves We're called to love in the midst of whatever cross it is. We find ourselves carrying. That's all of us So please know on this day gosh, I don't know. I don't know if this seems so insensitive. I don't think it is. I think it's just life I think it's just reality and I think it's just that holding on to this Let's protect the dignity of children by realizing that no one has a right to a child The only one who has a right in this is the child and they have a right to a mom and a dad They have a right to not be property but to be a gift

But for all those who experience this pain, you're part of this community, you're part of the church. God loves you, He has not forgotten you, He has not abandoned you. He is there in the midst of your suffering, in the midst of your heartbreak, in the midst of your grief, He is there and He's calling you, okay, look up.

Look up and what's the next step? What is the next and He's calling you. Okay, look up. Look up and what's the next step? What is the next step He's calling you to? Simply say yes, knowing that He's there. Let's pray for each other, because that's where we find ourselves. I am praying for you. Please pray for me. My name is Father Mike, I cannot wait to see you tomorrow.

God bless.