The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Bringing Children into a Broken World

Episode Date: January 15, 2021

What the world needs now, is love. Today, Jeff debunks 3 reasons for not wanting to bring children into this broken world, using scripture and the example of St. Zelie and St. Louis Martin. Snippet from the Show “Every time you give birth to a child, you are giving birth to a new image of God on the earth… that’s what the world needs now, is love.” Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail] Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 201. I don't want to bring children into this world. Really? Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Thanks for joining me again this week in the midst of all the things that are happening in this world with COVID and a political situation. It's kind of nice to just come out here into the woods once and a while in the cabin deep in the woods of Minnesota to spend just a few minutes with you

talking about the issues that we're facing today and how we can become really better activated disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. I don't know of a time in recent history where it's been more important for the people of God to live in a way that they're imitating Jesus, that they are bringing light to the world and acting like salt in this society. And it's needed more than ever right now. I want to talk to you today about a phrase that I have heard not once, not twice, not three times, but I've actually heard this phrase a number of times recently, and that is the phrase, I don't want to bring children into this world. Maybe you've heard that as well. Maybe you've even said that. I've heard this in the

course of discussions with some of my friends and hearing about different people in my life and on social media saying, you know, things are going so bad in the world right now, and it looks like it looks like things are going to go south, and I just can't imagine bringing a child into the world at this particular time. We hear it an awful lot, and I don't know if people realize what they are saying. And these are the same people who have fought for the unborn, arguing that any child in the womb is precious and created in the image and likeness of God, and we need to give them a chance and fight for their life. We say that on one hand, and on the other hand, we say, I don't want to bring any children into the world at this particular time. And I think

sometimes people say that because of their economic situation. Sometimes people say that because of the political situation. They may say that because of their job situation, whatever it might be. We want to take a look at that today and kind of go deep into that. and see, is that really the attitude that the people of God should have? I've got some scriptures for you today and a few quotes, and I'll put those in the show notes. And if you want to get a hold of the show notes, all you have to do is text my name, Jeff Kavens, and text it to the number 33777. That's it. 3377, and we'll get those show notes to you for this show, and all the shows.

in the future. Hey, I'm still kind of blown away by the podcast that Father Mike Schmitz and I are doing, reading through the Bible in a year, taking every day and reading scripture, and we're going to cover the entire Bible in a year. This is fantastic, and the response we're getting is, to be honest with you, it's a little overwhelming at times. It's like, wow, what is the Lord doing here? If you would like to read through the Bible with us, I encourage you. you to go to ascensionpress.com, and I'll put the link in the show notes for you, and you can jump on board. Love, love to have you. Well, the statistics show that people are not having children in the last year, and one of the major reasons is that they just can't see having children in the

midst of this particular situation that we find ourselves in. You know, that's not really new, because in 9-11, after 9-11, a lot of people were saying that. They were saying there's no way I'm going to have children right now because it's just plain too difficult to raise children. And I don't know what the world is really going to look like. I said this before on a previous podcast that this 200-plus year experiment, if you will, of democracy in the United States is actually a very short period of time. and when you look at all the other periods of world history, there's difficulty. They are going through

some rough times. And in the midst of that, some amazing people have been born, people who have changed the world, but even more than that, people who just were born and created in the image and likeness of God. My wife and I were talking in prayer the other morning about how blessed we are to have three children. We have three daughters. And we've noticed that those people who didn't have children who are growing old experience a certain loneliness. And I think that having children when you are old is a comfort. You have somebody who's going to comfort you and be with you. And that's a nice perk, but that's not the main focus of my discussion today. What I'd like to do is really look at the attitude that we have and the results of that attitude. If you have said to your spouse,

I don't want to have children right now, what kind of attitude does that really reflect? Sometimes I don't think we really understand our attitude until we step back and really take a look at it. There's a couple of points here when it comes to the attitude of we don't want children at this time that are pretty revealing. One is that we have the attitude that life should have no problems. Life should have no problems, or at least life should not have big problems, right? No problems or big problems. We kind of feel that, you know, that life shouldn't, and that we should have a clear road to prosperity and good health and, you know, just everything going great. Two and a half children, white picket fence, beautiful home, two cars, the whole thing.

But when we look at the gospel, and we look at the writings of Paul and Peter, we see that this issue of suffering in life and going through difficult times is really just a part of life. It is part of life. Jesus said in John 1633, he said, I have said these things to you that in me, you may have peace. Okay, that's good for the first half of the verse. And the second half of the verse says, in the world, you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.

So Jesus, in one verse, talks about how he wants us to experience peace, but that peace will be experienced in a world that is experiencing tribulation. He gives us the good news that I have overcome the world. And so if we have the attitude that I'm not going to bring children into this world because there's so much tribulation, we kind of leave off the fact that he said, hey, guys, I've overcome the world. Okay? In other words, you can live with peace in this world, even though everything around you might be falling apart. It's not an excuse. He has overcome the world. another attitude that we that we carry is that I don't want to suffer if my children are going to suffer and Peter really addresses this when he when he says in first Peter chapter two in verse 21 he said for this or for to this you have been called because Christ also suffered for

you leaving you an example so that you might follow in his steps. That's beautiful. Peter is saying that we are going to walk with suffering in our life, and we know what to do with it. We know that we can offer it up in union with Christ. And all you have to do is read Colossians 124 and meditate on that, and you'll come up with another answer. I'll leave that to you for homework. But we have the idea that, well, if I'm going to have children, I don't want them to walk in this example that Jesus left. He left us an example that we might follow in his footsteps. And when we say that we do not want to bring children into this world, we're saying,

I don't want my children to have to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. And that's wrong. That's missing the point. That's not the gospel. That's not the way the world changes. When you think about it, it's kind of crazy in a way, isn't it? Lord, I want to bring children into America, and I want them to have a good government and good health care program and a good retirement,

and I want them to live in the burbs and send their kids to great schools. And yet Jesus says, I left you an example of how to live in difficult times. those of you who fought for the children in the womb, you are saying that every single life was important, and no matter how difficult that child finds life due to a handicap or some kind of obstacle in their life, you have argued that it's worth it. You've said that it's worth it. You picketed that it was worth it. You stood in front of the abortion clinics saying it's worth it. And we need to bring that same attitude into our decision to be fruitful and multiply. The very first commandment of the Bible, in Hebrew, Poo-U-Ravu, be fruitful and multiply. I would suggest that every

young Catholic family get busy Poo-U-Ravuing. Be fruitful and multiply. And I want to ask you a question. Do you believe that God has a plan for every child? or do you think that just having children is a matter of giving birth and avoiding problems, putting up with life? I believe that God has a plan for every child. In fact, the very first paragraph of the catechism says that God has a plan of sheer goodness. You see, as Christians, that's the perspective that we live from, is that God has a plan of sheer goodness. And as you look back on world history, you can literally say at any point in world history that I don't want to bring children into this world. You can pick out a few years in world history where everything was

honky-dory, which is Greek for very good. You can say that, but the truth is that most generations experience hardships and difficulties in their family, economically, politically. And I love what the psalmist says in Psalm 118, 24. This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. And as Christians, we can say that about every single day. Every day of 2020 in the last year, we could say that. This is the day the Lord has made.

I'm going to rejoice, and I'm going to be glad in it. You see, every time you give birth to a child, you are giving birth to a new image of God in the earth. You're giving birth to another person who is going to bear that image of God and is going to be tasked with living the life of Jesus in a world that is broken and desperately needs Jesus. And my friend, that's what the world needs now is love. go ahead, sing this song. What the world needs now is more images of God in the world, in your neighborhood, at work, in your family. You see, we cannot agree that darkness overcomes. We know that there's darkness in the world, but we also know that God's life overcomes the darkness. He has defeated darkness. He has the victory.

Let me ask you a question. Do you think the world is better without people like you? Think about that for a moment. Do you think that the world is better off today, would be better off today without people like you? I hope not. I think you probably have contributed much to the world. And if you take a moment to take stock and go back over your life and the decisions you made, where you move to, your encounters at work, the world is a better place. You know, George Bailey, in It's a Wonderful Life, had to deal with this. He had to deal with this, and at the beginning of the film, which is a Christmas classic, George Bailey is depressed because it's on the heels of a major bank collapse, and his life is falling apart.

And it's Christmas time. It's a very difficult time, and his bank has collapsed, and he is falling into a depression. He's falling into a pit. And you know what he says? He says, I suppose it would be better if I had never been born. Born at all. George Bailey. Do you remember what Clarence said, the angel?

Clarence said, what did you say? And George yells back, I wish I'd never been born. but then the angel takes George back and he looks at his life without him being a part of his wife and children and everybody else. And what's his conclusion is, it's a wonderful life. It's a wonderful life. And in fact, this movie has become a yearly Christmas special about being born into difficulty. And we watch it every year because it reflects the life of Jesus who was born into a really a difficult time in life, right?

A very, very difficult time. Well, we have to ask ourselves, what if Mary had never been born, the Blessed Virgin Mary? What if she had never been born? What would the world be like if the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Joseph got together, and they thought, you know, this is not a good idea. I'm not going to say, be it done unto me according to your will, Father, because I don't want to go through this, and I don't want my son to go through what he is going to go through. That would be very, very difficult.

Well, let me ask you this. What if Zellie Martin had said to her husband, Luis, what if she had said, I'm not talking about the Martins like Dean Martin, Steve Martin. If we had Dean Martin, we wouldn't have those beautiful songs. If we didn't have Steve Martin, we wouldn't have walk like an Egyptian, Mary Martin and Peter Pan, or Curtis Martin in Focus, or Ralph Martin with his great evangelistic efforts in renewal ministry, renew ministry. What Martins am I talking about? Well, I'm talking about the Martins that had to make a decision about having a child. And I'll introduce you to the Martins right after this. Hi, I'm Sonia Corbett, the Bible study of Angelista. When I became Catholic,

I had a really hard time understanding the role Mary was supposed to play in my life. So I went to her and I told her, I just don't get it. I need your help. And guess what? Mary did just that. She showed me a way to pray that has revolutionized my entire life. Mary has been called the mother of listening. She didn't just hear the word. She knew how to hear it in light of her own relationships, circumstances, and habits. And then she let the word transform her. I realized that I had to share what I was learning about Mary's way of praying with others.

So I wrote How to Pray Like Mary, a step-by-step guide to discovering God's voice in the scriptures and letting Him transform your heart. I invite you to learn more about how to pray like Mary at ascensionpress.com or on Amazon. We're talking today about the line that people are saying, I don't want to bring children into this world, really? And we're talking about the Martins. And I want to introduce you to them.

Zellie and Louise Martin lived in the 1870s. And I imagine that they thought to themselves, Zeli, Louise's wife, probably thought to herself, I don't want to bring children into this world. Our country has just been invaded. It's just been invaded by enemies. And she could have easily said, every time I bring a child into this world,

they are taken away. First, I lose my little boy at the age of one. Next year, my baby's son dies. Two years later, my little girl died. at the age of five. In the same year, my other daughter, Melanie, dies at two months. Luis, in five years, I have been to the burial site of four of my children. I'm not doing this again. I'm not having any more children. Did she bring anyone else into the world? Yes, she did. She brought one more into the world, and her name is St. Therese of Lizu.

St. Therese of Lizzou was as a result of a husband and wife who knew the value of life and that their children, no matter how long they live, are valuable and they play a role in world history. I ran across a great article by Father James Goggin, and I'll put that link in the show notes for you. It's a great article called The Parents of St. Therese, and I quote here, she says of the deaths of her children, when I closed the eyes of my dear children and prepared them for burial, I was indeed grief-stricken. But thanks to God's grace, I have always been resigned to his will. I do not regret the pains and sacrifices I underwent for them. She then goes on to say that she doesn't understand people who say, you'd have been better not to have gone through all of

that. She adds, they're enjoying heaven now. Moreover, I have not lost them always. Life is short, and I shall find my little ones again in heaven. The story of Luis and Zelle Martin speaks to us today because they teach us how and where to find God's love and how to respond to that love with our own. It is appropriate that the bodies of Louise and Zelle were exhumed and buried side by side near the apse of the Basilica of Lizzou dedicated to their child. Over their graves are written the words of St. Terese. God, give me a mother and father more worthy of heaven than of earth. Isn't that beautiful? I think that that is beautiful. I think that that is beautiful. Teres became a great saint, and in 1998, I was there in Paris, France, for World Youth Day,

when St. Therese, a girl of little education, a girl who was not exposed to much in the world, a girl who suffered physical illness, became a doctor of the Catholic Church. Oh, man! And after four children dying young, wouldn't you expect Zellie to say, uh-uh, not again. I cannot bring children into this world. My friend, if Zellie and Louise can bring one more child into the world, in the circumstances that they were experiencing, we can all be open to life. That's what we're about. We are a people who are open to life. And the words, I cannot bring a child to life. into this world should never come across our lips in a meaningful way. My friend, it is a wonderful life. It is a wonderful life. Eternity is a wonderful life. And when we have made that decision

that we're open to life and we bring children into this life, then we become stewards of the children. We're not owners, but we're stewards, and we love them, and we nurture them, we pray for them, we teach them in the domestic home, the school of love, and we show them that, yes, there are tribulations in the world, but Jesus has told you that he will be with you always, even to the end of time. You see, this decision to have children also is connected to our faith and our entrusting ourselves to Jesus, in that he does have a plan for every single child. My wife and I have had several miscarriages, and yes, they were difficult. They really were.

And I still remember my wife going through those miscarriages and how she suffered and how we both suffered. but you know what those children are in heaven now and they are our intercessors our little warriors in heaven who are praying for us and there are so many people around the world today who today as you're listening to this podcast are sitting with each other holding hands and crying they're crying they are weeping. Why? Because they can't have children. They are struggling with infertility. Oh, what they would do to have a child. Oh, what they would do to bring that image of God into the world today. Let me tell you something that I don't think I've ever said on a podcast before. My wife and I, after we got married, we struggled with infertility. And we went for about the first seven years

just struggling with infertility. And I remember several times of crying and wondering, Lord, why can't we have children? And we were living in Pella, Iowa, after being married for over by six, five, six years. And we were really trying to have children. And then one day I came home and my wife said to me, she said, I think I'm pregnant. And I was so happy. I was so happy, and we hugged each other. I said, really? And she went up to get one of these early pregnancy tests at the grocery, not the grocery store, the pharmacy. And she came home, and we were so excited.

And she took that test, and it showed that, yes, indeed, she was pregnant. And we got on the phone, and we called our parents. Emily's going to have a baby. We were so excited. and then Emily went to the doctor the next week to confirm it, and she got a test there, and I was at home, and Emily was at work during the day, and I was at home, and the phone rang, and the doctor called and said, this is Dr. So-and-so, is this Mr. Kavens, and I said, yes, it is, and I was just eager to hear the news, and the doctor said,

I'm sorry to tell you this, but your wife's not pregnant. And I just dropped the phone back onto the hook. And I got on my knees. And I just cried. Emily came home later that day, and I had to tell her the news, and I'll, I'll never forget that night. Sitting on the couch, holding hands, looking out the living room window at the the stars and the moon, with tears running down our cheeks.

Oh, how we wanted a child. I know that pain, and I know the desire of young parents to want to have children. I'm asking you today, don't carry the ask. attitude, that we're not going to bring children into the world because the world has troubles. A child is a blessing. A full quiver, the scripture says, of children is a blessing. And your children will rise up and bless you. Be open to life. We went on, of course, to have three children. and they have been a blessing. I want to encourage you to take some time and pray

and ask God to give you his perspective on this topic. If you have a boy, think about naming that boy Joseph. After all, this is the year of St. Joseph, a man who fathered a boy about to go through a horrific death that would result in your life. Life.

It's a wonderful life. St. Joseph, pray for us. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, God, I ask you to give us your perspective on life. I ask you to give us your perspective on the world that we're living in and your power to overcome darkness. May we participate with you in being fruitful and multiply. May we bring children into the world who will be a blessing and pick up your mission and carry on.

I thank you for my children, Lord, and I'm sure that everyone who is joining me today gives thanks to you for their children. Lord, help us to turn over a new verbal leaf. Lord, Lord, may your will be done. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.