"Simply" Catholic Mamas in the Year of Faith - Page 2

[JMJ]

Originally Posted by mt_gooseberry 

In other news, I've really been feeling the need to get the Word out...but I'm a coward and don't want to lose friends/family.  There are several women in particular that I really love, but who have had abortions and are very defensive about "women's rights," that I am especially worried about.  What do all of you do to evangelize in sensitive situations?

I haven't been in the position of bringing up somebody's abortion with them in conversation, but I do a lot of pro-life work, so I run into it a lot. Some of the best has been in my work for 40 Days For Life. When I'm standing in the back of the church after Mass, asking for volunteers to go pray in front of an abortion facility, it's pretty clear where I stand. Mostly, it opens up conversations about how to best protect life, and it helps to be open to hearing many ideas... prayer and fasting, support for women in unplanned pregnancies, men taking responsibility for their actions, resources for mothers, acceptance of children in culture... not just legal action.

I start with the assumption that a woman who has had an abortion has done so because she felt like she had no other choice, and she did the best that she knew how to do in that circumstance. I cannot imagine what it must have been like for her to go through that, and I have nothing but compassion for her. The state of her soul is between her and God, and I will not judge. At the same time, there was a human person in her womb that is now dead. I mourn the loss of that life, and I will stand up against the unjust killing of innocent children in the womb just as I would stand up against the unjust killing of any other person. I'm not here to place blame on a woman in a tough situation. I'm here to look at all the factors that contribute to injustice in order to create a better world.

I don't feel a need to bring it up constantly to argue with people. Mostly, I pray. Then, I also participate in pro-life events or (less frequently) post pro-life information on Facebook (where it really tends to be poorly received). People know where I stand, and I don't hound them about it. If they'd like to talk, I'm here to validate, I'm here to find common ground, and I'm here to stand up for the truth. If we disagree, then we may have to agree to disagree, but respectful conversation is always fruitful. It helps me to understand how other people see it, and I pray that my words will plant a seed in their hearts as well.

[Nazsmum]

I thought that you ladies might be interested in Lets Talk about Jesus radio show (1/26/13) He reads right form an early church father. He starts reading about 20 min into the show. It is about how we are like children in Jesus.

www.lovinggrace.org

[Morgan Mareglia]

.

Edited by Morgan Mareglia - 4/11/13 at 11:28am

[mylilmonkeys]

Welcome, Morgan!  

[Gremco]

Hello! I'm glad to have found you all. How is lent going? I've been pretty sick with a stomach virus my daughter brought home from school. The only day I was well enough to have a proper appetite was Ash Wednesday. Go figure.
 

[JMJ]

Welcome Morgan and Gremco!

Our Lent is going well so far. With my oldest being almost 4, we're having such a fun time learning and discussing theological topics in ways we couldn't before.

[mum4boys]

Boy been out of the loop. We moved in November and I thought it would be fun to give myself a concussion so just now getting back to normal. We moved just a few blocks from our parish so we get to spend lots of time there whether daily Mass or missions etc. I am living it. I am feeling a sense peace I have never experienced before but it does cut into my computer time.

[Hebaume39]

Yay New Pope.  How are you explaining to your children who the Pope is and about the conclave?  My eldest is only four so I'm trying to come up with a fairly simple explanation for now.  My darling husband took a crack at it and got tangled up half way through and all she got was he's like Peter (who she still thinks is her Daddy).  Kind of similar but not really what we're going for. 

[glassesgirlnj]

I'm not explaining anything to my daughter right now, since she's only 15 months old, but I'm pretty pleased with the new Pope so far! He seems to have a genuine concern for social justice and I think his background (Italian-Argentinian) will be a good bridge between Europe and the Americas. 

What does everyone else think? 

In completely separate news, trying to decide which Easter Mass to take our daughter to (the schedule is different from the usual weekly schedule).

She is definitely a "morning person" (as opposed to her mom, who's an "afternoon person", and her dad and grandma, who are "night people").  But she still likes a nap a couple of hours after she wakes up, so, this would probably be right in the middle of the Family Mass.  But is she going to be bored/overwhelmed/scared by the High Mass? ...She does well with the afternoon services (loved Epiphany/Three Kings Day), but I don't think that satisfies the Easter obligation.

[glassesgirlnj]

double post, sorry!

[JMJ]

Hebaume, we're explaining to our almost 4-year-old that the pope is in charge of the Church kind of like Daddy is in charge of our family, and our pastor is in charge of our parish, and you could point out other authority figures in her life. We talk about virtues a lot as part of developing discipline. It helps us to talk about how she needs to work on being obedient to us, and we also work to be obedient to religious and civil authorities, including the pope. We pray for the pope regularly and "for the intentions of the pope" before Bible reading and saying the rosary, which the pope (Benedict) gave to us as plenary indulgences in this year of faith. We talk about that Jesus gave Peter (and therefore Pope Francis) the ability to give special graces to give to the people in the Church to help us to get to heaven. We tell the Bible stories about Peter and the other disciples. We talk some about the different titles of the pope such as "Peter," "Bishop of Rome," and "Servant of the servants of God." When she asks questions that I don't have answers in simple words, I answer her in complicated words. Sometimes, she asks me to try to define those words, sometimes she just accepts my answers at face value. Of course much of it goes over her head, and that's OK. We're talking about teaching children who have not even reached the age of reason. Just tell the stories. Tell them about the great mysteries of the Church. They're not going to understand it all, but be prepared to be amazed at what they remember and the questions they ask. 3 is such a wonderful age for absorbing information. I can tell DD the same stories and talk about the same ideas day after day. During Advent, every night before bed, I told DD stories from the Old Testament about people waiting for the Messiah, and now she refers to the Bible as "the story we talk about in all nights." This is the beauty of being raised Catholic. Children learn things even before they really understand it, and they just accept that it is the way it is, and as they grow, they add to that and grow in understanding. It doesn't matter that they understand who the pope is and what he does. It matters that they hear that we have a pope, and that's important and wonderful, and we include our children in praying for him.

[RoseSweetie]

We have been trying to point out the new pope anytime that we see him on TV to our two year old son, John Paul. Since he is named after a pope, we have always pointed out pictures of Pope John Paul II so he knows a pope wears white. Then he would see Pope Benedict and call him Pope John Paul but we would correct home and say, "no that is Pope Benedict." He learned to distinguish between the two popes. He started calling Pope Francis, Benedict but we correct him and now when he sees the new pope he says "Pope Saint Francis". There is still some work ahead of us...

[sarahsmiles]

Hey everyone. I seem to recall a while ago there was a forum for NFP here. I haven't been doing anything with mothering.com except reading the digest emails on this thread, but now that I'm looking for it, I can't find anything specifically for Natural, just "family planning." I know there have been lots of changes. Can anyone confirm that it's gone?
 

[dejagerw]

In the Fertility and then Family Planning sub board there is usually a charting thread. I don't think it's only NFP users, but FAM users that might chart but use barrier methods during fertile times. You could try that thread. I think its called "charting to avoid" or something similar.

[JMJ]

Sarahsmiles, I think this might be what you're looking for: http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1380111/charting-to-avoid-spring-2013

[mt_gooseberry]

Ooh, come join us at the CTA thread!  I am overwhelmed by those who use contraceptives in addition to charting, and it will be nice to have someone else who does it "right" over there!