The contraceptive mentality

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The contraceptive mentality

Author: Fr. Mieczysław Piotrowski S.Chr.,
"Love One Another!" 36/2016

Contraception and the contraceptive mentality are a tragedy afflicting many modern marriages.

The contraceptive mentality

Contraception was born of the hedonistic philosophy of life that promotes maximum pleasure from minimum effort. We have to remember that international businesses reap gigantic profits from the sale of contraceptives. We mustn’t delude ourselves that the obtrusive proliferation of contraceptives is motivated by concern for people’s happiness and wellbeing; it is rather the desire for the maximisation of profits for the manufacturers. That is why those callous reprobates employ the most insidious methods, full of manipulation and lies, to keep their existing clients and entice new ones.

These miscreants, like those against whom the Lord Jesus directed His sharp “woe to [those]” (Matt. 18:7), manipulate the scientific knowledge of natural laws, deprecate natural methods of regulating conception and lie shamelessly, claiming that the use of contraceptives presents no threats to women’s health. On the contrary, it’s a scientifically proven fact that contraceptives damage women’s fertility and ruin their health. They are truly an ecological time bomb in women’s bodies. Among other sideeffects, the use of oral contraceptives can cause infectious inflammation of the veins (thrombophlebitis), damage to heart tissue (myocardial infarction) and infections that can lead to infertility or threaten the course of future pregnancies and the child’s health. They can also increase the risks of cancer of the cervix, nipples, endometrium, skin, ovaries and liver. There is also a great danger of psychological and sexual disorders, interruption of fertility cycles, weight gain, early miscarriages, diminution of sexual pleasure, etc.

Contraception is the rejection of the gift of life, and as such is an expression of contempt for God – the source of life

But the worst result of contraception is the breakdown of the relationship of love with God and the destruction of marital love. The deliberate and wilful use of contraception is always a mortal sin.

God is the only source of life and love. It is He who ordained that through the sacrament of Holy Matrimony the man and the women become one flesh, a union of love — an icon of the Holy Trinity. That is how their marital unity and love, as well as their sexual relations, represent their participation in the life and love of God the Creator. By sharing this gift of creating life with spouses, God calls them to a great responsibility: to the discernment and fulfilment of His will. Contraception is the rejection of that gift, and as such is an expression of contempt for God — the source of life. Contraception distorts the sense and deeper meaning of the marital sexual union. When the spouses’ sexual relations resist the possibility of conveying life that comes from God the Creator, they are also resisting God’s plan and His most holy will.

St John Paul II described the immorality of contraception in the following words: “Thus the innate language that expresses the total reciprocal self-giving of husband and wife is overlaid, through contraception, by an objectively contradictory language, namely, that of not giving oneself totally to the other. This leads not only to a positive refusal to be open to life but also to a falsification of the inner truth of conjugal love, which is called upon to give itself in personal totality” (Familiaris consortio, 32).

The worst result of contraception is the breakdown of the relationship of love with God and the destruction of marital love

The essence of the marital act is the mutual expression of love for one another through the complete giving of one’s self, and an essential part of that gift of self is parenthood. The use of contraceptives diminishes and falsifies that gift. Hence, sexual relations with the use of contraception express deception in the most intimate sphere of human existence. Spouses communicate their love for each other in its fullness only when the sexual union represents complete self-giving in Jesus Christ present in the sacrament of matrimony, and so only when it is open to the gift of life. Through the use of contraceptives, spouses “‘manipulate’ and degrade human sexuality — and with it themselves and their married partner — by altering its value of ‘total’ self-giving.” (Familiaris consortio, 32) Life itself confirms that if spouses use contraception, they effectively expel God from their lives and plunge themselves into the slavery of sin and the power of evil. This kind of outlook is the principal source of suffering and crises in marriage.

The Movement of Pure Hearts in Marriage

Dear Spouses, remember that in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony you received a priceless treasure, which is Jesus Christ Himself. Unite yourselves with Him and present all your problems, annoyances and joys to Him in daily prayer. Only with Him will you overcome all your troubles! If spouses pray together, and regularly go to confession and communion, they are building their future on the indestructible rock that is God Himself. The Lord Jesus invites you to the Movement of Pure Hearts in Marriage (MPHM), because He wishes to renew, deepen and heal your marital relationship. In order to join the MPHM, you must first recognise all your sins and omissions in the sacrament of confession, participate in the Holy Mass, and pray the Prayer of Entrustment of the MPHM after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion.

Pray the Prayer of Entrustment of the MPHM every day and introduce all its obligations into your marital life. You must put your daily duties in such order that prayer will be the highest priority, followed by work and rest. Take care that television and the Internet don’t become gods or time thieves in your home at the cost of prayer and rest. Pray every day for the gift of a pure heart. A pure heart is a heart which is completely dedicated to God, that is, abiding in a state of sanctifying grace. Keep yourselves united with Jesus present in the sacrament of Holy Matrimony. If you stumble seriously, go immediately to the sacrament of confession.

The Lord Jesus wants you to share your testimonies about your life and faith with others on the pages of Love One Another! You may wish to inform our editors about the great event of joining the MPHM. That is why we ask you to write down your testimonies and send them to the editors, along with your address, and dates of birth and entry into the MPHM. We will enter your names into the Book of Pure Hearts and send you a special blessing. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you!” (2 Cor. 13:13).

Source: https://loamagazine.org/archive/2016/2016-36/the-contraceptive-mentality

The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!" in September 2020.