JMJ, Come Holy Spirit

Joe Meinert and Nick Haberle

Vocations – Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI

Humanae Vitae –Use your recent notes on the unitive/procreative aspects of the marital act in
answering the following questions. You are also encouraged to critically think because not all of
the answers will be obvious in the reading. You will be graded on effort and thoroughness.

List the two aspects of the marital act and briefly explain what they mean.
1. Unitive- the couple, so that the marital act is a true expression of self-giving love
2. Procreation- To create new life

 Read HV 10
o Based on this paragraph, what does the Church mean by “responsible
parenthood”? How is this different from government-regulated population
control?

The church means awareness and respect for the proper functions parents have to provide for
their children. This is different because population control says you can only have a certain
amount of kids, but this says you only should have the amount of kids you can fully provide for
and support.

The problem caused by the widespread access to artificial birth control(HV 17):
1. Is the use of artificial birth control for sex unitive and procreative (open to life)?
No, it is not unitive because you are not giving all of yourself to that person. Also, it is not
procreative because it stops you from having kids and impinges the natural cycle of life you are
given to procreate.
Read HV 17. Blessed Pope Paul VI predicted 4 consequences of widespread artificial birth
control (examples: birth control pills, condoms, IUDs (intrauterine devices), contraceptive
implants, sterilization, etc,). The consequences are listed below.

a. Infidelity & general moral decline

 b. Loss of respect for women/women reduced to instruments of satisfaction for someone
else’s desires
c. Abuse of power by countries and individuals
d. “Unlimited dominion” (basically that man would believe he has full control over his body
through sterilization and altering his or her own physical make-up)

Using your critical thinking skills, try to explain why you think the widespread use of birth
control may have led to the fulfillment of each of these (correct) predictions. (Answer each
question in AT LEAST three full, thoughtful sentences)
(Hints that may help you answer)
 Is sex still associated with its logical result (children)?
 There’s mention of a loss of respect for women. Why do you think that women are
mentioned instead of men? Of course, the same might be true of men, but what makes
artificial birth control more impactful on women and how they’re viewed in society?

1. How do you hypothesize that birth control led to a rise in adultery & general moral
decline?
We hypothesize that birth control let to a rise in adultery and general moral decline in many
different ways. These ways consist of people abusing birth control for their own needs and ones.
Also, this takes away from the consequences you could face by sleeping around with other
married people and maybe getting pregnant.

2. How do you hypothesize that birth control led to a major loss in the respect for women
and reduced them to instruments of someone else’s use?
Birth Control led to a major loss for women in many ways that are very easy to pick out. Of
these ways, some of them are abuse of sex and the need to have it as birth control helps you to
not get pregnant and prevents pregnancy. It also reduces them to instruments of someone else's
use by breaking the attachment men and women share when they have the chance to procreate
and have a kid.
 3. How do you hypothesize that birth control led to abuse of power either by individuals
(people in power taking advantage of their subordinates) or by countries (countries using
birth control to further “population control”)?
This can happen in many ways by individuals in power because they have control over
certain people and can bribe them to get what the person in power wants. This can happen
without a second thought for people in power because when the have sex they will not have a
child in which they would have to care for and this would hurt their reputation so now they don't
have to worry about that. Also, it can give countries power to abuses others by making them
have a certein number of kids and not have any more after they reach that number.

4. How do you hypothesize that birth control led to man/woman believing that he or she has
full control over his or her body?
This can be so because they can now choose when they want to have kids or not
instead of leaving it in God's hands. They take procreation into their own hands and not
in what nature provides. This gives them a God complex because they think that they are
now in full control because they choose when life occurs.

5. Do you believe that artificial birth control makes people more or less responsible? Why
or why not?

We believe that it makes people less responsible because they don't have to take
responsibility for their actions. They can do whatever they want and they will not see any
effects of what they do. This makes people not think about it that much and makes them
less responsible because there is no threat of having kids.

The antidote (HV 21):

Self-discipline & Recourse to God
1. What is self-discipline? Why do you think it would help a couple in pursuit of chastity?
Self-discipline is the ability to control yourself and your actions. I think self-discipline is very
important when it comes to being with someone in the pursuit of Chasity. Being able to control
your desires for the "now" can really help you better off your relationship for the future.
 2. Jesus told us that in order to be His followers, we have to deny ourselves, take up our
crosses, and follow Him. How can sacrifice and self-denial help us in our formation as
disciples of Christ?
Sacrifice was the basic principal of what Jesus did while on earth. Overall, he gave up so much
for us to be able to make the same choices (not as extreme) and follow him to the right places in
life. In our formation to be disciples of Christ we need to be the better person in our lives and to
be the ones to make sacrifices.

3. Even if a couple is practicing Natural Family Planning, they must be open to having a
child in case they fail to abstain in fertile times or something goes awry. How does this
relate to seeing God as our Creator?
This relates in to way and we do not know how to answer.
4. Do you think this is an easy teaching to accept? Why or why not?

Yes, this was an easy concept to understand. This is because it deals with your
own human body.

5. All virtues lead us on the path to our fullest potential because we don’t fall into instincts
or pleasure like other animals. Do you understand how chastity might call us to reach our
fullest potential in both body and soul?
Yes, because in chastity you realize your body an souls as one. It links you with
your soul because others see you as a person and not just a body.