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The Practicing Catholic

Intentionally, joyfully living the faith ... we hope.

Contraception

Trusting God or Grasping for Control?

July 24, 2013 by Deacon Joel and Lisa Schmidt 6 Comments

Today’s Mass readings are excellent reflection material for contemplating how much we really trust God rather than ourselves. Do we grumble about our circumstances, like the Israelites in the First Reading, or are we the “rich soil” of Jesus’s parable in the Gospel Reading? With these texts as a backdrop, we take up a couple scenarios which challenge us to trust in God’s will for us rather than in our ability to control our circumstances.

Posted in: Family, Natural Family Planning, Schmidt, Joel, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Contraception, Love and Sexuality, Marriage, Natural Family Planning, Parenthood

Despoiling God’s Plan for Sexuality

July 23, 2013 by Deacon Joel and Lisa Schmidt 11 Comments

Day 3 in our weeklong series on natural family planning. Since the sexual revolution drew its sword and despoiled sexual intimacy of its life-giving purpose, are we really happier and freer, or have we become slaves to our own pleasures? Have our relationships become better or worse? Do men and women respect each other more or less? The fruit of the sexual revolution is decidedly rotten, straight from the devil.

Posted in: Family, Natural Family Planning, Schmidt, Joel, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Contraception, Love and Sexuality, Marriage, Natural Family Planning, Parenthood

Dumping Contraception for Natural Family Planning

July 22, 2013 by Deacon Joel and Lisa Schmidt 8 Comments

“Fear not! Stand your ground, and you will see the victory the LORD will win for you today.” Leaving behind contraception to begin natural family planning (NFP) can be a bit like this. It can be easier to cling to familiar ways than to leave them for something new and uncertain, no matter what the promise. Let’s try to clear up a couple common fears and misconceptions about NFP.

Posted in: Family, Natural Family Planning, Schmidt, Joel, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Contraception, Family, Love and Sexuality, Marriage, Natural Family Planning, Parenthood

What Ever Happened to Reason?

October 24, 2012 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 4 Comments
Photo by: Scout Tufankjian for Obama for America, used under creative commons license.

Civility in public discourse seems to be dead. When is the last time two candidates had a serious debate, a genuine exchange of ideas rather than accusations and zingers? Candidates seem to no longer champion ideas but rather simply represent ideologies. This is also a major challenge of the New Evangelization.

Posted in: Schmidt, Joel Tagged: Contraception, Debate, Digital Age, Faith, Fulfillment, G.K. Chesterton, Human Dignity, Joy, Jurassic Park, Karl Keating, New Evangelization, Politics, Reason, Truth, witness

What Catholic Women Think

September 4, 2012 by Lisa Schmidt 19 Comments

A preliminary report, “What Catholic Women Think About Faith, Conscience, and Contraception,” co-authored by Mary Rice Hasson and Michele M. Hill, offers new data about the views of church-going Catholic women, ages 18-54, on faith, conscience, and contraception. This report is part of a larger research effort called the Women, Faith, and Culture Project. Report Highlights 13% of … [Read more…]

Posted in: Faith, Family, Natural Family Planning, Schmidt, Lisa Tagged: Birth Control, Contraception, Natural Family Planning, Women

5 Steps to Embracing Natural Family Planning

July 29, 2012 by Renee McGuire 6 Comments

Editor’s Note: In honor of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, welcome back Renee McGuire to The Practicing Catholic. Read Part 1 of Renee’s testimony 6 Things I’ve Learned Since Dumping the Pill.  * * * Once we removed the pill from our marriage, my husband and I experienced healing we didn’t know we needed. This truly was a … [Read more…]

Posted in: Family, Guest Contributors, Natural Family Planning Tagged: Contraception, Humane Vitae, Kerry McGuire, Love and Sexuality, Marquette Model, Marriage, Natural Family Planning, Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, NFP, Pope John Paul II, Renee McGuire, Theology of the Body, Virtue

The Smoke of Satan in Steubenville

July 26, 2012 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 8 Comments
Steubenville Logo

City Council agrees to remove image of chapel from new logo. UPDATE: August 3, 2012 – According to Steubenville City Manager Cathy Davison, the mayor, City Council, and administration are reviewing all options regarding the city logo. At this point, no lawsuit has been filed against the City of Steubenville. Alliance Defending Freedom (formerly Alliance … [Read more…]

Posted in: Schmidt, Joel Tagged: Baptism, Christ the King, Contraception, cross, Debaptism Certificate, Ecclesia Militans, Election, Faith, Franciscan University, Free-liars, Freethinkers, Imprimatur, Jewish, Muslim, Religion, Religious, San Diego Padres, San Francisco, Satan, Secularist, St. Louis, St. Paul, Steubenville, US Constitution, War on Religion

Indivisible: Jay Richards on Natural Law and Reason

July 18, 2012 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 1 Comment
Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before it's too Late

Christians need to facilitate dialogue without arguing politics and religion. Congratulations to last week’s giveaway winner Sally Pap! Enter to win a your own copy of Indivisible! Simply leave a comment here. Next Wednesday, July 25, we will randomly select this week’s winner. Giveaway sponsored by The Maximus Group. You also can buy Indivisible from Ignatius … [Read more…]

Posted in: Schmidt, Joel Tagged: Contraception, Dissident, Encyclical, Faithful, Family, Government, Health and Human Services, Health Care, Humane Vitae, Indivisible, James Robison, Jay Richards, Marriage, Morality, Natural Law, Nature, Obamacare, Orthodox, Planned Parenthood, Politics, Public Square, Reason, Religion, Revelation, Rights, Secularist, Voting Guidelines for Catholics

Indivisible: Jay Richards on Morality and Economics

July 11, 2012 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 16 Comments
Indivisible: Restoring Faith, Family, and Freedom Before it's too Late

Distinctions between social and economic issues are artificial. Congratulations to last week’s giveaway winners Jessica Kiesling and Rita Rawson! See details below to enter this week’s Indvisible giveaway. You also can buy Indivisible from Ignatius Press (with Voting Guidelines for Catholics bonus CD). This is the second installment from our interview with Dr. Jay Richards; … [Read more…]

Posted in: Schmidt, Joel Tagged: abortion, Contraception, Economic Growth, Economics, education, Employment, Family, Gas Prices, Health and Human Services, Health Care, Holiness, Hunger, Indivisible, James Robison, Jay Richards, Jesus Christ, love, Marriage, Morality, Obamacare, poverty, Unemployment, Voting Guidelines for Catholics, Welfare

Power to the Sheeple!

April 17, 2012 by Deacon Joel Schmidt 2 Comments

The faithful should embrace this barb for what it really means. I had a Facebook dialog a few weeks ago with a couple Catholic friends who struggle with some of the Church’s teachings. The subject of the exchange was Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal. One of them suggested he should be denied communion because he … [Read more…]

Posted in: Faith, Schmidt, Joel Tagged: Contraception, Follow, Holy Thursday, In Persona Christi, Jesus, Joy, lamb, obedience, Paschal Lamb, Paul Ryan, Priest, Priesthood, Sheep, Sheeple, Thanksgiving, The Good Shepherd, Vocations
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