Transforming suffering into hope:
Loving service in the missions

		Propagation  of the Faith  Msgr. Delbert  Schmelzer

One child was found in the long wet grass by the roadside. Another little girl, when she was discovered, sat alone in a yard, playing with chickens, ducks, and dogs - no one to feed or care for her.

"Each child has its own story," says Sister Philomena of the little ones in her care at St. Anthony's Children's Village in Ndola, Zambia. And each story has a more hope-filled ending, thanks to these Sisters who bring to the Good Friday world of these children, the light of the Resurrection.

Lots of love

"Usually their experiences take time - and lots of love - to heal," Sister Philomena explains. "The little girl found playing alone in the yard, who was unable to walk or talk at five years old, now dances and sings songs. She is living proof that we develop only surrounded with love - Jesus' love."

At St. Anthony's, the Sisters offer that love and provide the basic necessities as well, trying to bring the healing touch of our Lord to a mere fraction of the more than two million children orphaned in Zambia, largely the result of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in that African nation.

"Our present situation causes serious concern," Sister Philomena states. "It is only with God's help that we dare to hope for a brighter tomorrow."

'Show Jesus to poor'

In another part of the missions, in Berhampur, India, Sister Arpan looks to the Lord - and holds Him out as a source of hope for her people.

"When I heard the call to become a Religious Sister," she recalls, "my main goal was to show Jesus to the poor."

Along with members of her local religious community in this area of East India, Sister Arpan visits families. "We pray together, read the Word of God, and seek ways of making this Word live in our lives," she says. "During our visit, we encourage family prayer, listen to their joys and sorrows, and help them in whatever way we can."

The Sisters also visit the sick in the area. There are hugs for orphan children and words of encouragement for the disabled. "We pray with them," notes Sister Arpan. "That is most important."

"My work has proven to them the joy, love, and salvation of Jesus," she continues. "Whatever comes my way, I will keep on doing this for Jesus. I see our Lord's face in every person here."

'Transforming lives'

Transforming lives with Jesus' love. Seeing and serving Him in the poor. This Lent, through the Society for the Propagation of the Faith, you are a missionary right there with Sister Philomena in Zambia and Sister Arpan in India - and with so many other priests, Sisters and Brothers, and lay catechists throughout the developing world who daily offer to the sick and the suffering, the poor and the abandoned, the hope of the Resurrection.

Your prayers are most important. Your financial help - maybe $40, $1 for each day of Lent - is gratefully accepted in support of this life-giving service of the Church throughout the missions.

May the Lord bless you and those you love this Lent - and most especially at Easter - with His sustaining hope!

Msgr. Delbert Schmelzer is director of the Propagation of the Faith for the Diocese of Madison. Contributions to the Propagation of the Faith may be sent to: P.O. Box 44983, Madison, WI 53744-4983.

Vasectomy:
Carries inevitable moral consequences

		A Culture  of Life  Fr. Eric Nielsen

Many years ago I began meeting with a couple who were having typical marital problems. They had three children old enough for school and had a comfortable and fashionable dual income lifestyle.

Her complaint was her husband's lack of attention, the meaninglessness of their marital encounters, and a general feeling of malaise. Her husband, a very lively man with a number of extra family pursuits, was mostly clueless. He thought their "sex life" was fine and that he gave her all the attention that was reasonable.

At one point I asked them why they hadn't had any more children. "After the last one," said the husband, "I got a vasectomy." Since they were both still at an age when many people start having children, I asked him if he would be willing to have more if it were possible. "I guess so," he said, "but she wouldn't."

"That is not true," his wife immediately said, "I would love to have another baby." Later, after he had agreed to get his vasectomy reversed, they walked out of my office like newlyweds. It was the first time in three visits that I had seen her smile.

Marital consequences

That is not to say that having a baby is the end to one's marital problems, or even the solution for the couple just mentioned. My point is that a vasectomy is often the beginning of marital problems. For while a simple procedure, a vasectomy changes the whole tenor of a marriage.

Despite the good intentions that a couple may have, the underlying reality is that a vasectomy is an act of self mutilation that destroys the procreative meaning of a marriage and will thus have an immediate effect on a couple's relationship.

For example, since the husband has purposely destroyed his potential to be a father, his approach to his own sexuality, and how he views his wife, will change. Many men will now find it easier to emotionally detach from their wives and more easily focus on the material advantages available to those who have lessening responsibilities at home. This in turn will lead to the wife feeling like her husband appreciates her mostly for the clean house and physical pleasure she provides.

Moral implications

A vasectomy is also a moral problem. Since there is no true medical need for a vasectomy, any person who understands the gravity of the act, and freely cooperates with it, commits a mortal sin. Because it is a sin against the natural law, even couples who come into this situation without concretely knowing the gravity of the moral consequences will suffer to some degree because of it.

Thus it is good practice, even when committed with what may be considered good intentions, to confess one's part in a vasectomy, and if a practical possibility, to have it reversed.

All of this sounds rather odd to the modern mind, but it is the truth of the faith and needs to be repeated. Our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and intimately connected to our souls. To treat our bodies as instruments that can be manipulated for our pleasure and comfort is to destroy the true meaning of who we are - men and women created after the image and likeness of God.

This is even more so for a Christian because our bodies no longer belong to us - they belong to Christ!

Fr. Eric Nielsen is pastor of St. Paul Parish on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. This column is syndicated by www.OneMoreSoul.com