(Genesis 38:9). This act so displeased God that Onan was
struck dead. Some contemporary exegetes argue that
Onan’s sin was not contraception but rather his lack of
generosity to his late brother. That seems to be splitting a
very fine hair indeed, overlooking the fact that all acts of
contraception constitute lack of generosity – the possible
child is not only a gift from God, but also a gift to God.
At any rate, the now twice widowed Tamar was
desperate to get a child to her first husband’s memory.
And after her father-in-law Judah reneged on his promise
to give her in marriage to his third son, Tamar tricked
Judah himself into begetting the child she wanted. Nobody
came off looking good in this sad story, which should serve
as a cautionary tale of the evils of contraception. If
chapters of the Bible were rated, as are movies, Genesis
38 would get at least an “R”.
Fast forward from Genesis to the Passion of Christ. As
Jesus is carrying His Cross to Calvary He is met by the
weeping women of Jerusalem. To these women our Lord
speaks the most that he spoke between His arrest and His
death. As such these words take on particular importance:
“Daughters of Jerusalem weep not for me, but for
yourselves and for your children. For behold the days are
coming when they will say ‘Blessed are the barren, and the
wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never
nursed.’ ” (Luke 23:28-29).
With abortion seen as a “woman’s right to choose,” and
commercials on television touting both contraception and
viagra, I cannot help but think that our Lord was speaking
of our own time. Reading Sacred Scripture as a whole and
in proper context, we see that although the Bible does not
dwell on contraception, the Bible does condemn it.
Pray for the Sick and Homebound of our Parish
Elaine Elizabeth Abraham, Maryann Barron,
Joshua Basile, Lila Brown, Philip Calanchini,
Jose Campos, Thomas Case, Moira Connor,
Baby Natasha deSa, Marjorie Dolak, Danny Frey,
Marjorie Horan, Maria Keran, Evelyn LaPlante,
Joan Loftis, Deana Mansoor, Inaam Mansoor,
Carol McCarty, Baby Peter Michalski, David Murphy,
Makayla Overend, Lien Shinta, Margaret Wood,
Baby Anthony Yantiss
Pray for Those Who have Fallen Asleep in Christ
Irene Corrado, Joseph Gartlan, William Bud Ko,
Nicholas Lippis, Rita Lippis, Margie McBee,
Steve Saunders, Adele Spauer, Jack Wood, Angel Zavala
Pray for our Armed Forces Personnel
Jordan Bowren, Jeff Campbell, James Doin,
Brendan Dunne, Christopher Frediani, Brian Horn,
Brendan McCarthy, Matthew O’Neil, Justin Smallwood