Cardinal Dolan listed a few examples of what the Law of the Gift looks like in action: a grandmother in New York who was killed by a car after pushing her grandson to safety; Marines who put their life on the line for their country; and pediatric oncologists who care for suffering children day in and day out.

Then, directing his attention to the graduates, the Cardinal highlighted the inner connection between the Law of the Gift and marriage:

“Now, one final thing: You all had a head-start in the learning the Law of the Gift and the importance of faith to sustain it.

“For, see, the Law of the Gift is most poetically exemplified in the lifelong, life-giving, faithful, intimate union of a man and woman in marriage, which then leads to the procreation of new life in babies, so that husband and wife, now father and mother, spend their lives sacrificially loving and giving to those children. That union – that sacred rhythm of man/woman/husband/wife/baby/mother/father – is so essential to the order of the common good that its very definition is ingrained into our interior dictionary, that its protection and flourishing is the aim of enlightened culture.

“And your tutelage in the Law of the Gift, class of 2012, was only refined at this Catholic University, for it began in the most sublime classroom of them all, your home and family, under the most significant of all professors, your mom and dad. Congratulations, parents of our graduates!” (emphasis added)

Read Cardinal Dolan’s entire commencement speech here.

Watch Cardinal Dolan’s speech here.

Bl. John Paul II: “Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the mother’s womb. The mother is filled with wonder at this mystery of life, and ‘understands’ with unique intuition what is happening inside her. In the light of the ‘beginning’, the mother accepts and loves as a person the child she is carrying in her womb. This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings – not only towards her own child, but every human being – which profoundly marks the woman’s personality.”

. . .

“Motherhood implies from the beginning a special openness to the new person: and this is precisely the woman’s ‘part’. In this openness, in conceiving and giving birth to a child, the woman ‘discovers herself through a sincere gift of self’.”

. . .

“Human parenthood is something shared by both the man and the woman. Even if the woman, out of love for her husband, says: ‘I have given you a child’, her words also mean: ‘This is our child’. Although both of them together are parents of their child, the woman’s motherhood constitutes a special ‘part’ in this shared parenthood, and the most demanding part. Parenthood – even though it belongs to both – is realised much more fully in the woman, especially in the prenatal period. It is the woman who ‘pays’ directly for this shared generation, which literally absorbs the energies of her body and soul. It is therefore necessary that the man be fully aware that in their shared programme of parenthood he owes a special debt to the woman.”

- Bl. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (1988), no. 18

All Sunday Pope Quotes

About this series:

Every Sunday, the Marriage: Unique for a Reason blog will feature a short quote from either our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, or our late Holy Father, Bl. John Paul II (or occasionally another pope). These two men have given the world an immense treasury of wisdom about marriage, love, and the meaning of the human person, all of which are topics integral to the Church’s witness today. Their words are well worth reflecting on, as we have much to learn from these wise successors of St. Peter.

Bishop Salvatore J. Cordileone

• Marriage protection essential to the common good, says Bishop Cordileone
• Cites right of every child to be raised by mother and father
• North Carolina is 30th state to protect marriage via constitutional amendment

WASHINGTON—The decision by the voters of North Carolina to define marriage in a constitutional amendment as the union of one man and one woman “affirms the authentic and timeless meaning of marriage,” said Bishop Salvatore Cordileone of Oakland, California. Bishop Cordileone, chairman of the Subcommittee on the Promotion and Defense of Marriage of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), applauded the May 8 decision with Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of Raleigh and Bishop Peter J. Jugis of Charlotte, North Carolina.

“The success of this amendment demonstrates people’s awareness of the essential role that marriage, as the union of a man and a woman, plays for the common good,” said Bishop Cordileone.“Despite his comments yesterday, I would hope that President Obama would recognize this essential role as well. This is not a partisan issue, but a matter of justice, fairness and equality for the law to uphold every child’s basic right to be welcomed and raised by his or her mother and father together.”

He added, “I extend my gratitude to all of the people in North Carolina who worked tirelessly to make this a reality. The people of North Carolina join millions of other Americans in affirming the importance of marriage in our society.”

North Carolina is the 30th state to pass a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

The statements of Bishop Burbidge is available online: www.dioceseofraleigh.org/news/view.aspx?id=1486

“President Obama’s comments today in support of the redefinition of marriage are deeply saddening. As I stated in my public letter to the President on September 20, 2011, the Catholic Bishops stand ready to affirm every positive measure taken by the President and the Administration to strengthen marriage and the family. However, we cannot be silent in the face of words or actions that would undermine the institution of marriage, the very cornerstone of our society. The people of this country, especially our children, deserve better. Unfortunately, President Obama’s words today are not surprising since they follow upon various actions already taken by his Administration that erode or ignore the unique meaning of marriage. I pray for the President every day, and will continue to pray that he and his Administration act justly to uphold and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. May we all work to promote and protect marriage and by so doing serve the true good of all persons.”

Press release here.

Cardinal Dolan’s September 2011 letter to President Obama here.

Marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.

Both Bishop Michael Burbidge of Raleigh and Bishop Peter Jugis of Charlotte issued brief statements applauding the outcome:

Bishop Burbidge: I express my sincere gratitude to the people of North Carolina who voted FOR Marriage in the referendum completed today. Passage of the Amendment to the Constitution of our State has now ensured that the definition of marriage, as the faithful and exclusive union of one man and one woman, and one which is open to the gift of children, is in accord with God’s design and in keeping with the very nature of this sacred vocation.

In moving forward, I ask that you join me in praying that whatever divisions may have occurred during this referendum process may be healed by the grace of God and a mutual renewed commitment by all people of good will, so that we may together build a society reflective of the unity that is ours as members of God’s family.

Bishop Jugis: I am pleased that the people of North Carolina voted for marriage. The Church consistently teaches that marriage is created by God as the faithful and exclusive union of one man and one woman, open to the gift of children.

In addition to catechesis on marriage throughout the months leading up to the vote, the bishops of North Carolina had asked that a letter supporting the marriage amendment be read at parishes throughout their dioceses last weekend. The letter read in part:

We are FOR the definition of marriage, because we believe it is a vocation in which God calls couples to faithfully and permanently embrace a fruitful union that is open to the gift of children, a gift that comes from the sexual expression between a man and a woman. The children born of this union have the right to the indispensable place of a father and mother in their lives. Children grow, are loved, nurtured and formed by those whose unique vocation is to be a father and a mother to their child.

The full letter can be read here in English and here in Spanish.

“The category of gift (the disinterested gift of self) takes on special meaning in the marriage covenant. The spouses ‘mutually give themselves to an accept each other’ in a manner proper to the marriage covenant, a manner that presupposes their difference in body and sex and, at the same time, their union in and through this difference. This is a relationship that can be analyzed and interpreted in a variety of ways; the category of gift, however, has a key meaning here. Without it, there would be no way to properly understand and interpret either the marriage relationship as a whole or the acts of conjugal intercourse that are part of this relationship and have a strict causal connection to the emergence of the family.”

. . .

Seeing marriage through the lens of gift “is not an idealistic picture, but a realistic one. The Gospel in a special way demands such realism of us in our appraisal of the marital bond. Man and woman were created as they were (according to the Book of Genesis), different in body and sex, so that through this difference they would be able to make a gift to one another of the specific richness of their respective humanity.”

- Karol Wojtyla (Bl. Pope John Paul II), “The Family as a Community of Persons,” in Person and Community: Selected Essays, trans. Theresa Sandok, OSM (New York: Peter Lang, 1993), p. 324, 325, emphasis original

In anticipation of the May 8 vote, here are more resources from the bishops of North Carolina:

• AUDIO – Bishop Burbidge Discusses Marriage Amendment on Catholic Weekly
• Bishop Jugis: “In support of marriage”
• Bishop Jugis: “Marriage is not just about two adults”
• Bishop Burbidge: “Reflect seriously, then vote”

Also, for North Carolina readers, there are several events planned to educate the faithful about marriage:

• Friday, May 4: Presentation by Fr. Paul Check, National Director of Courage: “The Catholic Church, Marriage, and Homosexuality” at St. Ann Church in Charlotte (more information here)
• Saturday, May 5: Symposium on Marriage at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte (more information here)

Video source: The Apostleship of Prayer

Each month Pope Benedict XVI chooses two prayer intentions: a general intention and a mission intention. He invites Christians throughout the world to pray with him for these specific needs. For the month of May, the Holy Father’s general intention is for the family:

“…that initiatives which defend and uphold the role of the family may be promoted within society.”

The video above, from the Apostleship of Prayer website, draws on recent addresses by Pope Benedict on the family to explain how important the family is to him. It also points out that May’s liturgical calendar includes a number of married saints, some of which we’ll feature right here on this blog in the coming days.

We invite you to join with us – and Pope Benedict! – this month in praying for the family.

Read more of Pope Benedict’s teachings on marriage and the family.

Apr. 29, 2012

Today’s Sunday Pope Quote is from the 1963 Encyclical Letter of Bl. Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris: “On Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity, and Liberty.”

Bl. John XXIII begins the Encyclical: “Peace on Earth—which man throughout the ages has so longed for and sought after—can never be established, never guaranteed, except by the diligent observance of the divinely established order.” (1)

This “order,” John XXIII observes, “predominates in the world of living beings and in the forces of nature [...] And it is part of the greatness of man that he can appreciate that order, and devise the means for harnessing those forces for his own benefit.” (2)

The Catholic Church teaches that the family, as the union of one man and one woman together with their children, is a part of the natural order; it is essential and foundational for the organization of a humane society.

Bl. Pope John XXIII: “The family, founded upon marriage freely contracted, one and indissoluble, must be regarded as the natural, primary cell of human society. The interests of the family, therefore, must be taken very specially into consideration in social and economic affairs, as well as in the spheres of faith and morals. For all of these have to do with strengthening the family and assisting it in the fulfillment of its mission.”

Bl. Pope John XXIII,  Pacem in Terris (no. 16)

Read all Sunday Pope Quotes

About this series:

Every Sunday, the Marriage: Unique for a Reason blog will feature a short quote from either our current Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, or our late Holy Father, Bl. John Paul II (or occasionally another pope). These two men have given the world an immense treasury of wisdom about marriage, love, and the meaning of the human person, all of which are topics integral to the Church’s witness today. Their words are well worth reflecting on, as we have much to learn from these wise successors of St. Peter.

A picture of St. Gianna

The basics:

• Born October 4, 1922 near Milan, Italy
• Married Pietro Molla on September 24, 1955
• Mother of six children (including two lost before birth): Pierluigi, Mariolina, Laura and Gianna Emanuela
• Died April 28, 1962 in Ponte Nuovo di Magenta, Italy
• Beatified by Pope John Paul II on April 24, 1994
• Canonized by Pope John Paul II on May 16, 2004

Read St. Gianna’s biography (on the Vatican website).

Notable:

• A model of discernment: After earning her medical degree in 1949, St. Gianna actively discerned whether God was calling her to join two of her brothers in the mission fields of Brazil, or to marry Pietro Molla, an engineer and fellow member in the charitable group Catholic Action. Gianna sought God’s will in prayer and spiritual direction and eventually, during a pilgrimage to Lourdes on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, it became clear that her vocational call was to marriage and the family. Pietro and Gianna were engaged on Easter Sunday of 1955 and married that September.
  
• A heroic witness to life: After being blessed with three children (and suffering two miscarriages), St. Gianna was again with child in 1961. Early in the pregnancy, a dangerous cyst was discovered on her uterus. Choosing the route of treatment least dangerous to her unborn child, Gianna underwent a risky and painful surgery to remove the cyst. Thankfully the baby was unharmed, and the pregnancy continued. When it came time for her to give birth, Gianna said to the delivering doctor, “If you must decide between me and the child, do not hesitate: choose the child.” Little Gianna Emanuela was born on April 21, 1962. A week later, her heroic and self-sacrificing mother died at home after repeated exclamations of “Jesus, I love you. Jesus, I love you.”
  

Quotable:

• “Love is the most beautiful sentiment the Lord has put into the soul of men and women.” – St. Gianna, in a letter to her future husband a few days before their wedding (as quoted in Bl. John Paul II’s homily at her canonization mass)
• “Gianna Beretta Molla was a simple, but more than ever, significant messenger of divine love…Following the example of Christ, who ‘having loved his own…loved them to the end‘ (Jn. 13:1), this holy mother of a family remained heroically faithful to the commitment she made on the day of her marriage. The extreme sacrifice she sealed with her life testifies that only those who have the courage to give of themselves totally to God and to others are able to fulfill themselves.” – Bl. John Paul II, homily at St. Gianna’s canonization mass
• “A young mother from the diocese of Milan, who, to give life to her daughter, sacrificed her own, with conscious immolation.” – Pope Paul VI, Angelus, September 23, 1973 (quoted in the Vatican biography; original in Italian)
• “All my mother’s life has been a hymn to life, to joy, to God’s love, to Our Lady, to her family, to her very near, to her beloved husband, my daddy, her beloved children and her dear patients.” – Gianna Emanuela, St. Gianna’s daughter, in a 2011 interview
  

Patron saint of mothers, physicians, preborn children

Pray: Litany of St. Gianna Beretta Molla