Amazing Catechists

Teaching and learning the faith together

Advent #GIVEAWAY and Interview With #aromaRosary Inventor, Chantal Howard

By

UPDATE: Comments were turned off by accident but are now ON. Feel free to enter! So sorry for any inconvenience!–Lisa

Guadalupe Rosary Bracelet

Beloved Readers, we have an exciting and unusual giveaway: an Our Lady of Guadalupe rosary bracelet that diffuses essential oils, as you pray!!! Talk about awesome!

TO ENTER, please tell us in the comments why you would like to win!

The popular Our Lady of Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet will be awarded on December 12th, on the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, so enter right away!

And start praying the Novena to Our Lady, which starts today (December 4th)!

 

Now, meet aromaRosary’s inventor, Chantal Howard! 

Welcome, Chantal! Please give us just a few glimpses into your world so that we can get to know you a bit more personally.

I am a Byzantine Catholic by birth, giving me a great love for icons, chant, and the Divine Liturgy. I am an oblate of the Community of St. John and, therefore, identify myself as Eucharistic, Marian, Seeker of Truth, and devotee of all things truly Catholic. I have a charismatic side, a traditional Latin-loving, veil-wearing side. Above all, I want to live a life of prayer, holiness, and heroic virtue. The New Evangelization is knit into who I am.

Rosa Mystica Rosary Bracelet

Chantal HowardI have been married for nearly 15 years to the man of my Jane-Austin-like dreams.  I can truthfully say Peter and I are a work in progress.  But I rejoice in the Mercy of God that is helping us to put lofty ideas of love into practice with greater gratitude and tenderness. I love that I get to share life with a man of such conviction, passion, and fidelity – to me, to Our Lady, and to Our Lord.

My five children are the pure light of my life. We homeschool.  I admit, though, that our homeschool has been interdependent with much family collaboration and even part-time school going opportunities to help round out our family dynamic, allowing for me to be as active in work as I am.  This is the nature of the “School of the Family,” as it has developed for us. The desire to nurture them in health, in mind, in spirit, and in creativity and joy is foundational and much of that I can give to them, but I also realize that I am not fully sufficient alone.  I laugh when I hear the not so popular expression, “It takes a village to raise a child,” and yet can we really deny the fact?  So, we had better choose our villages carefully.  In our case, our family is our village, and so we have recently relocated to Northern Idaho to be near all my siblings and my mother so that we can foster our kids in the context of family, faith, farming, good food, and adventure.

Tell us about the nature of your work.

Victory Heirloom aromaRosary

My Grandaddy began the entrepreneurial streak in our family as an inventor. My mom and dad firmed it up by building a family business. I grew up helping to answer phone calls, strategize marketing plans and work in the field. As my mom homeschooled me, this practical work in business became second nature. Since then, I have not ceased drumming up new ventures. Ministry, writing, dōTERRA, and my family have offered platforms to launch entrepreneurial dreams in more directions than I ever imagined – Catholicpreneur style. In addition, as a young person I was a highly competitive gymnast and high-level athlete, in several arenas.  This promoted a lifestyle of fitness and wholesomeness that has been a steady undercurrent in my life. Together, these life experiences have brought me to where I am today as a “natural solution coach.” I help families find health and happiness through an essential oil-inspired wellness lifestyle, without New Age overtones.

Where did your passion for the rosary begin, and why do you see it as such an important mission to bring to the world?

As a young person my parents rested all their hope of us remaining a faithful family on the prayer of the Holy Rosary. Through their inspiration, we began early chanting the rosary in a Byzantine style, and I have never turned back from loving the rosary and wanting to bring it to life as—not just a prayer but—an experience that helps us traverse from our earthly dimension to the spiritual plain of contemplation.  (You can check out the audio CD in the Byzantine style that we produced as a family, here.)

How did your passion for essential oils and the rosary together take shape?

The Rosary is a gift that has been given to all of humanity to heal our wounded nature.  It offers us a way to ascend to the heights of our calling as children of God by tethering our fidgeting hands, our wandering minds, and our wayward souls to the life of Christ. In light of my work coaching so many people who are wounded physically and emotionally, the support of essential oils tied to the rosary struck me as a natural bridge.

A few years ago, Immaculée Ilibagiza spoke to my heart, as she shared her story of suffering and triumph through the power of the rosary with 30,000 other individuals. It just so happened that she was the keynote speaker at a large, global essential oil summit I was attending. As she shared, I marveled at her passion and unhindered dedication to sharing the rosary with the world.  Here, in one moment, two of my greatest loves in life were colliding before my eyes—essential oils and the rosary! As I drove across the county, I reflected on my personal visit with Immaculee, her powerful gesture of throwing her rosary to someone in the crowd, and all I had just learned about the movement of essential oils in health care. My heart overflowed with inspiration and the desire to bring to our hurting world the solace and rich blessings of essential oils and the rosary. Thus this effort was born.

Describe an aromaRosary.

Every aromaRosary is hand-crafted to hold and diffuse essential oils, to expand the prayer experience.  Using natural stones and lava rock and other ceramic, metal, or wood beads, we have designed rosaries that can withstand the intensity of therapeutic grade essential oils that have been chosen carefully to reflect the mysteries of the rosary.  These blends are symbolic and calming, to help promote an atmosphere of prayer.  Together with fingering the beads, chanting the prayers, and smelling the aromas of sanctity, we can more fully engage our senses and focus our prayers.

Unpack for us briefly the four essential oil bends you have chosen.

We use four unique blends. The Joyful Blend is comprised of frankincense and other oils that help create an aroma reminiscent of the Nativity.  The Luminous Blend is a blend of citrus oils that reflect the light and miraculous nature of the Luminous mysteries. The Sorrowful Blend is woody and earthy, with Myrrh and other wood oils that are an aromatic encounter with the cross and the mysteries of Christ’s suffering.  The Glorious Blend offers floral notes and Easteresque aromas that are gentle, soft, and Marian.

Do you have resources that would help others to learn about aromaRosary and your work as a coach and speaker?

Please visit us at aromaRosary.com. We’re having our Advent sale, right now!  I would welcome your comments, your reviews, your support of our efforts, and of course I would love to work with you. I offer coaching and essential oil training.  We have a dynamic Catholic team of essential oils coaches throughout the country and we want you to be a part of what we are doing to heal families and evangelize in the process.

aromaRosary-2.jpg

Thank you, Chantal!

TO ENTER:

Leave a comment below about why you’d like to win the Guadalupe aromaRosary Bracelet! A random drawing will take place on the evening of Wednesday, December 12th.

NOTE: you must have access to a mailing address in the United States, to win!

 

On Being Ordinary

By

Freeimages.com/ HermanBrinkman

I love Ordinary Time. It is Mac-n-Cheese on a Friday night, comforting, predictable and filled with love. Unlike Advent or Lent, Ordinary time is neither a time of preparation nor a particularly penitential period. It is not a time of celebration like Christmas or Easter; it is, well, ordinary.

When you work in ministry, the other seasons of the liturgical year are often accompanied by a frenzied pace. As an RCIA Coordinator, I find Lent especially challenging. There are Rites to celebrate, paperwork to do and catechesis to finish before the Easter Vigil. Ordinary Time provides an opportunity to slow down and appreciate the everyday beauty of the Mass and the Gospel. I find it a time for reflection and a time to breathe in my faith…deeply.

As a wife and mother, I recognize that many of the moments I treasure most are not those that happen on vacations or holidays but those nestled into the most normal of days. When my adult son sends me a text in the morning to say he loves me or the older kids unexpectedly help the younger ones, those are the things that take my breath away. In the same way, I see and hear the Mass differently during Ordinary Time. Small nuggets of wisdom pop out of the readings and into my consciousness when it is not cluttered by the busyness of other seasons. I see the Consecration as if in slow motion, savoring each second. I do not feel rushed.

As the days of this period will pass by quickly, I will enjoy the blessings that are anything but ordinary.

(C) 2017

The Dark Night of this Catechist

By

Freeimages.com/ PawelTomkiewicz. Used with Permission

Freeimages.com/
PawelTomkiewicz. Used with Permission


It should have been predictable, but it had never happened to me before. I had just finished catechizing a summer RCIA group and was about to start a new one for fall. I was two weeks away from beginning a new confirmation class, just finished teaching at a PreCana weekend, and Oh yeah, was leading a group in the Thirty-Three Days to Morning Glory Consecration to Our Lady after a re-consecration of my own. I had put a spiritual bullseye on my back and took a direct hit.

I fell into a dark night of spirituality. I have always been blessed to ‘feel’ God’s presence, especially after receiving the Eucharist. Suddenly, I didn’t and worse than that, my heart was filled with doubts. They weren’t so much about believing in God, that is who I am and it cannot be separated out from me, but about the future of the Faith and the Church. I know, I know, “the gates of hell will not prevail,” however, in my head it sounded like the teacher from Charlie Brown’s Peanuts, “blah, blah, blah, blah.”

I feared how my children and those I taught would stay strong in the truths of Faith when the world appeared to be winning the battle for souls.

So how do you impart wisdom and the joy of the truths of the Catholic Faith on others when you cannot feel it in your own heart? This was my constant question. To find the answers I went to Mass.

I watched and participated; I felt empty and alone. I listened and prayed; I didn’t hear God’s voice. Still, I trusted. Eventually, I discovered an analogy that seemed to fit. I felt as if I wanted a face-to-face confession, but had been placed behind the screen instead. I wanted, no… needed, to see the priest’s body language and even his affection for me as a person and yet, I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t seem to peek around the screen to get a glimpse. In this thought, I realized that the priest was still there. My confession would still be valid. I would still be forgiven. Spiritual darkness does not take away the validity of my faith. It may make it harder to pick up on the little clues I have become accustomed to receiving from God, nonetheless the grace is still there. Luckily for me, for all of us, my joy in the Lord is not rooted in emotion, but in the hope of eternal life with Him. I can catechize with love, understanding and wisdom even if I am not receiving the gift of feeling God’s presence.

I turned to the examples of the Saints, especially calling on Saint Mother Teresa, who suffered through years of her own darkness, to fulfill her promise “If I ever become a saint—I will surely be one of ‘darkness,’” Mother Teresa wrote in September of 1959. “I will continually be absent from heaven—to light the light of those in darkness on earth.” I pray that she will help me now and that the darkness will not inhibit my ability to propagate the Faith.

(C) 2016

Printable Worksheets on the Sacrament of Matrimony #freebie #4KEYS

By

turning-good-marriages-into-glory-canva-graphic

This is number two in a series of downloadable worksheets to use at home, in small groups, or during break-out sessions with our Catholic marriage advice book, The Four Keys to Everlasting Love. This week, we’re focusing on the sacraments and the saints.  You can follow along with us in the 4 Keys Online Book Club on Facebook. TO DOWNLOAD AND PRINT, CLICK HERE.

Chapter 2 Worksheet

Turning Good Marriages into Pathways to Glory:
It’s a Sacrament; It’s a Vocation; It’s a Road Map to Heaven!

Marriage can be good. With effort, it can be very good. But it takes God to make the union glorious. The graces of the Sacrament of Matrimony are a powerful aid to couples in their everyday struggles and in times of great crisis.

Nowadays, fewer Catholics are choosing to get married in the Church than at any other time in recent history. Many people don’t realize what a wonderful treasure Catholic marriage is! As Manny and Karee explain in Chapter Two of The Four Keys, “couples united in the Sacrament of Matrimony have been blessed with the grace to take natural love to a supernatural level.  … [T]hey are called and empowered to love to the highest degree, the degree that Christ loved us – to forgive seventy times seven times, to do the humblest chore out of love, and to die to self in order to live and love for others.”

In Chapter Two, Manny and Karee describe marriage’s role as one of the seven sacraments, the difference between a valid and invalid marriage, and the importance of the vocation of marriage. They also reveal how the saints, our cheering section in the next life, are willing and eager to help husbands and wives get each other to heaven. From this chapter, you will learn how to:

  • Seek help from the sacraments
  • Seek help from the saints
  • Discern God’s voice
  • Be faithful in little things and let God turn them into glory

Conversation Starters

You can use the following conversation starters to get a discussion going among yourselves or in a small group. If it helps, think it over on your own time, take it to prayer, and jot down your answers before talking about them.

1. Why did you choose each other? How did you know you had found the “one”?

 

2. Why did you decide in favor of (or against) getting married in the Catholic Church?

 

3. How have you seen the graces of the sacrament at work in your lives and in your relationship?

 

4. Who do you think has an exceptionally good marriage and why? Do you have a favorite married saint who would be a good role model?

 

Free Marriage Memes for Social Media Sharing

By

A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and that’s especially true on Facebook. Social media is extremely image-driven. To evangelize through that medium, you need a short pithy statement and a dynamite image. So, to spread the message of the good news about Catholic marriage, I’ve prepared a series of memes to go with each chapter of my book The Four Keys to Everlasting Love.

Chapter One focuses on overcoming the differences that divide spouses so that two may become one. Each of these memes is based on content from Chapter One. Feel free to download them and share them widely.

Meme #1: Catechism

4-keys-catechism-ch-1-meme

 

Meme #2: Scripture

4-keys-scripture-new-ch-1-meme

 

Meme #3: Quote from Four Keys

4-keys-quote-ch-1-meme

 

Meme #4: Action Plan

4-keys-action-plan-ch-1-meme

Lenten Lessons Learned

By

(C) 2016 Vlad Rosien All Rights Reserved

(C) 2016
Vlad Rosien
All Rights Reserved

Vlad Rosien All Rights Reserved

Vlad Rosien
All Rights Reserved

What a long, strange Lent it’s been. It started so dry and ended with quite a bit of suffering and growing. The Lord taught me a lot through my small sacrifices and works of mercy.

1/ Just because you give up chocolate doesn’t mean you’ll lose weight. The trick for me this Lent, was in not replacing the thing I gave up with something else. A true sacrifice should be a little uncomfortable. If you skip meat on Fridays, then go out for lobster, the sacrifice has actually become a treat.

2/ When you spend time in quiet prayer and reflection new insights are revealed. I’m often busy (my hubby would say too busy for my own good). Frequently on the move, caring for others and working several jobs doesn’t give me much time for reflection. This Lent, I made a conscious effort to spend more time in adoration. It may sound a little pretentious, but I found myself in those moments. I recognized that God works in my life in little ways I hadn’t noticed before. For example, I don’t write beautiful novels or long works of literary knowledge and…that’s okay. I write concise, short books and articles for busy people to read on the run. I’m not particularly prolific, however, I am practical and spiritual and God can use that too. It took me a long time to be okay with being the writer I am, not the one I thought I should be.

3/ Giving up some social media taught me that I like people more when I don’t know who they are voting for, what vacations they have been on and what wonderful successes they are currently enjoying. I don’t think I was even aware how much social media was coloring how I viewed others or how judgmental/envious I become while scrolling! Once I recognized this shortcoming in myself, I also realized that to, “Avoid the near occasion of sin,” I must decrease my use of social media permanently. I now check, post, scroll and comment much less frequently than I used to and life is better for it.

I am so grateful for the seasons of the Church Liturgical Year. Each one gives us a different focus and a chance to reflect and learn new things. God bless.

(C) 2016

Helping Parents BE Their Children’s First Catechists

By

Do you find yourself, as a catechist, pulling your hair out trying to get parents involved? Are you facing a group of students who seem to be getting nothing beyond the classroom?

Let me just say: I feel ya.

Helping Parents Be Their Child's First Catechist - Amazing Catechists

I am once again in front of a group of 5th graders every week, as a catechist of a parish religious education class.

And once again, I’m lauded as “knowing more” than others. I’m heralded as “being better” at this. Someone recently called me (much to my chagrin!), “brilliant.”

I can’t help but feel that some of the people who say these things so quickly and so admiringly are hiding a bit.

Because, in the years I’ve been a catechist, I’ve noticed something that I’m still trying to process:

Most parents DO NOT realize **THEY** are their children’s first catechist.

Where’s the first place children learn about anything?

It’s in their own home, and while there will be plenty of other places that they learn things, the primary source is home.

Given that, what can WE, as catechists, do to help these parents? Here are a few ideas from the trenches of catechist-hood:

1. Communicate with them. Again and again and AGAIN.

I send at least one and sometimes two emails to parents of my students. I let them know the topics we’re covering, the “trivia” (it’s not homework, it’s a hunt for the answers…and THEY are the kids are the ones doing the hunting), and other items of note.

Sometimes I mention the liturgical season, tie into the Mass readings, tap into popular events that have happened.

I also don’t hesitate to call or reach out directly to a parent when I feel like something might be up with a student. There was a student not so long ago who just had a distant look in my class; I caught Mom afterward and found out some critical facts about their home life that really transformed how I dealt with him.

Parents are busy. I get that. But…they’re bringing their kids for a reason, and I can’t help but think that, if I help them along, they’ll get excited and have more resources to do their own catechisting too!

2. Invite them in.

In the decade plus that I’ve been doing parish work and volunteering, I’ve noticed something: you can have Bible studies and committee meetings all day long, with or without food, and you may or may not have people show up.

Offer religious education for kids and suddenly people are crawling out of the woodwork.

There’s room to be cynical about this. But I’d like to see this as a sign of hope.

Parents KNOW that this is important. They KNOW that this is critical. They KNOW that it’s something they should do.

They just. don’t. know. how.

So…why not invite them in?

As a 5th grade catechist, I think I’m probably teaching at about the level most adults want. It’s low-impact, mentally, and yet when the kids get going with questions, it can really get them stimulated and thinking.

3. Engage them in their faith.

This is a buzzword in marketing, but don’t let that make you cynical. People want to be welcomed, and they want to connect.

What better connection point than their children? And what better topic than their faith?

A lot of the parents I’ve worked with over the years are insecure about their faith knowledge. They need encouraged. They need to know what tools they already have.

Maybe their own catechesis was nonexistent. Maybe they’ve forgotten what they learned in school. Maybe they didn’t care until recently.

You may think you’re there to teach kids, and you are. But really, you’re there just as much for the parents.

Help them realize their role, and help equip them in whatever small way you can.

And above all, don’t forget to pray for them!

How do you engage with parents?

Helping Parents Be Their Child's First Catechist - Amazing Catechists

Micro-Managing God

By

Freeimages.com

Freeimages.com


When I was fourteen, I liked a boy named David. I really wanted him to like me back, so I prayed very hard that he would fall in ‘like’ with me. I told God his full name, address and all the details of how this desired relationship should go. I didn’t want God (yeah, the almighty, all-knowing God who created me) to make a mistake and let the wrong David like me. I thought I could micro-manage God.

Fast-forward and it was a job I desired, in a specific field, in a specific location… I seem to have developed a pattern of asking for exactly what I wanted. It took me years to figure out that the one who created me could create the perfect plan for me.

My good friend and co-RCIA teacher, Kelly Guest, puts it this way:

At the Wedding at Cana, Mary only presents the problem to Jesus, her son. “They have no wine,” she states. (John 2:1-12) She doesn’t tell Jesus what He should do, or how He should do it. She trusts that He will do what is necessary, in the way that it is necessary. Although Christ tells His mother that it is, “not my time,” He still works a miracle to fix the embarrassing situation for the bride and groom, and to bring about the best result.

Kelly reminds me that we only need to present our concern to the Lord and trust Him to work out the best plan for us. When we try to tell God how things ‘should’ be instead of believing He will work out things for our best, we demonstrate a lack of trust in the Lord.
In Jeremiah 29:11 we are further told that the Lord has plans for us that are for our, “good and not for our destruction.”

Scripture often reminds us to yield our will completely to the Lord”s plans for us.

“But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” Psalm 31:14

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” John 14:1

Mary, the Mother of God, shows conviction in following God’s plan from the Annunciation, to the Wedding at Cana, at the foot of the cross and again at Jesus’ Ascension into heaven. Following Mary’s example will draw us into a deeper, more trusting relationship with Christ.

The Other Mary at the Foot of the Cross

By

I had been struggling with my husband’s illness. He is in horrific pain, several times a day, every day. My darling husband is a strong Catholic man. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is a devout Christian and he has suffered for many years. I went to the sacrament of reconciliation and confessed my frustration with God’s plan in all this. “Why doesn’t God will his healing?” I complained, “Show me how I can be patient, knowing that God is using this to work out my husband’s salvation?”

My wise confessor asked me to meditate on Mary Magdalene at the foot of the cross. I have a special affinity for this particular saint. Our lives have seemed parallel at times to me. It has been difficult for me to recognize Jesus sometimes, just as Mary struggled outside the tomb. As a catechist, I run to tell others about the risen Lord!! I took the advice seriously, went to Adoration and focused on the foot of the cross.

Mary Magdalene’s brother (Lazarus) had died and Jesus had raised him days later. The crucifixion must have seemed confusing to her. She, better than most, truly understood the power the Lord possessed! She knew He could come down off the cross anytime He wanted. She too must have wondered how this plan was going to work out, however, Mary had something that I was lacking…trust.

I can’t imagine how much she loved him. I can only try to picture what it was like to stand at the foot of the cross and see your Savior, your friend, being crucified. She must have wanted to scream. I presume that her heart was breaking as she wondered how long this would continue, but still, she trusted.

I love my husband. I hate to see him suffer. I must trust, as Mary Magdalene did, that God has a plan that is too wonderful for me to comprehend. Perhaps, one day in heaven, I will be shown the souls my husband’s suffering had a part in saving? Until heaven, I will cry, hope and trust, just like Saint Mary Magdalene.

*read more about St. Mary Magdalene (Feast day July 22nd) at http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=83

freeimages.com/Derek Boggs

freeimages.com/Derek Boggs

An Inconvenient Catholic Truth

By

All rights reserved 2015

All rights reserved 2015

Many are outraged by the Pope’s Encyclical on Climate, Laudato Si’. They feel that it is an inappropriate focus on the environment with so many other threats to our modern world. They ruminate on concerns that the science on this matter isn’t settled. They are missing the point.

Others applaud the idea that the Pope is giving this issue so much attention, thinking he is going to flip Church teaching on other secular hot button subjects. They are also missing the point.

The Church has an obligation to discuss topics related to the times. There have been encyclicals on everything thing from the threat of Nazi Germany to Birth Control. We either believe that the Church and the Pope are led by the Holy Spirit to guide us, or we don’t. It’s not tidy. It’s not easy. It is an inconvenient Catholic Truth.

While discussing climate and environmental problems may not seem pressing, consider the fact that many people in the world do not have clean drinking water. In the Encyclical it states, “Access to safe, clean drinking water is a basic and universal human right.” It is so easy to get caught up in bills, 401Ks, and employment concerns, that we forget some of the ‘least of our brothers’ can’t even get clean water to drink. As Catholics, this is a conversation we need to participate in.

I have looked over the encyclical, and what struck me most was balance. We like to put everything in a little political box. There is my side and your side…and YOU are wrong. Pope Francis challenges this thinking by being decidedly Catholic. We do not need to agree with all the Pope’s scientific assertions, but we do need to understand and obey the moral or ethical teachings within the information he presents. Both sides will struggle to comply with the ideas he puts forth.

Pope Francis points out the pitfalls of relativism, while still showing us that all things work together as a whole. Matters of human dignity and the environment we steward are intrinsically connected and cannot be disconnected or unwound based on politics. For example, we cannot pursue organic foods while supporting hormonal birth control. It is inconsistent both logically and from a Catholic perspective.

Some might squirm when asked to truly evaluate their impact on the planet. They will have to face demons of consumerism and perhaps greed. Those who often feel they have the moral highroad (due in part to their correct pro-life stance) may be confronted with the lack of resources in the world for others. They may have to be humbled to accept the fact that this pope was led (by the Spirit) to discuss an issue they don’t really see as a problem.

While others, who feel they are showing exceptional love by accepting others exactly as they are, may ‘blip’ over the document’s reminder that we are not in control. God is in control and we can, “lose humility and become enthralled with the possible mastery over everything.” They may not easily accept the teaching that,“The acceptance of our bodies as God’s gift is vital for welcoming the entire world as a gift from the Father and our common home…whereas thinking we enjoy absolute power over our own bodies turns, often subtly, into thinking that we enjoy absolute power over creation.”

These words threaten notions of choosing one’s sex, the need for population control (contraception) and embryonic stem cell research (thereby abortion).

We are challenged to accept ourselves as created and to see the world as precious; we are the stewards of that creation. While God gave us dominion over the world, He did not give us the world. It belongs to the Creator. There is humility in recognizing that He who designed the world and it’s inhabitants knows best how they should function. We may feel there is servility in accepting a teaching that we didn’t recognize a need for.

We can disagree about some aspects of how to accomplish what is the most prudent strategy for protecting our world and its people, but we must pursue the inconvenient Catholic truth in all things. God bless.