Open to Life

A friend sent me a wonderful video, embedded below, about large families, which was also featured on Rorate Caeli. Rorate Caeli adds the caveat that “this post is ONLY intended to show the beauty of the big family, and in no way is it an endorsement of IVE. Read here for our post on this order.”

That said, the thoughts expressed by the people in the video beautifully expressed the joy of abandonment to Divine Providence. THIS is what being open to life is all about. Here are some quotes:

“My family is the greatest gift in my life because I have the love of fifteen children and my wife, which makes me very happy…[A] father doesn’t fulfill himself at his work, his office, unless he first fulfills himself in his family.”

“Always bet on a family, the true good.”

“I’m convinced that children are not parents’ private property. Children belong to God, and He lends parents the children’s souls.”

From a priest from a large family: “Don’t be afraid to give God what belongs to God, as all the saints did, giving love for love, life for life, everything for everything.

Another priest (seminarian?) says, “Don’t be afraid to surrender  to Jesus Christ. If he calls us, it’s not to take something away from us; it’s to give us everything.”

A young man who is an attorney says he misses having his family all together under one roof, as many are in various stages of their religious formation, but says, “I think the key attitude is to be obedient to God’s will, which makes us a very happy family”. He also notes that he has a girlfriend and wants to get married soon “and have children who learn to honor God”.

Rorate Caeli has a follow-up post in which they say ask for volunteers to share their “large family” stories:

The post on the Prado family sparked many emails, and discussions in my own home, about what it takes to be like them. While we don't know what they're really like with the cameras off, all evidence points to their holiness, and their happiness.

…If you have the time to write us, send in your stories to  athanasiuscatholic@yahoo.com. Don't worry about the grammar, the length, etc. Just jot your stories down and send them in. And tell us if you want to stay anonymous or not. Pictures are welcome as well as links to family blogs.

Be sure to check the post for all the details and requirements if you have a story to share. I hope some who have shared their stories with me will send in their anecdotes to Rorate Caeli!

Rorate Caeli had one more follow-up post with an example of an inspirational story. Here’s the beginning of that post – follow the link to read the whole thing:

Please consider sending your story to Rorate (see here for very flexible instructions) to post in this on-going series to help inspire young Catholic couples to forgo the abuses of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and simply go fourth and multiply with faith and confidence in a loving and all-knowing God:

By Maeana Cragg

Some people may think we’re crazy. Others may think that we are just foolish. Few have ever said that directly to us.

In fact, after asking the obligatory, “Are they all yours?” most people are kind enough to tell us what a beautiful family we have.

There was a time when a Catholic family with at least seven sweet little stair steps was not extraordinary at all, but quite typical. Somewhere, we seem to have lost that beautiful part of our Catholic identity… [read the rest here]