Why is contraception and missing your Sunday obligation a mortal sin?

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FuzzyBunny116

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Damnation seems a bit harsh for either, although, I can somewhat see it for Sunday obligatiation, being part of the Ten Commandments.
 
We were also told to “Be fruitful and multiply”, and contraception is contrary to that directive.

The thing on contraception is that many forms of it are abortifacients, which violates the “Thou shalt not commit murder” commandment. Those forms which are not (i.e. condoms) distort the purpose of the marital act and encourage people to view one another as sex objects, which does not mean you are “loving your neighbor as yourself”, which, according to Jesus, was second only to “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, body, and strength.”

As for Sunday obligation, if you are Catholic, you believe that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Humbly receiving him into our bodies once a week (while honoring the Sabbath as well) is the least we can do for Our Lord. By avoiding the Eucharist, we are not honoring the Sabbath, and we are putting false gods before the One True God.

“Sunday Obligation” seems all wrong. It should be “Sunday Honor”. And we should all be going as often as possible! 👍
 
Where to start with contraception…?

How about the pill? The pill chemically alters a woman’s body to make a perfectly healthy part of her dysfunctional and unhealthy…and not just any part of her body, like her hair or her arm, but the very thing that makes her a woman in the first place - her fertility (men don’t ovulate or have periods).

So, in using the pill, a couple is saying that in order for them to enter in to the most intimate union they will ever experience, the woman has to treat the very thing that makes her a woman like a disease to be controlled at all costs, even at the risk of her own mental and physical well being.

How is that *not *sinful? How is that in any way consistent with God’s plan for love?
 
Cari said:
We were also told to “Be fruitful and multiply”, and contraception is contrary to that directive.

The thing on contraception is that many forms of it are abortifacients, which violates the “Thou shalt not commit murder” commandment. Those forms which are not (i.e. condoms) distort the purpose of the marital act and encourage people to view one another as sex objects, which does not mean you are “loving your neighbor as yourself”, which, according to Jesus, was second only to “Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, body, and strength.”

As for Sunday obligation, if you are Catholic, you believe that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Humbly receiving him into our bodies once a week (while honoring the Sabbath as well) is the least we can do for Our Lord. By avoiding the Eucharist, we are not honoring the Sabbath, and we are putting false gods before the One True God.

“Sunday Obligation” seems all wrong. It should be “Sunday Honor”. And we should all be going as often as possible! 👍
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Sunday obligation makes sense, but not all contraceptives are abortificiants.
 
mike182d said:
Where to start with contraception…?

How about the pill? The pill chemically alters a woman’s body to make a perfectly healthy part of her dysfunctional and unhealthy…and not just any part of her body, like her hair or her arm, but the very thing that makes her a woman in the first place - her fertility (men don’t ovulate or have periods).

So, in using the pill, a couple is saying that in order for them to enter in to the most intimate union they will ever experience, the woman has to treat the very thing that makes her a woman like a disease to be controlled at all costs, even at the risk of her own mental and physical well being.

How is that *not *sinful? How is that in any way consistent with God’s plan for love?
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That was a great way of putting that! I’ve never thought about it like that. But what about, say, condoms? They don’t alter the fertility of a woman.
 
FuzzyBunny116 said:
Damnation seems a bit harsh for either, although, I can somewhat see it for Sunday obligatiation, being part of the Ten Commandments.
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HARSH?

2 Sam 6:11-12
When they came to the threshing floor of Nodan, Uzzah reached out his hand to the ark of God and steadied it, for the oxen were making it tip. But the LORD was angry with Uzzah; God struck him on that spot, and he died there before God.
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The poor guy just wanted to make sure the Ark of the Covenant didn’t fall!

HARSH?!?!

What about

Acts 5:1-11
Code: 
A man named Ananias, however, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property.
2
He retained for himself, with his wife’s knowledge, some of the purchase price, took the remainder, and put it at the feet of the apostles.
3
But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart so that you lied to the holy Spirit and retained part of the price of the land?
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While it remained unsold, did it not remain yours? And when it was sold, was it not still under your control? Why did you contrive this deed? You have lied not to human beings, but to God.”
5
When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last, and great fear came upon all who heard of it.
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The young men came and wrapped him up, then carried him out and buried him.
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After an interval of about three hours, his wife came in, unaware of what had happened.
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Peter said to her, “Tell me, did you sell the land for this amount?” She answered, “Yes, for that amount.”
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Then Peter said to her, “Why did you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen, the footsteps of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.”
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At once, she fell down at his feet and breathed her last. When the young men entered they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
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And great fear came upon the whole church and upon all who heard of these things.
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It was their property to begin with!!!
 
FuzzyBunny116 said:
That was a great way of putting that! I’ve never thought about it like that. But what about, say, condoms? They don’t alter the fertility of a woman.
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The problem with condoms is similar and, I think, best expressed by a painting called “The Lovers” by Rene Magritte:

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

What is being said with a condom, in what is supposed to be a supreme act of self-gift and personal intimacy, is “I don’t want all of you. I want the *feeling *of being intimate with you, but I don’t really want all of you in the process.”

Kind of like the lovers. Its a “fake” intimacy engaged in for the sake of intimacy and, ultimately, both people are being used in the process.

Hope this helps! 😃
 
Cari said:
We were also told to “Be fruitful and multiply”, and contraception is contrary to that directive.
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Wouldn’t using NFP to avoid having a child also be contrary to that directive?
 
Benedictus said:
Wouldn’t using NFP to avoid having a child also be contrary to that directive?
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If used incorrectly, yes it would be.

NFP differes from condoms in that NFP works with the body as God designed it. Condoms don’t
.

God created the female to have fertile and infertile times, with the very design showing that God does not desire that every marital embrace be a fertile act.

But condoms act against God’s design for human fertility. NFP works with it ( both to achive pregnancy if desired or temporarly avoid it)

So yes, NFP CAN lead to a contraceptive mentality, but a condom ALWAYS does.

And, as mentioned before, condoms are also a sin against the unity of the marital act. It is an outright rejection of your spouse’s fertility as God created it. NFP is an acceptance of your spouse’s fertility, as God created it.

The marital act should always be about acceptance, never about rejection.
 
Brendan said:
If used incorrectly, yes it would be.

NFP differes from condoms in that NFP works with the body as God designed it. Condoms don’t
.

God created the female to have fertile and infertile times, with the very design showing that God does not desire that every marital embrace be a fertile act.

But condoms act against God’s design for human fertility. NFP works with it ( both to achive pregnancy if desired or temporarly avoid it)

So yes, NFP CAN lead to a contraceptive mentality, but a condom ALWAYS does.

And, as mentioned before, condoms are also a sin against the unity of the marital act. It is an outright rejection of your spouse’s fertility as God created it. NFP is an acceptance of your spouse’s fertility, as God created it.

The marital act should always be about acceptance, never about rejection.
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THANK YOU! I was completely “deer in a headlighted” with the question, and couldn’t think of an answer. But now, thanks to you, not only has an answer been provided, but I also understand NFP more clearly.

So thanks, poster-who-questioned and poster-who-answered.

C
 
I once heard Christopher West say contraception was sexual infidelity with that other person in your marriage: God.

It’s not OK to be “usually faithful.”
 
FuzzyBunny116 said:
Damnation seems a bit harsh for either…
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Commiting a mortal sin doesn’t always lead to damnation–but it means one did something seriously wrong. God will not likely damn everyone who ever used contraception or who missed Sunday Mass, but such behaviors done with full knowledge place souls at risk. The Church warns us that if we commit mortal sins we must repent, confess and ammend our ways. They aren’t mortal sins because the Church says so–the Church says so because objectively they are serious and grave sins.
 
Cari said:
As for Sunday obligation, if you are Catholic, you believe that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity in the Eucharist. Humbly receiving him into our bodies once a week (while honoring the Sabbath as well) is the least we can do for Our Lord. By avoiding the Eucharist, we are not honoring the Sabbath, and we are putting false gods before the One True God.

“Sunday Obligation” seems all wrong. It should be “Sunday Honor”. And we should all be going as often as possible! 👍
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Yet the church only requires us to take communion once a year.
 
And another good point…anyone want to pull my butt out of the fire (like the poster who did so on the NFP question)?

This post is bringing up the best questions! Better to be challenged and unprepaired now, in this setting, than in a face-to-face discussion with a friend or family member!
 
thomasf said:
Yet the church only requires us to take communion once a year.
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Not quite.

The 2nd precept is that we must go to Confession at least once per year.

The 3rd precept is that we must receive the Eucharist at least during the Easter Season.
 
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