One of the first things God said to Noah after the flood was the first thing He said to the human race after creating us: "Be fertile and multiply" (Gn 1:28). God concluded His blessing of Noah with the words: "Be fertile, then, and multiply" (Gn 9:7; see also Gn 1:22).
The Lord has made it very clear that children are a blessing from Him (see Ps 127:3) and should be welcomed (see Mt 18:5). In the new covenant, however, the Lord wants us to multiply not only people but also people who are His disciples (see Mt 28:19). He insists that we bear abundantly the fruit of evangelization, or we will be "like a withered, rejected branch, picked up to be thrown in the fire and burnt" (Jn 15:6).
Naturally, the Lord wants human beings to be created within the marriage covenant through sexual relations and brought to birth through the mother's suffering in pregnancy and delivery. Supernaturally, the Lord makes us new creations (see Gal 6:15) and gives us new birth (see Jn 3:3, 5) by our covenant relationship with Jesus (see Jn 15:5) and our suffering for love of Him.
Don't be abortifacient or contraceptive. Choose love and life-giving pain. Choose life and be fruitful.
| PRAYER: | Father make me faithful, fruitful, and pleasing to You. |
| PROMISE: | "The nations shall revere Your name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth Your glory." –Ps 102:16 |
| PRAISE: | St. Peter Damian was a hermit, abbot, and a cardinal bishop. He worked hard to tighten the spiritual practices of the Church. In the end, he lived again as a hermit. He was declared a Doctor of the Church in 1828. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College