Sr. Rosalind Moss: But could you speak to the importance of the family, and even parents sending their children to Catholic schools who are not Catholic, or because there is not a good Catholic school, to Protestant schools, parents who think they can’t homeschool for many reasons, parents who are afraid to have another child and are even looking into matters of contraception, even if NFP was never intended for contraception, but they’re just frightened. So thank you.
Bishop Schneider: The family is one of the most beautiful creations of God, which he invented in his divine wisdom and love. The family, therefore, is one of the greatest hatreds of the devil, of Satan, because this is such a beautiful, unique creation of God. The family is the place where new citizens of heaven are born, potential citizens, followers of Christ. The family is the church in miniature form, the domestic church. This is the teaching of the Fathers of the Church. St. Augustine spoke about this.
Therefore, this is so important, and we know this attack throughout the centuries was always one of the most powerful attacks of the devil and anti-Christian powers, the family, and marriage itself. Through divorce, through attacks on the family, on parents and children, the church has always defended the family. We have to start a renewal, a movement of the renewal of the family itself as the beautifully created community which God created, especially the Catholic family, which is a domestic church. In the transmission of the faith, it should start in the family. Children should receive the Catholic faith, as it were, with mother’s milk. This will create new generations of intrepid, faithful Catholics.
During the persecutions of the church, the family was where the Catholic Church lived. My experience during communist times: we had very few priests. There was official atheistic persecution against the church, against the faith, even in schools and public life. But the Catholic faith was alive and flourishing in Catholic families, as I experienced. I consider this the greatest gift of my life—not the priesthood, not the Episcopacy, but the true, full, integral Catholic faith, which I received from my mother and father since my childhood in my family.
This is so important, and therefore, we have to be confident and fearless. We have to promote Catholic families and, desirably, large families. I appeal to parents: be generous, accept all the children that God gives you. Sometimes NFP, natural family planning, is used as a trick to do contraception. This is not God’s plan. You cannot trick God, even with NFP. When you appear before His judgment, Catholic parents who used NFP with a contraception mentality will face many accusations. You will see the omissions of what you had to give. God will show you all the children who could have been born, who could be saints, citizens of heaven, and you did not give them life because of a lack of confidence and trust in God.
When God gives you a child, He will provide for the child first, not you. Often, we think we must provide for the children ourselves, that we must limit the number of children because it is in our power. It is not in your power. Every child God gives, He will provide for. This is demonstrated throughout history.