I've been an extremely bad blogger. I apologize to you all. It's been a hectic 2 weeks. I've had Pre-Cana, my shower, mini-bachelorette party, designing/editing my programs, thank you cards, exchanging/returning items...We have been running non-stop.
I am finally sitting and taking a break from all this craziness. (And when I say crazy...I mean it in a good way)
Pre-Cana is way better than I expected. We actually had fun-and gained a lot. Mentally and spiritually. My uncle Fr. Bart is our officiant and he was our teacher for part of the day. I have to admit he is a wonderful teacher. He keeps you wanting more and really sends out a great message.
Here are a few key elements we touched on..
The Goods Of Marriage:
- Partnership/Union-a mutual understanding of the whole life:spirit, mind, body and affections.
- Permanence: Marriage lasts for as long as the couple lives. The marriage is indissoluble.
- Fidelity: Living out life-long promise to give yourself only to your spouse.
- Procreation: Willingness to cooperate with God in creating new life.
- Self-donation and Self-sacrifice
10 Dynamics that can threaten a marriage:
- Clinging to single life patterns
- Avoiding the serious issues
- Dropping church attendance
- Ambiguity about children
- Coming of the first child
- Placing your career first
- Ignoring alcohol and drug abuse
- Copntrolling influence of parents
- Negative effects of contraception
- Ignoring that not-right feeling
We also had a lecture on the Billings Ovulation Method. Which we will definitely be taking a more indepth class on. Birth Control can really be dangerous; causing it extremely hard to conceive and even the possibility of becoming sterile. It also can cause mood swings, anxiety and depression. I highly recommend check this out.
At the end of class we headed into church for a little 'surprise'. We got to attend an engagement blessing. We went up to the altar-read our engagement vows, signed a certificate and had my engagement ring blessed.
It was truly an amazing day.
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3 comments:
The BOM is good and established.
But I would debate the sterility beliefs about birth control pill. Speaking with my science background, the pill has been proven time and again NOT to cause sterility over the last 30 years, with the modern dosing / formulations (modern being a reformulation about 35 years ago) and the low dose reformulation (about 15 years ago). Speaking as someone who takes it (and started taking it because of PMS problems), I took it to reduce mood swings. It usually reduces mood swings more often than it causes those problems. It also reduces cramping - from several days of major life disruptions every month, to barely noticing it.
Please don't think I'm trying to convince you to take the pill. I'm not. BOM has a 90% success rate in preventing pregnancy, which is better than other natural methods (over the course of a year, not every time!), and is very well documented.
All drugs have side effects. But in study after study, the side effects of the pill are not sterility or mood swings. The side effects and risks of the pill are stroke and blood clots, and is also very bad for smokers to take. They are well-documented side effects. A good doctor will not prescribe it to someone with high blood pressure or who smokes, or with various other medical conditions. Not to mention, the pill doesn't protect against STDs, which is not an issue for you or I ... but for some people who don't realize it doesn't offer this protection, it may provide a false understanding - increasing the spread of STDs.
Sorry for the long post. I just think that well designed health studies are not always well communicated beyond the healthcare community. The pill has risks (stroke is a pretty big risk!), but a misunderstanding persists about sterility. This is the public health degree in me speaking.
Okay, I'm rambling and not making sense. Sorry to ramble. Feel free to drop me a line / post on my blog to discuss / debate / ask questions.
Re-reading that, I realize I didn't make sense, even though I spent over 15 minutes writing it! Arg ... send me an email if I'm not clear: a dot canadian dot bride at gmail dot com
(Of course, I can't refute any moral or ethical objections anyone has. I am just referring to the physically harmful effects.)
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