Humanae Vitae Worksheets
The (# s) refer to section numbers, not pages.
1. What does the document say about the transmission of life? (#1)
2. What are some of the new questions that have arisen about family planning given the changes in this area? (#2)This document was written in the 1960s. What are some new questions that could be asked today given changes since then?
3. Why is the Catholic Church's teaching arm (the Magisterium) competent to teach on matters of family planning? (#4)What is your opinion about the authority of any religious body to instruct you on how to plan your family (e.g., contraception methods)?
4. The document states that we need to understand both married (conjugal) love and "responsible parenthood." What does the document say about conjugal love? (#8-9)
5. What is the supreme gift of marriage? (end of #9)Does society always value this gift?
6. What does responsible parenthood have to do with biological functions? (#10)How much attention do you pay to your fertility?
7. What are the two choices about having kids facing couples that that are exercising responsible parenthood? (4th paragraph of #10)If Catholic, which would likely adopt today if you were married and why?
8. Are Catholic couples free to proceed at will when it comes to the transmission of life? (#10) Do you think that they should be? Explain.
9. How many marriage acts (love making acts) must remain open to the transmission of life? (#12)Do you think that this is feasible? Why or why not?
10. What does the document say about how to approach our procreative design established by God? (#13) What do you think about this approach?
11. What are some of the illicit ways of regulating birth? (#14)
12. What is not an illicit use of contraceptives? (#15)If your daughter were prescribed the pill to regulate her very painful, unpredictable periods how you would you react? Would you have any concerns beyond the hormonal impact of the pill?
13. If the Catholic Church is not opposed to family planning under serious motives, how must it be done? (#16)Would you trust natural methods of contraception? Explain.
14. What is the difference between couples that use natural forms of family planning and those that use artificial forms (#16)Do you think that this difference is real? Explain.
15. What are the three grave consequences of artificial birth control? (#17)Which of these consequences do you think is actually in existence today? Explain.
16. How does the Catholic Church see itself as the "guarantor" of true human values? (#18). Now that you have read the reasoning behind the Catholic Church's teaching that only natural forms of family planning are permitted, what do you think about it in terms of whether it is a good teaching based on true human values?
PICHÉ CHAPTER 8
The Family
1. What does Piche mean by the family being a communion of persons? Use Trinity in your answer (p. 67).
2. On p. 67, Piché states that a "person is not a person until she or he lives as a member of a family, actively engaged in and consenting to the exchange of love in a communion of persons." Skip ahead to p. 73. What is the mission of the family and how does it tie into becoming/being persons?
3. If you had to write a mission statement for your family, what would it be?
4. According to Piché, how is the family important to the future (p. 74)?
5. According to Piche, what are the circumstances that can obscure the beauty of family life and make it more difficult (p. 74)? What others have circumstances have you seen?
6. If families are going to survive, Piché argues that the must be carefully protected, constantly nurtured and compassionately mended. He emphasizes prayer as a means to stay close God and keep the unity of the family strong. In your view, what else can be done...
By the Family:
By the Church/church members:
By/In Society:
By the Government:
PICHÉ CHAPTER 9
The Relationship between the Church and the Christian Married Couple
1. Piché states that the Church is sacramental - what is it a sign of? (p.79).
2. What does John Paul II mean when he describes the family as "the domestic church" (p. 80)?
3. What advice does Piché give to families (p. 75)? Pull out the sacramental talk.
4. Piché claims that the Church is important to married couples and married couples to the Church/a church community. Explain why.
Include your own ideas as well.
How the Church is important to married couples
How married couples are important to the Church
5. If you marry, would you join a church? Explain.
6. It is often asked: Why can't a Catholic couple marry anywhere but the inside of the Church building? The short answer: the Church is more than a building. Piché says that the vows in a marriage ceremony must have a real and active relation to the community of faith (p. 83). Catholic couples cannot exchange these vows alone or outside of the sacred space of the Church, no matter how much they desire God to be part of what they do, because Christ acts in and through his Body: the Church community. The whole community is witness to the vows "for better or worse, until death"; it also prays and celebrates with the couple in the "home" in which families gather to worship God, and where they will gather as a new family. Does Piché convince you of the importance of marrying inside the Church building? Why or why not? Be specific.
Christian Marriage
Children Reading Worksheet
1. What is your reaction to the claim(s) made in Reading #1 (one paragraph).
2. Provide one example from each section of Reading #2.
Let Children Lead the Way
Give Poverty a Face and Name
Lifestyle Choices
Life of Service
Children Will Remember
Still Struggling
3. Which one of these examples most reflects how your parents raised you and/or you would like to raise your children?
4. Choose three different teachings each from Pope John Paul II (Readings #3-4 ) and from Pope Francis's Amoris Laetitia that you would find most helpful and/or challenging as a parent.
On the Family Letter to Families Amoris Laetitia
https://www.dropbox.com/s/127euyo03vcgegs/marriage.rar?dl=0