Pheromones and contraception....

Tomorrow Night's topic at the LOGOS meeting (our 21 and up ministry) will be 'Contraception?' So, if you're of age, bring yourself and a healthy hunger for cheese. 8:10 pm in the upper room. The topic below also became somewhat of a topic with the girls in the cafe today so I figured this was an appropriate post.

Opening Pandora's Box

by Vicki Thorn

Over the past several months, a number of stories have been circulating in the print media and online that have to do with the impact of chemical contraceptives on mate choice in humans. It seems that most of the coverage is appearing in foreign media – curiously, very little media attention has been given to the issue in the United States.

In the Daily Mail in the United Kingdom, an October 8 article summarizes findings in a research paper published in the journal “Trends in Ecology and Evolution.” Researchers Alexandra Alvergne and Virpi Lumma entitled their study, “Does the contraceptive pill alter mate choice in humans?”

The following is from the paper’s abstract:

Female and male mate choice preference in humans both vary according to the menstrual cycle. Women prefer more masculine, symmetrical and genetically unrelated men during ovulation compared with other phases of their cycle, and recent evidence suggests that men prefer ovulating women to others. Such monthly shifts in mate preference have been suggested to being evolutionary benefits in terms of reproductive success.

How does this all work?

It all has to do with pheromones – the chemical signals, or scent molecules, that communicate to males a female’s most fertile time for reproducing. While there has been debate in the past about whether this means of communication exists in humans, and not just animals, many scientists who have been pursuing the elusive pheromones are certain of their existence in humans at this time. For instance, in 1995, Swiss researcher Claus Wedekind discovered that women who are not chemically contracepting preferred the odor of males whose MHC complex (Major Histocompatibility complex) – immune system markers indicated via smell – were dissimilar to theirs.

In other words, these non-contracepting women were attracted to the scent of men genetically compatible with them. To increase the possibility of fertility with a mate, we need dissimilar immune systems. This is why we do not marry our first cousins. Such an immune system similarity could lead to offspring that are not as healthy.

The use of chemical contraceptives blocks this natural phenomenon by inducing a state of “faux pregnancy,” a suppression of the normal cycling of hormones associated with ovulation. This change in a woman’s body results in changes in her attraction to a potential mate. She is now attracted to a mate whose MHC complex is quite similar to hers, more like that of her father or her brother. It seems to eliminate the adaptive attraction to a male with whom there is an increased possibility of fertility. Furthermore, chemical contraceptives eliminate the normal pheromone shift that alerts males to the woman’s time of fertility. Men find the scent of ovulating women to be attractive and arousing. A consistently infertile woman elicits no such response.

The article summary continues, “New evidence is emerging that taking the oral contraceptive pill might significantly alter both female and male mate choice by removing the mid-cycle change in preferences.”

This alteration may impact relationship satisfaction, in addition to reproductive outcomes. There is growing concern in some quarters that we may have a generation of children with compromised immune systems because of this shift in partner preference caused by chemical contraceptives.

“There is evidence that genetic similarity between couples might be linked to infertility,” Dr. Lumma – one of the co-authors of the journal articles – summarizes. From that, she says, “The ultimate outstanding evolutionary question concerns whether the use of oral contraceptives when making mating decisions can have long-term consequences on the ability of couples to reproduce.”

“If this is the case, Pill use will have implications for both current and future generations, and we hope that our review will stimulate further research on this question,” Dr. Lumma continued.

keep reading...

Super Pope

Something lighthearted on this Monday of Mondays. Hope you enjoy it. Kevin, this one is for you :)

Super Pope

How to pray better....or at all.

Great article about Prayer from Dr. Peter Kreeft. I'll be reading his book 'Prayer for Beginners' while I'm on retreat for the next two days and I thought I'd leave you with this article to reflect on as well. If you're like me you could use some practical powerful advice when it comes to prayer. So....here it is.

Lesson One in Prayer
Let's get very, very basic and very, very practical about prayer. The single most important piece of advice I know about prayer is also the simplest: Just do it!

How to do it is less important than just doing it. Less-than-perfect prayer is infinitely better than no prayer; more perfect prayer is only finitely better than less perfect prayer.

Nancy Reagan was criticized for her simple anti-drug slogan: "Just say no." But there was wisdom there: the wisdom that the heart of any successful program to stop anything must be the simple will to say no. ("Just say no" doesn't mean that nothing else was needed, but that without that simple decision nothing else would work. "Just say no" may not be sufficient but it is necessary.)

Similarly, no program, method, book, teacher, or technique will ever succeed in getting us to start doing anything unless there is first of all that simple, absolute choice to do it. "Just say yes."

The major obstacle in most of our lives to just saying yes to prayer, the most popular and powerful excuse we give for not praying, or not praying more, or not praying regularly, is that we have no time.

The only effective answer to that excuse, I find, is a kind of murder. You have to kill something, you have to say no to something else, in order to make time to pray. Of course, you will never find time to pray, you have to make time to pray. And that means unmaking something else. The only way to install the tenant of prayer in the apartment building of your life is to evict some other tenant from those premises that prayer will occupy. Few of us have any empty rooms available.

Deciding to do that is the first thing. And you probably won't decide to do it, only wish to do it, unless you see prayer for what it is: a matter of life or death, your lifeline to God, to life itself.



Prayer is like Thanksgiving dinner. It takes one hour to eat it and ten hours to prepare it.



Is this exaggerated? Are there more important things? Love, for instance? We need love absolutely; but the love we need is agape, the love that only God has and is; so unless we go to God for it, we won't get it. And going to God for it means prayer. So unless we pray, we will not love.

Having got that clear and having made prayer your number one priority, having made a definite decision to do it, we must next rearrange our lives around it. Rearranging your time, preparing time to pray, is like preparing your house to paint. As everyone knows who has done any painting, preparation is three-quarters the work, three-quarters the hassle, and three-quarters the time. The actual painting is a breeze compared with the preparation. The same is true of prayer: the hardest step is preparing a place, a time, a sacred and inviolable part of each day for it. Prayer is like Thanksgiving dinner. It takes one hour to eat it and ten hours to prepare it. Prayer is like Christmas Day: it took a month of preparation, decoration, and shopping to arrange for that one day. Best of all, prayer is like love. Foreplay is, or should be, most of it. For two people truly and totally in love, all of their lives together is foreplay. Well, prayer is like spiritual love-making. God has waited patiently for you for a long, long time. He longs for you to touch the fringe of his being in prayer, as the woman touched the hem of Christ's garment, so that you can be healed. How many hours did that woman have to prepare for that one-minute touch?

The first and most important piece of practical preparation is scheduling. You absolutely must schedule a regular time for prayer, whether you are a "scheduler" with other things in your life or not. "Catch as catch can" simply won't work for prayer; it will mean less and less prayer, or none at all. One quick minute in the morning to offer your day to God is better than nothing at all, of course, but it is as radically inadequate as one quick minute a day with your wife or husband. You simply must decide each day to free up your schedule so you can pray.

How long a time? That varies with individuals and situations, of course; but the very barest minimum should certainly be at least fifteen minutes. You can't really count on getting much deep stuff going on in less time than that. If fifteen minutes seems too much to you, that fact is powerful proof that you need to pray much more to get your head on straight.

After it becomes more habitual and easy, expand it, double it. And later, double it again. Aim at an hour each day, if you want radical results. (Do you? Or are you only playing?)



You have to say no to something else, in order to make time to pray.



What time of day is best? The most popular time—bedtime—is usually the worst possible time, for two reasons. First, it tends not to be prime time but garbage time, when you're the least alert and awake. Do you really want to put God in the worst apartment in your building? Should you offer him the sickest sheep in your flock?

Second, it won't work. If you wait until every other obligation is taken care of first before you pray, you simply won't pray. For life today is so cruelly complicated for most of us that "every other obligation" is never taken care of. Remember, you are going to have to kill other things in order to pray. No way out of that.

The most obvious and usually best time is early in the morning. If you can't delay the other things you do, you simply must get up that much earlier.

Should it be the very first thing? That depends. Some people are alert as soon as they get up; others need to shower and dress to wake up. The important thing is to give God the best time, and "just do it."

Place is almost as important as time. You should make one special place where you can be undisturbed. "Catch as catch can" won't work for place either.

What place? Some people are not very sensitive to environment and can even use a bathroom. Others naturally seek beauty: a porch, yard, garden, or walk. (I find praying while you take a walk a good combination of spiritual and physical exercise.)

You probably noticed I haven't said a word about techniques yet. That's because three-quarters is preparation, remember? But what about methods?

I can only speak from my own experience as a continuing beginner. The two most effective that I have found are very simple. One is praying Scripture, reading and praying at the same time, reading in God's presence, receiving the words from God's mouth. The second is spontaneous verbal prayer. I am not good at all at silent prayer, mental prayer, contemplative prayer; my thoughts hop around like fleas. Praying aloud (or singing) keeps me praying, at least. And I find it often naturally leads to silent prayer often, or "mental prayer," or contemplation.

Most advice on prayer focuses on higher levels: contemplative prayer. But I suspect many of my readers are prayer infants too and need to learn to walk before they can run. So these are some lessons from one man's prayer kindergarten. Let's "just do it" even if "it" is only crawling towards God

Rehabilitating our thoughts on Sex...

I've been thinking and praying alot about the post I put here a few days ago spotlighting an article about Sex and the Campus. After some self reflection and thought I realized that this young woman's lack of knowledge of the Church's beautiful and real teaching on sexuality is a fault of those whose job it is to teach it in a beautiful and approachable way. (i.e. myself and people like me). So I decided that I should perhaps contact Ms. Julia and give her some resources to atleast begin with. In doing some research on where to contact her I found out a few interesting things. First, the article that I quoted her in was written in 2004, almost 6 years ago. For all I know she could have gained a whole education in life experience and knowledge regarding sexuality by now. Also, If she was a 'young adult' in 2004 then she is an older 'young' adult now and in my estimation we are probably about the same age. Besides all that, I noticed that in the original location of the article there were many many comments left in response to her, many written by very compassionate knowledgeable adults pointing her in the direction of teachings on the Theology of the Body and other amazing things. I was happy to see that and even though I found no contact information for her I will continue to pray for her and for others like her who need compassion and truth in a real and approachable way in their lives, a catagory I no doubt fall into daily.

For those who need guidance please know that while I am not an expert on the subject by any means, I have been blessed to have been able to study amazing information on the subject and have been doubly blessed to have encountered real people who live a powerful life of virtue because of the grace God has bestowed upon them. I am ALWAYS happy to share what I know and what I have lived with anyone and I am humbled to journey with others about things that I do not yet know. I hope that this list below will continue to grow but for now here are a few places that you can begin your journey. Happy Travels!



http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/JP2TBIND.HTM
- the Wednesday audiences given by John Paul II at the beginning of his pontificate on the ‘good news of the body’

http://www.theologyofthebody.net/
-source for articles and speakers on the subject of sexuality provides a good summary

http://www.johnpaulii.edu/
- school of graduate studies founded by John Paul II in the Theology of Marriage and Family

http://www.christopherwest.com/
- website for Christopher West a well known speaker on the subject in America at this time.

http://www.tobinstitute.org/
- source for courses on and instruction in the Theology of the Body

http://theologyofthebody.com/
-source for books, videos and courses on the subject of Theology of the Body – also includes information about the curriculum for ‘Theology of the Body for Teens’

www.demandyourdignity.com
- a website for young women focusing on real beauty.

Pro-life organizations celebrate Stupak amendment, warns of existing risks on health care bill

If you're confused about all this 'health care stuff' don't worry. I think most people are (including those that wrote the bill). In any case you may have heard that the bill passed in the house last night in a 220 to 215 vote. The good news in all this, weather you support the bill or not, is the passage of an amendment that would remove funding of abortion in this bill. In my opinion, the passage of this amendment shows the growing (or maybe just increasingly vocal) support of political figures (and of the American people in general) of pro-life issues. Prayer is powerful. Keep letting your voice be heard in the streets and in the heavens :)

*If you didn't hear about this amazing news last week, take a look.

Our own Rebekah Zeringue and Annie Conolly have started a UL chapter of Students for Life. Ask them how you can get involved.

No Bones About It! The Relics of Saint Mary Magdalene

Tomorrow the Relic of Saint Mary Magdalene is visiting our own Church and Catholic Student Center here at UL and if nobody has told you yet, it's a pretty big deal! If you're a little weirded out by the whole thing though, don't fret....you're not alone. I encourage you to read this short course on what a relic is..and then go to Wisdom's website and read about the Relic coming tomorrow. Then come by tomorrow and say some prayers with the relic of the one who was the first to see Christ risen from the tomb!

What is a Relic?
A relic is something connected with a saint or blessed, including a part of their body (e.g. hair or a piece of bone), their clothing, or an object that the person used or touched. Relics are classified as 1st Class – a part of the person’s body, for example: blood, hair, or bones; 2nd Class an article touched by the person or touched directly to part of his or her body; and 3rd Class something touched indirectly to the person, that is, to a 1st or 2nd Class relic, to the tomb, etc. It is not the kind of relic or how big it is that is important, but rather the faith and prayer that the relic occasions. By the communion of saints, it is that person who is close to us, blessing and praying for us.

Why Do We Venerate Relics?
The veneration of relics is an ancient custom dating from the reverence shown at the graves of the martyrs even in the time of the apostles. Miracles have been worked by God in association with relics – “…not that some magical power existed in them, but just as God’s work was done through the lives of [holy people], so did His work continue after their deaths. Likewise, just as [others] were drawn closer to God through the lives of [holy people], so did they (even if through their remains) inspire others to draw closer even after their deaths. This perspective provides the Church’s understanding of relics.” (Fr. W. Saunders, “Keeping Relics in Perspective”, © 2003 Arlington Catholic Herald)
“In all, relics remind us of the holiness of a saint and his cooperation in God’s work; at the same time, relics inspire us to ask for the prayers of that saint and to beg the grace of God to live the same kind a faith-filled life.” (Saunders)
What Do We Express When We Venerate Relics?
“To venerate the relics of the saints is a profession of belief in several doctrines of the Catholic faith: (1) the belief in everlasting life for those who have obediently witnessed to Christ and His Holy Gospel here on earth; (2) the truth of the resurrection of the body for all persons on the last day; (3) the doctrine of the splendor of the human body and the respect which all should show toward the bodies of both the living and the deceased; (4) the belief in the special intercessory power which the saints enjoy in heaven because of their intimate relationship with Christ the King; and (5) the truth of our closeness to the saints because of our connection in the communion of saints — we as members of the Church militant or pilgrim Church, they as members of the Church triumphant.” (Fr. W. Saunders, “Church Teaching on Relics”, © 2003 Arlington Catholic Herald)

Is the Veneration of Relics Scriptural?
Keep in mind what the Church says about relics. It doesn’t say there is some magical power in them. There is nothing in the relic itself, whether a bone of the apostle Peter or water from Lourdes, that has any curative ability. The Church just says that relics may be the occasion of God’s miracles, and in this the Church follows Scripture.
The use of the bones of Elisha brought a dead man to life: "So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. And as a man was being buried, lo, a marauding band was seen and the man was cast into the grave of Elisha; and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood on his feet" (2 Kgs. 13:20-21). This is an unequivocal biblical example of a miracle being performed by God through contact with the relics of a saint!
Similar are the cases of the woman cured of a hemorrhage by touching the hem of Christ’s cloak (Matt. 9:20-22) and the sick who were healed when Peter’s shadow passed over them (Acts 5:14-16). "And God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were carried away from his body to the sick, and diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them" (Acts 19:11-12).

Relics in Early Christianity
The veneration of relics is seen explicitly as early as the account of Polycarp’s martyrdom written by the Smyrnaeans in A.D. 156. In it, the Christians describe the events following his burning at the stake: "We took up his bones, which are more valuable than precious stones and finer than refined gold, and laid them in a suitable place, where the Lord will permit us to gather ourselves together, as we are able, in gladness and joy and to celebrate the birthday of his martyrdom."
In the fourth century the great biblical scholar, Jerome, declared, "We do not worship, we do not adore, for fear that we should bow down to the creature rather than to the creator, but we venerate the relics of the martyrs in order the better to adore Him whose martyrs they are" (Ad Riparium, i, P.L., XXII, 907). `



Then the disciples returned home. But Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping. And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb and saw two angels in white sitting there, one at the head and one at the feet where the body of Jesus had been. And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "They have taken my Lord, and I don't know where they laid him." When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there, but did not know it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?" She thought it was the gardener and said to him, "Sir, if you carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rabbouni," which means Teacher. Jesus said to her, "Stop holding on to me, 10 for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, 'I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'" Mary of Magdala went and announced to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord," and what he told her. (John 20:1-18)

Sex and the Center

I ran across this article on BeliefNet today and it definitely put a bug in my bonnet.

It's a pretty lengthy article and I'd love for you to read it in its entirety but for those of you who have other things to do (like go to class and stuff) I've put a small excerpt here that will give you the basic idea.

"There is a trend among people my age to separate their faith from Church teachings on issues of sexuality. I believe one of the main reasons for this disconnect is that the Church does not provide any guidance regarding sexuality for unmarried young adults other than "Don't do it!" Although remaining chaste until marriage is no doubt a beautiful and romantic experience for those who choose it, not everyone follows this path. In my experience, premarital sex on college campuses is not the exception, but the rule.

So how does a predominantly Catholic student body at a Jesuit school justify disobeying this tenet of the Church? The answer seems to be that they don't. I don't believe young people are simply ignoring this teaching so they can do what they want and go to confession later."

She goes on (and on) to say that instead of imposing these unrealistic standards on young adults the Church should in fact make the distinction between debaucherous one night stands and pre-marital sex in committed relationships. Yeah. I find it especially interesting that she begins her article talking about how difficult it is to go out and get drunk every week and then still make it to Mass on Sunday and how because everyone her age is doing that same thing the Church is clearly misguided on the kind of support they should be giving her generation. Ugh. I don't think I really need to pontificate on how rediculous this all sounds but you know I will anyway.

Look, it's not like I'm denying that this lifestyle and thought is the mindset of the majority of young adults...of Catholic young adults even. Shoot, it was my way of thinking in college for sure, and I'm not so naive to think that it's not the lifestyle and though of many who frequent our very own Catholic student center. My point is, since when do the misguided passions of the majority suddenly make it ok to change truth?

Is it a struggle? YES. Is it something that needs to be handled with love and patience? YES. Is the Church doing all she can to guide her children in charity and truth. YES, theologically anyway. I will be the first one to admit that sometimes the 'people' in the Church can be jerks about things. But it only takes a search bar and google to find out that she has given mountains and mountains of beautiful relevant teaching on the matter, far far surpassing "Don't Do it".

Instead of throwing in the towel on the subject and saying "ah well, they're gonna do it anyway, atleast it's with someone they 'love'. Lets give young adults the benefit of the doubt that if they are smart enough to be in college in the first place, they are smart enough to realize that the things that they 'feel' like doing arent always the good, true and beautiful. A little bit of prayer and some redemptive suffering can go a long way and I promise you'll be a better and happier person for it. Lets learn to forgive ourselves for the sins of our past and forgive others for the ways in which they've hurt us, repent, move on and begin again on the path to sainthood.

"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness." I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me." 2Corinthians 12:9

NB: The article I quoted was written by a young adult named Julia Tier who writes for a young adult Catholic website called Busted Halo. A website run by the Paulists that lets just say I would never use as a source or inspiration for any event here at the Catholic student center. I'm not saying EVERYTHING on it is horrible but some of it is questionable at best. The concept of the site is excellent actually and I wish that it were a place we could trust to be faithful on all fronts but as they themselves have said their "journey has little to do with traditional religious institutions" (from their mission statement). Feel free to email Ms. Julia with your opinion, and me too for that matter.