When my paternal grandmother, a living saint as far as I am concerned, had her first son she was 16 in 1928. That son, Junior, would serve as a Marine in the Pacific in World War II. She and my grandfather, who was 20 in 1928, would have a marriage that produced seven kids, and lasted until his death at 65 in 1973. Marriages endure when the commitment to family is total, under God.
Young Mothers
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
How old was Mary?
Adadioranma has a point though … These days, a lot of 25-year-olds think and behave like children.
Send it back to where? 😂
It?
That’s the problem. It is a human being. A boy or a girl.
Sure, many 25, or less, age women and men behave like children but IT happened and the future of that life is not to be treated as a useless, inconvenient IT.
I have a good feeling that St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s words will remain true;
“No. The first woman President was aborted.”
A woman of 20 in 1957 was commonly ready for adult life to a degree that her counterparts a generation later could not match. That’s true in spades of her counterparts two generations later.
My late mother was 20 when her first child (a son who did not survive) was born.
Philip: In the Germanic languages, the noun for “child” is neuter gender.
If you’re literally a baby, why are you having sex?
(Wife and I married at 23, first of six kids at 24, 18 years and counting)
Philip-
I wish I could up vote your comment more than once.
Two additional points of my own:
> No pregnancy is a joke. Not in the joyful expectation, or the fearful terror of change – or the frequent combination of both. Nor certainly in the lingering doubt, speculation, guilt if one does kill “it”
> Send it back reveals a materialist attitude toward life. The product was not as advertised, did not fulfill expectations, was not sent at the proper time. The product must be returned, restocked (with a smile) and trouble us no more.
Inconvenience becomes confused with injustice with equal outrage at both. Justice in the true moral sense, is often inconvenient, since it requires us to render *to another* what we owe to them. Social justice in contrast usually fails in identifying the proper payor and debtor and debt!
Both of my late parents were 21 when they were married in January of 1950. My oldest brother was born in November of that very same year.
I’ve been watching “The Starting 5” Basketball doco on Netflix. Jayson Tatum of Boston Celtics, parents were 19 when they had him. They were never together but raised him together. And they made good choices in their parenting of him, ie. instilled importance of good education, hard work, grit etc..for him to be in the NBA at a young age. Good on them. Today, he is one of the best basketball players in the NBA. If his parents had said “nah we’re too young” or “ it was an accident” you wouldn’t have had a basketball player who helped win a NBA championship this year and who inspires other young kids to work hard for their dream.
Tatum is just 1 example of millions of kids born at “inconvenient” times to young unmarried black parents who probably came from lower socioeconomic circumstances…there are many “Jayson Tatums” out there who God wanted to come into this world and do great things…
…there are many “Jayson Tatums” out there who God wanted to come into this world and do great things…
Amen Ezabelle.
I am not “priest worshiping here.”
He IS extraordinary, our Pastor Fr. Libby.
He almost didn’t make.
His mother was very young, scared and considering aborting him because fear was winning the battle. She bore down in prayer and the Truth prevailed. Our little rual Parish is the leader in our diocese for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Let there be no doubt, it’s Jesus doing it, but he has a pure brother in Fr. Donald Libby.
There are no mistakes when it comes to the sanctity of life.
God Bless your young Priest Fr Libby. There are so many many stories like this. My parents used to say that with every birth of a child into the world comes the child’s “provision” or “sustenance”. Everything they need. God is good.
Please pray for all our seminarians but especially for Jake, David, John and Mark. Mark is inspired by his cousin Jake and father Libby;
https://dioceseofgaylord.org/vocations/our-seminarians
btw…. Eucharistic Perpetual Adoration has been and continues to be our true vocations director…hint hint to other diocese around the country. Not taking anything away from Fr. Rexroit. He is doing a an excellent job for our diocese.😊
[…] at The Spectator World9. Brilliant – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic10. Young Mothers – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American […]