A Friend of a Friend's Story

Here's a story a friend has forwarded.

In 1952, sixty years ago, getting married at a nuptial Mass was the norm for Catholics.
“Honeymoon” babies also seemed to be the
follow-up. No surprise there as the   only birth control was abstinence. Families numbering five ,six  children were  in the majority. Yes, some couples only had one child but   sympathy  was for that couple who couldn’t have more.
What sympathy did the woman get who had given birth to her sixth and a year later when she  did have her seventh and one year and seven days later
 her eighth ? The answer is none.

Well of course, she was fertile and  serviced her husband, as she should. She had vowed to obey her husband.
When she asked for help from the priest in the confessional, what advice did she receive? I know that person, Elyse, who went to Father X and was counseled that she could practice other methods  of birth control, even the pill.
After all ,she was exhausted physically, mentally, emotionally and the  “permission” was given.
However, her husband also went to confession on that same Saturday, but he went to Father Y.
Absolutely not, continue with the abstinence plan and no other birth control is  to be practiced was the
 Church dictum he received.

The couple discussed what  their confessors each said.
Their relationship became strained, but Elyse gave  birth to the ninth child  and then a year later the tenth. Elyse tried to joke about it.
Beautiful family was the praise she was given as people  would remark but some also raised their eyes.
The confessor , who counseled her husband
didn’t  get ,well possibly wasn’t told that the family
was living on one income of his factory  worker salary and there were strained relations because of all the stresses.
  Would it have changed that priest’s advice?
Elyse  gave birth to ten children and also suffered two miscarriages, but carried on with the Catholic Church’s teaching that abstinence was to be the only method of birth control.
The couple remained married and celebrated  a loving marriage of fifty-four years until his death.
Today, sixty years later,  2012 ,seven children
are married. Only one family has  three children, the others each have two. Birth control isn’t a topic of conversation, I can attest to that, but I dare say other methods other than abstinence were used.