My first book, Emily’s Hope, is now available on Amazon Kindle. Here’s the link:
copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Monthly Archives: April 2010
In Name Only Review on Catholic Fiction.net
Another review for In Name Only!
http://www.catholicfiction.net/2010/04/27/in-name-only-by-ellen-gable/
“One of the things I enjoy most about reading Gable’s novels is her ability to create female characters with high moral standards and convictions….I recommend this book to readers looking for a clean romance novel.”
Contest on Catholic Mom
From the Catholic Mom website:
This month, in conjunction with our Catholic Moments Podcast interview with talented Catholic fiction author Ellen Gable, we are offering you an opportunity to win a great Catholic novel. Five winners will receive an e-book version of Ellen’s latest book In Name Only. Two additional winners will each receive one of Ellen’s novels, In Name Only and Emily’s Hope. Link below:
http://new.catholicmom.com/2010/04/22/ellen-gable-fiction-contest/
copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Catholic Moments Podcast Interview
Here is the link to Lisa Hendey’s interview of me on the Catholic Moments podcast. Lisa is a delightful and talented interviewer.
http://new.catholicmom.com/2010/04/22/catholic-moments-144-catholic-fiction-with-ellen-gable/
Copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Second Online NFP Class
Last evening, James and I taught our second virtual (online) NFP class. We are part of a group of CCL teachers piloting the online program. Although we have been teaching NFP for more than 25 years, we don’t teach it as often as we’d like. The rural area in which we live usually necessitates a long drive either for us or for the student couples. Last year, we traveled to Kingston (two and a half hours away) and to Toronto (nearly five hours away) for NFP classes. That, hopefully, will change with this new approach.
It was awkward getting used to the webcam and we stumbled through playing the videos. However, each time we teach NFP online, we continually learn more about the process.
The only disadvantage to this approach is that there is no personal face-to-face interaction. And, because of feedback, we couldn’t allow the use of microphones for anyone but us. If the students had questions, they would use the chat function. If we asked the class questions, the students would answer using the chat function. This worked extremely well.
In the mid-1980’s, when we began teaching NFP, neither of us ever envisioned ourselves teaching it online. But now that this is available, we hope…and pray…that many more couples can learn Natural Family Planning: a safe, healthy and effective method of birth regulation.
For more information on NFP or learning NFP online, contact us at info@fullquiverpublishing.com or leave a comment below.
Copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
I Prayed For This Child
“I prayed for this child, and the Lord granted my request.”
1 Samuel 27″
Nowadays children are often seen as either a commodity (in-vitro fertilization) or as a burden (contraception and abortion) to be avoided at all costs. Pregnancy is sometimes seen as an inconvenient sickness which can be fixed with abortion.
In 28 years of using NFP (Natural Family Planning), admittedly we have not consciously thought of having a baby every time we engaged in the marital embrace. But we have also never used contraception or contraceptive behaviors. We trust God. And we have discovered that He is always trustworthy.
Years ago, when our third son was a year old, I became pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy and because of complications, nearly hemorrhaged to death.
We were advised by the doctors and others not to have any more children because having more children “would be irresponsible.” However, after a year of prayerful discernment, we felt God calling us to be open and to seek another pregnancy. We discussed it with our spiritual director, consulted with a Catholic doctor, and eventually made the decision to actively seek another pregnancy.
Surprisingly, we did not become pregnant for a year and a half. Each day became a prayer stronger and deeper. When we finally realized that we were pregnant, we were happy, but it soon turned into an extremely difficult pregnancy. When I began to suffer debilitating migraine headaches, I was told by the well-meaning friends and relatives that “I had asked for it.”
Our fourth son, Adam, was born at nearly 10 pounds. Three years later, our fifth son, Paul, was born.
Although we could have used NFP to avoid pregnancy permanently and to limit our family size to three sons, we chose to listen to our hearts, to answer God’s calling, and to seek more children. When I consider that our two youngest sons might possibly not be here today, my heart becomes heavy. Both are unique, talented and irreplaceable human beings who have already given so much to our family and to society. I am grateful to God, because I can’t imagine our family without them.
“God, help us to trust our lives to You, not only in the area of sexual relations, but in every facet of our lives. Help us to grow together in unity and help us to love each other unconditionally.”
Copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Breastfeeding Saves Lives and Money
Interesting article on the health and financial benefits of breastfeeding:
“The lives of nearly 900 babies would be saved each year, along with billions of dollars, if 90 percent of U.S. women fed their babies breast milk only for the first six months of life, a cost analysis says.”
To read the rest of the article:
http://health.yahoo.com/news/ap/us_med_breast_feeding_savings.html
Review of Fatherless, a novel by Brian J. Gail
Fatherless, a Novel, by Brian J. Gail
Second Edition published 2009
by One More Soul
544 pages
One More Soul, the publisher of Fatherless, describes itself as a “non-profit organization dedicated to spreading the truth about the blessings of children and the harms of contraception.” As an NFP teacher, an avid reader, and the author of two Catholic novels which promote the Church’s teachings on life, marriage and NFP, I had eagerly anticipated reading this book.
The title of the book, Fatherless, is especially appropriate and it speaks so clearly to the importance of priestly or spiritual fatherhood. This novel also illustrates the essential role of fathers being physically present to their children, as well as being strong examples in character and virtue.
The setting is 1980’s Philadelphia, an area familiar to me because I grew up in Southern New Jersey and lived in Philadelphia for a short time. There are numerous plot lines and even more characters, which are well-developed but far from ideal, or virtue-driven, Catholics. The main character, Fr. John Sweeney, is an affable, down to earth, well-intentioned young priest who, at the beginning of the novel, is more concerned about being accepted and liked than telling his parishioners the “hard sayings.”
It is also about two men who are modern day Davids fighting against Goliath companies. Michael works for a marketing company which promotes a cable channel which shows soft porn and non-family friendly movies. Joe works for a pharmaceutical company and discovers a secret file regarding the history of oral contraceptives, then must decide whether he’s going to bring his discovery to the local newspaper.
Other characters include Maggie, the mother of six children who suffers from debilitating migraine headaches and, buckling under the pressures of her physical suffering (and receiving poor counseling from Fr. John) decides to disobey church teaching and eventually pays with significant physical, marital and spiritual consequences. Maggie’s oldest daughter, Moia, has a mental disorder. Maggie’s husband, Bill, faced with his own work and family pressures, also consciously decides to turn away from his faith and his family.
After Fr. John experiences a profound spiritual conversion in Rome, he returns home to his parish and gives an outstanding homily I wish every Catholic priest in the world would preach to his parishioners at least once. “The hard sayings” are not things that most Catholics wish to hear. Most Catholics in the pews every week do not want to hear that contraception is immoral and a serious sin. They do not want to hear that living together before marriage is wrong. They do not want to hear that the Pill is an abortifacient and increases the risk of breast cancer.
This was a challenging read mostly because the novel presents us with such dark situations: adultery, poor counsel by priests, consequences of contraception, priest sex abuse, possession and exorcism, mental illness, suicide, depression etc. Just about every kind of sin makes an appearance in this book.
This is not a “light” read, nor is this the sort of book in which “everyone will live happily ever after.”
That being said, I applaud the author for tackling some very real, timely and important issues in a novel which often reads more like a non-fiction book. He has a natural writing talent which has me hoping that he will write more novels.
Although these characters are fictional, Brian Gail gives us a surprisingly realistic look into the lives of everyday Catholics. He brilliantly shows the consequences of Catholics living the faith by their own rules and “consciences” and not living according to the laws of the Church.
There were a few anachronisms and some minor typos, but overall the author did an excellent job researching the information.
I understand what the author and publisher were trying to accomplish with this novel and I think they succeeded in many respects. Anyone who reads this book can only come away with increased awareness of why so many Catholics have turned away from faithful church teaching.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who wishes to read an interesting and compelling story, but also to understand why so many Catholics have ignored the Church’s teachings on sexuality and marriage and why obedience on these matters is so important. Because of the mature themes, I would recommend this book for ages 16 and up.
You can purchase this novel at Amazon.com or at the following link:
http://fatherlessbook.com/order
Copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
The Difference Between NFP and Contraception
The title of my latest column at Amazing Catechists is: “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About NFP But Were Afraid to Ask.” In it, I address some common questions about NFP, or Natural Family Planning. One of these questions is “What’s the real difference between using NFP and using contraception? The end result is the same, isn’t it?”
What’s the difference between abortion and miscarriage? What’s the difference between killing your terminally ill grandmother and waiting until she dies naturally? The end result is the same, isn’t it? While the end result may be the same, the way it happens is not.
Or to use the analogy that Christopher West uses: imagine a couple is getting married and they don’t want to invite a distant aunt. They have two options of not inviting her. They can simply not send her an invitation or they can send her a “dis-invitation,” a card which says, “You are not invited to our wedding…please don’t come.” Obviously, if she receives a dis-invitation, she is going to be more insulted and upset than if she doesn’t receive an invitation at all.
Using NFP is like not sending God an invitation to create life. Use of contraception is like sending a dis-invitation to God. And, as Pope John Paul II wrote in his book, Love and Responsibility: “Continence as a virtue cannot be regarded as a ‘contraceptive measure.’”
In a nutshell, the basic difference is that a couple using NFP can love as Christ loves: freely, totally, faithfully and fruitfully. Contraception separates a couple during their most intimate act; couples cannot love totally. Contraception removes the procreative aspect of the marital act and encourages lust and selfishness.
To read the entire article, click here:
Copyright 2010 Ellen Gable Hrkach
Plot Line and Sinker (Ellen Gable, Author) 