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[[Happiness is a subjective thing, which in turn, means that something can be a blessing to one person and not to another, therefore, a blessing is subjective. Some children contribute to wellbeing and welfare and some do not, therefore, not every child is a blessing.]]

A blessing from God does not change in its nature according to our individually subjective reactions. Our small minds, influenced by fallen human nature, often prevent us from seeing the full goodness of God's gifts. We don't know what is best for us; we can't see the big picture; we cannot see in this life the infinite preciousness of a single human soul so loved by God that He would sacrifice Himself in its place.

I can't imagine living life thinking that only some people are blessings. I'm sure you are not saying that a person's worth is based on how happy he makes his parents when he arrives in the world... And if you agree with me there, it might be helpful to remember that we do not exist merely for ourselves. We are called to give ourselves fully to God and others in self-sacrificial love, no matter how difficult or painful the situation may be. This life is merely a journey, by which we strive toward Heaven through love and sacrifice. Yes, even if a woman loses her earthly life by bearing forth a precious new person, she has gained such a blessing---the opportunity to share in God's creation of an infinitely loved soul. And she will not regret this as she goes into the arms of her infinitely wise and loving God.

[[Certainly not. I am not talking about a person's worth at all. I am just saying that if someone is not open to life, their child is not viewed as a blessing. That being said, it can still turn into a blessing. Or it could be born a blessing and turn into not being a blessing. But that is using the definition of blessing as something that results in happiness and wellbeing. If you are going to use the definition of blessing as "God made it" then sure, everyone is a blessing. Seems like a dumb definition though. Loses its connotation as a positive thing when you say all children are blessings. Was Hitler a blessing?]]

Yes, Hitler was a blessing when God created him. He wasn't born already ordering Jews' murders; he was just as innocent and beautiful of a baby as any other person. We don't know what good effects he may have had on people before he chose a terrible path, and we don't know what was deep in his heart at the moment of death. We do know that God did not love Hitler any less than He loves the rest of us, and He still created him even though He foresaw the terrible sins Hitler would commit.

Every person is valuable to God; therefore, every person conceived is a blessing. And yes, everything God creates is a blessing, because it is good (according to God in Genesis). That definition cannot make the term "blessing" lose its positive connotation, because it is based on the fact that what God creates is good. Sin brings evil into the world, but it does not change our fundamental goodness as human beings loved by God. Hence Jesus instructs us to love our enemies and those who do us wrong, because they are still valuable and worthy of love. Likewise, a conceived child who may inadvertently cause one's life to become more difficult is still very good, valuable, loved by God, and thus a blessing.

(Someone asks if masturbation is still a mortal sin if it is used as "treatment for prostate enlargement in lieu of surgery or medication, in mild cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia. While "benign", the symptoms can be quite annoying, including getting up 4 or 5 times a night to go to the bathroom.")

Then the appropriate response would be to suffer going to the bathroom a few times a night, rather than committing a grievously offensive act to spare one the trouble of walking two meters to the toilet. Aborting a feotus in instances of sparing the mother's health remains a deplorable and evil act, masturbating to alleviate a medical discomfort also remains a deplorable and evil act.

(do you have ANY idea what it is like to be unable to have a full night's sleep because of this, then have to wake up, drive 100 km to work, put in a full day's work that requires a high degree of mental concentration, and then drive 100 km home at 6 pm, often on icy and snowy roads that equally require your full attention?)

No I have never experienced your particular trial. But hardship and trial is universal to all men and there is a Catholic response to trial and hardship. It is suffering in union with Christ and His Mother.

(masturbation is not at the same level as abortion...it's not just an issue of suffering. Several times I nodded off behind the wheel coming home in the evening, from lack of a good night's sleep. It's a matter of safety of myself and those I share the road with, and simply being able to function.)

Yes there are degrees to the gravity of sin and I do not deny this. But that does not change the fact that masturbation remains a grievous offense which is one of the conditions for an act to be mortally sinful. Sodomy is of higher gravity than masturbation, masturbation is of higher gravity than fornication, all three will land you in a state of mortal sin if you have full knowledge and willfully consent. The grave nature of masturbation does not alter with our own subjective culpability. I fully acknowledge that there can be diminished capacity but diminished capacity is not an excuse to sin and penitents that may have diminished capacity due to force of habit, etc., should not be encouraged in contentment but should rather be directed towards escaping the thralldom of sin.

If your medical condition places your safety and the safety of others at risk the response is not to commit an offense of a grave nature to avoid this. It would be to not drive if you cannot do so safely. The answer would be to have the surgery done even if impotence would be an unintended side-effect. Yes your financial well-being could suffer, yes your capability to procreate may be taken from you. But to spare committing a grave and unnatural act? It would be the moral and right thing to do.

You are a Benedictine Oblate yes? You have made a solemn offering of yourself to God. If your job must go, offer it to God. If you cannot have children, offer it to God. An offering of ones self is the entire vocation of an Oblate. All of these options would be preferable, would give glory to God and lead to your own sanctification, rather than to indulge in a grave offense against God and the natural law.