NATURAL FAMILY PLANNING

Marriage: One Flesh, Given and Received

1 Peter 3:15

"Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence."

The information on this page is very important for every Catholic to know and understand especially in light of all that is going on in our country and in the world. 

Please take the time to go through the material included in it even if you think it does not apply to you. Chances are it may apply to your children or grandchildren, friends or neighbors and God will want to use the knowledge you gain to help them when the time is right. 

"All of creation awaits with eager longing the revealing of the children of God" - Romans 8:19

As Catholics, we are so blessed to have such easy access to the grace of God that comes to us through the sacraments and the teachings of His Church which we find in Sacred Scripture, Sacred Tradition and the Magisterium. God’s desire is for us to live a full and abundant Faith life and we can because of this easy access! But, with great blessings comes great responsibility! We have a moral obligation to form our consciences according to the teachings of the Church. This is what is referred to as a well-formed conscience, therefore, we must take the time to learn these truths; struggle with them, if need be; and, ultimately, to obey them. This is called the “obedience of Faith” (Romans 1:5 and 16:26).

We are not on our own for this. The grace of God is with us. Jesus, Himself, is with us in the Eucharist to strengthen us to live in fidelity to his teaching. The world is in desperate need of this gift and God is counting on us to share it with them. It can seem intimidating to do this so it can be helpful to remember that we will have to give an account to God for this one day; that should give us the energy to overcome any resistance. As we learn the true teachings of the Church, we discover the beauty of God’s plan for us!

One of the teachings of the Church that is most misunderstood is God’s vision of human sexuality, especially as it relates to the practice of Natural Family Planning. We have created this page in order to help you understand the beauty of this teaching yourself so that you can live it and share it with others.

I encourage you to take your time and listen to both of the talks on this page, especially the first one “Prove it God!” by Patty Schneier. After you have listened to them, read the rest of the material. More material will be added as time goes on.

Before you begin, pray to the Holy Spirit for help in opening your heart and understanding it and, ask our Blessed Mother to pray for you.

Talk 1

"Prove it God!...And He Did"

This is a powerful testimony of God's love and mercy in action with someone who struggled with the Church's teaching on artificial contraception.

3 Great Reasons to listen to "Prove it God!...And He Did" by Patty Schneier:

1. She shares the story of her challenge to God and His daily response. The results were life changing! I know you will enjoy this! 

2. It is a great example of how to dialogue with God in prayer! It has the potential to change all of our prayer lives for the better which will, in turn, bear much fruit for our families and for the world. 

3. It is very engaging. People of all ages would enjoy it and grow from listening to it. 

To listen to this talk, press the black button and scroll down to her talk.

"What Do We Do Now?" by Patty Schneier is a great follow-up to all of these talks. It includes concrete steps you can take as you seek to live in fidelity to this teaching:

Are you beyond your childbearing years but have regrets about past actions? Or, have you or your spouse deliberately selected sterilization (e.g. tubal ligation, vasectomy, etc.) to prevent conception? God can make all things new (Rev. 21:15). How? Press the black “Find our here” button below and scroll down to read the third story. Then press the black button “Learn about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Rising to New Life” and read the content there.

National NFP Awareness

Marriage: One Flesh, Given and Received

Natural Family Planning

Supporting God's gifts of love and life in marriage

Celebrate and reverence God's vision of human sexuality

Natural Family Planning Awareness Week is a national educational campaign. The Natural Family Planning Program of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops develops a poster each year with basic supportive materials. It is the individual dioceses, however, that offer a variety of educational formats in the local church to focus attention on Natural Family Planning methods and Church teachings that support their use in marriage.

The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae Vitae (July 25) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. The dates also mark the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne (July 26), the parents of the Blessed Mother. Pope Francis has designated that feast as World Grandparents Day, a fitting commemoration during National NFP Awareness Week! For further information, contact nfp@usccb.org.

TALK 2

Green Sex: The Case for Natural Family Planning JASON EVERT

First comes loves, then comes marriage ... then what? If sex is natural, why are we so eager to make it artificial? In this presentation, Jason Evert presents the case for Natural Family Planning as he unveils the beauty of God's plan for sexuality. Jason has spoken about chastity to more than one million people around the world and is the author or more than a dozen books. Listen to this audio below:

Bishop Cozzens spotlights ‘Humanae Vitae’

If you attended the Eucharistic Congress in Atlanta in 2022, you might have heard Bishop Andrew Cozzens speak. 

Bishop Andrew Cozzens was installed as the eighth bishop of Crookston, Minnesota on Dec. 6, 2021. Before that, he served for eight years as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

Bishop Cozzens is serving as Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis, where he is leading a three-year National Eucharistic Revival that will begin in June.

Here are some words from him:

Fifty four years ago, Pope Saint Paul VI articulated the gift of the Church’s positive vision of human sexuality in the encyclical “Humanae Vitae,” and its message is a stark contrast to the false vision of sexuality that society promotes. An example of that “false vision,” can be found along highways in the form of billboards advertising vasectomies.

The billboards portray a middle-age couple with the woman embracing the man as both smile. “Easy Vasectomy” runs across the top with bullet points: “no scalpel,” “no needle,” “low cost.”

Bishop Andrew Cozzens, one of our guest speakers at the recent Atlanta Eucharistic Conference,  said, “For me, it captures a little bit about the way our society views sex, and the results of the view of this on our society,” Bishop Cozzens told a group of more than 50 young adults at the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis. “Let’s just step back and ask ourselves, ‘Has it been so great?’ … This idea that sex could be no pressure, no fear of pregnancy and only amount to the expression of my love for that person — has that actually produced the results that society says?”

Read the rest of the article here or watch the video below (written in 2018):

http://thecatholicspirit.com/news/local-news/bishop-cozzens-spotlights-humanae-vitae/

Bishop Cozzens spotlights ‘Humanae Vitae’

Bishop Barron on Contraception and Social Change

2023 marks\ the 50th anniversary of Pope Paul VI’s deeply controversial encyclical letter “Humanae vitae.” But I would like to draw particular attention to a remarkable passage in this encyclical, namely section 17, in which Paul VI plays the prophet and lays out, clearly and succinctly, what he foresees as consequences of turning away from the Church’s classic teaching on sex.

Other Resources for you: