Tag: "NFP"

Teaching NFP has Enriched Our Marriage in Many Ways
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Teaching NFP has Enriched Our Marriage in Many Ways

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We have been teaching NFP for nearly 28 years.  We have volunteered much of our time preparing and teaching classes of many couples over the years, as well as lecturing to marriage preparation courses and youth group meetings, but let me share with you what we have gotten out of it. Admittedly, when we first […]

NFP Over Forty
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NFP Over Forty

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It’s a common misconception that any form of natural family planning (NFP) doesn’t work very well for women over forty because, oddly like teenagers, the body doesn’t produce the hormones that affect ovulation consistently and, therefore, following the natural signs of fertility is unreliable. I’ve had people knit their brow at me plenty for being […]

Disinviting God
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Disinviting God

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We are now in the midst of  National NFP Awareness Week (Jul 22-28), during which the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is asking American Catholics to “celebrate God’s design for married love and the gift of life” by learning more about natural family planning (NFP). Catholic teaching on contraception has roots in the natural […]

NFP or Condoms: What's the difference?
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NFP or Condoms: What’s the difference?

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I wrote my senior thesis for the Catholic University honors program nearly 10 years ago. In my youthful zeal and eager for my own upcoming marriage, I tackled the prompt of “Nature and Technology” with a 35 page analysis of Humanae Vitae, Paul VI’s vision of human nature, nature and morality, and contraception as “technology.” […]

Why You Don’t Have to Use NFP
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Why You Don’t Have to Use NFP

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{disclaimer: I realize that NFP is not always used to avoid pregnancy, but can also be used for medical awareness and to help achieve pregnancy. For purposes of this article I am referring to NFP used as “periodic continence”, that is, to avoid pregnancy.} There is a faction of Catholics who, in their desire to […]

Is NFP Effective?
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Is NFP Effective?

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Although there is less skepticism with regard to NFP’s effectiveness these days, Natural Family Planning still gets a bad rap from many in secular society. I’ve heard more than a few people say, “NFP didn’t work for us.” When the rules are followed, NFP can be 99 percent effective in avoiding pregnancy and works well […]

The Spiritual Consequences of Sterilization
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The Spiritual Consequences of Sterilization

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Last year, on one of the morning shows, a couple was asked to carry a camcorder around while they debated and discussed their decision to have a vasectomy. After the births of three boys — the youngest only a few months old — they made the decision to go ahead and have a permanent solution […]

Common Misconceptions About the Church and Sex
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Common Misconceptions About the Church and Sex

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In today’s secular culture, there are some common misconceptions (pun intended) regarding the Church’s teachings on sex and marriage. I believe the following attitudes (in bold) illustrate that many modern Catholics, young and old alike, are poorly catechized, especially in this important area. The Church is preoccupied with sex. Actually, it is the world which […]

Learning the Hard Way About the Empowering Benefits of NFP
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Learning the Hard Way About the Empowering Benefits of NFP

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Recently, as I was nursing my three-month-old son, I came across another writer taking yet another swipe at the Church and its position on the HHS health care mandate business. Just the week before, I also had seen an image, courtesy Planned Parenthood, which pictured five religious leaders, all men, as they testified before Congress […]

The New Face of Natural Family Planning
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The New Face of Natural Family Planning

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It was a month before she had to decide her specialty in medical school, and Brooke Jemelka found herself at a crossroads. She had been concentrating on pediatrics during her studies at Texas A&M University, but by the end of her third year, she was starting to question what she wanted to do with her […]

The Catholic Church is No Enemy of Science or the Infertile
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The Catholic Church is No Enemy of Science or the Infertile

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Because of her opposition to third party reproduction, the Catholic Church is often accused of being anti-science and insensitive to those who suffer the pain of infertility. Last year’s CNN Belief Blog op-ed from  Sean Savage calling on the Catholic Church to reverse her opposition to IVF is a good example of the anger that […]