Natural Family Planning International

Faith and Obedience.  

That brings us to the last points that need to be included in a complete course on natural family planning: faith in the promises of Jesus and obedience to the Lord who continues to teach in and through his Church.  It may be the most important task of the New Evangelization to relate the promises of Jesus at the Last Supper to the moral teaching of the Church today.  The promised guidance of the Holy Spirit is the basis for our Catholic faith, and we believe and need to proclaim that Jesus is still keeping his promises.  In our NFP course, we build on the Nicene Profession of Faith.  Certainly faith in it requires faith in the Last Supper promises; so likewise the teaching of Casti Connubii and Humanae Vitae.  The promises still hold.

Sometimes we can be tempted to think that because we understand and teach the reasons for Catholic teaching against contraception, or because we now have the Theology of the Body and the covenant insight, we no longer need to teach obedience.  In an anti-authoritarian age, we might feel uncomfortable talking about the teaching authority of the Church.

On the contrary, however, it is helpful to remember that the only virtue of the Lord Jesus specifically mentioned in the New Testament is obedience.  Further, how can any of us dare to teach that it is seriously immoral to engage in contraceptive behaviors without relying upon the Magisterium of the Church over the ages?  How can we expect couples to believe that contraceptive behaviors are the grave matter of mortal sin if all we present is a theological statement?  What sort of force does mere argument have today?

Obedience is the fruit of a heart that is open to the Lord Jesus who is the reason for being a Catholic and for following his teachings in and through his Church.  All of our theologizing exists to support the biblical-Catholic authoritative teaching, but our theology does not stand by itself.  To omit reference to the Magisterium is to short-change those we seek to teach.

BOOK SALE:  30% off Kippley books in print at lulu through August 7.  Plus 20% off any order at lulu though July 27 with code SILVER when ordering.

John F. Kippley
Battle-Scarred: Justice Can Be Elusive

Walking with Jesus.

While it is true that systematic natural family planning can stand on its own merits as a method of birth control, it is also true that periodic abstinence can test our resolve and offer us real temptations to engage in immoral sexual activities during the fertile time.  Through faith we know that the narrow way of Jesus is the only way to true happiness, and we know that He calls us to take up our cross daily and to follow him.  We know that Jesus came to save us and to teach us how to love.  Even so, we are weak and we can feel like St. Paul who wrote about his weaknesses.  We need the help of the Lord to overcome these temptations, and we need to remember that He revealed to St. Paul that He provides the grace necessary to overcome temptations (see 2 Cor 12:9).  It is unwise to think we are not going to be tempted, and it is stupid not to pray to the Lord for the graces we need to overcome them.

The right kind of NFP course will deal realistically with the difficulty of chaste abstinence and will relate it to the doctrine of the daily cross.

BOOK SALE:  30% off Kippley books in print at lulu through August 7.  Plus 20% off any order at lulu though July 27 with code SILVER when ordering.

John F. Kippley
Battle-Scarred: Justice Can Be Elusive

God made marriage.  God Himself created the marriage relationship and ordered sexuality exclusively toward marriage.  The Bible and sacred Tradition make it clear that God intends sexual intercourse to be, at least implicitly, a renewal of the marriage covenant.  That is, in God’s plan, sexual union is exclusively a marriage act that 1) reflects and renews, at least minimally, the faith and committed love of the marriage covenant and 2) is not deliberately closed to the transmission of life.  Pope John Paul II incorporated this basic understanding of the marriage act into his Letter to Families ten years after he completed the lectures that make up his Theology of the Body.  “In the conjugal act, husband and wife are called to confirm in a responsible way the mutual gift of self which they have made to each other in the marriage covenant” (n.12.12, his italics).  In practice, these concepts are easily expanded to explain more fully the marriage covenant.  Every engaged and married couple deserves to learn this basic understanding of the marriage covenant and how it applies to love and sexuality.

God made marriage for family.  The right kind of NFP course will help couples understand that marriage is for family and that they are called to be generous in having children.  NFP is not “Catholic birth control.”  Specifically, the NFP course should transmit standard Catholic teaching that couples need a sufficiently serious reason to postpone or avoid pregnancy in order to use systematic NFP.  Some NFP promoters want to avoid the term “serious reason” (HV 10 and 16) and substitute “just cause” (HV 16). While both terms are used in Humanae Vitae, I think that in the present circumstances “just cause” is psychologically inadequate if used separately instead of as a supplement to “serious reason.”  “Just cause” terminology carries the risk of sounding like “just ’cuz” as in “just ’cuz we don’t want the inconvenience of kids or more kids.”

What about the decision to do ecological breastfeeding?  Aside from wanting to do what’s best for the child, no reasons are needed to use ecological breastfeeding with the hopes of a year or more of natural infertility.  In fact, considering all the health benefits of EBF to mother and baby, breastfeeding ought to be the default decision—the normal standard of care, and couples should need a sufficiently serious reason not to breastfeed.

BOOK SALE:  30% off Kippley books in print at lulu through August 7.  Plus 20% off any order at lulu though July 27 with code SILVER when ordering.

John F. Kippley
Battle-Scarred: Justice Can Be Elusive