MADISON — “Marriage and Natural Family Planning . . . A Divine Design” is the theme of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, being promoted July 19 to 25 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
The aim of this week is to focus attention on Natural Family Planning (NFP) methods and Church teachings which support their use in marriage.
This year also concludes a year-long observance of the 40th anniversary of the papal encyclical, Humanae Vitae (issued July 25, 1968), which articulated Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood.
Natural Family Planning
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Variety of resources
The U.S. bishops’ Web site offers a variety of resources on NFP Week found at www.usccb.org/prolifeissues/nfp, including liturgy and prayer ideas, articles, couples’ stories, and information on Church teachings.
The Web site says that Natural Family Planning is an umbrella term for certain methods used to achieve and avoid pregnancies. “These methods are based on observation of the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman’s menstrual cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy.
“NFP reflects the dignity of the human person within the context of marriage and family life, promotes openness to life, and recognizes the value of the child. By respecting the love-giving and life-giving natures of marriage, NFP can enrich the bond between husband and wife,” says the information on the Web site.
Diocesan efforts growing
For the past two years, Jessica Smith has served as family planning coordinator for the Diocese of Madison under the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis (OEC). Smith left the position recently to move to Denver, Colo., with her husband John. The position she held has been eliminated due to diocesan budget cuts.
Smith commented on her former position, “When I began as the family planning coordinator at the diocese, I really underestimated the importance of the work I was called to do. I saw it as a job. But when my husband, John, and I attended the God’s Plan facilitator training in 2007, we began to understand how many broken people and families were left in the wake of the sexual revolution and the enormous impact of Theology of the Body through the God’s Plan program and subsequently, through the NFP program.
“We realized people would struggle with the teachings and programs, but that struggle would ultimately bear much fruit. Jesus didn’t come to bring comfort and complacency; he came to bring love and truth. We owe it to Christ and the people of God to give them the fullness of truth and the healing they’ve been looking for,” said Smith.
“Jessica has really stirred up a lot of interest in Natural Family Planning,” said Andy Galvin, who has worked with Smith in the diocesan office and will be assuming some of her duties. “Jessica and her position have built momentum in our diocese and changed many hearts,” he said.
Smith added, “Pastors and parishioners of the diocese should be grateful to Bishop Morlino and Andy for taking such a bold stance on marriage. It is life-changing and on par with the best marriage programs in the country.
“If Andy and the OEC can do what they’ve done with one or two people, imagine the possibilities if a benefactor endowed the OEC for a fully staffed Family Life Office,” said Smith.
How people can help
“With the cuts we can’t replace Jessica, but there are many things people can do to continue her work,” said Galvin. He suggested people can help by:
• Becoming an NFP teacher to teach specific methods of NFP.
• Becoming a parish advocate for NFP. This means giving short presentations and witnessing to the practice of NFP.
• Talking to your parish priest about the importance of NFP and how you would like to hear it discussed from the pulpit.
For more information, contact Galvin at 608-821-4517 or [email protected] or go to www.madisodiocese.org/nfp