(Homily given on October 17 18, 1992, for the beginning of Natural Family Planning Week, on the Respect for Life theme of "Natural Family Planning The Choice for a Healthy Marriage.")
Today we observe the beginning of Natural Family Planning week throughout the Diocese of Wichita. It is "natural," so to speak, that we highlight Natural Family Planning during the month of October, a month the United States Catholic bishops have designated as, "Respect Life Month. The theme for this year is: "Natural Family Planning: The Choice for a Healthy Marriage."
The Scriptures teach us the value of perseverance. Moses persevered in prayer and remained steadfast against great odds and, thereby, was delivered from his enemies. In a gospel parable, Jesus speaks of the widow who kept persisting in her cause for justice and pleading with a corrupt and unbelieving judge. In the end, the judge gave in to her pleas and ruled in her favor. Jesus teaches us the "necessity of praying always and not losing heart."
Not losing heart in living up to our Church's clear and consistent teaching on marriage and human sexuality requires perseverance and steadfast prayer. This is particularly true today when we live in a culture that is dominated by a "contraceptive mentality." Jesus' words to us about the "necessity of praying always and not losing heart" must be taken seriously by all people but especially by married couples who today are trying to be faithful to the message of the gospel, against "great odds."
It is a sad reality that the use of artificial contraception is widely practiced today. What is even more tragic is that some Catholic couples use contraception as a method of family planning, and some Catholic physicians do not hesitate to recommend the use of birth control and even prescribe contraception to their patients. The Catholic Church has consistently taught and continues to teach that the use of artificial contraception in all its forms, including direct sterilization, is "gravely immoral" and is contrary to the law of nature and nature's God.
Artifical contraception is always considered immoral; however, there is a morally acceptable way by which married couples may space the births of their children and even postpone a pregnancy for an indefinite period of time. For "good and sufficiently serious reasons," spouses may regulate births by abstaining from the marital act during the wife's easily identified fertile periods. This exercise of "responsible parenthood" is known as Natural Family Planning. Recent scientific research has so refined the methods of Natural Family Planning that, today, couples may practice responsible parenthood in ways that are altogether reliable (ninety nine percent effective), medically safe without harmful side effects, and morally acceptable.
When couples give their mutual consent to be spouses in the holy sacrament of Matrimony, they give themselves to each other and to God in a holy bond of love. This mutual selfdonation is expressed most completely in the marital act itself, which is a renewal of the marriage covenant. The God given meaning of the marriage act is realized in the union of the spouses and the openness to new life. The Church teaches that these "unitive" and "procreative" meanings of conjugal love must never be separated and must always be respected.
When Natural Family Planning is used to avoid a pregnancy or to space the number of children when there are justifying reasons to do so, it is free of the detrimental moral and physical elements which are so intrinsic to artificial methods. Natural Family Planning is a method of spacing births that fully respects the beauty of human sexuality according to the design of God. But NFP is more than a technique of family planning it is actually a way of life. It is a method which is shared fully by both husband and wife. It respects the personhood of the spouses and the dignity of the marital act. No doubt, Natural Family Planning involves a measure of sacrifice and at times self restraint, but it can also lead to greater self mastery and mutual respect. Additionally, it gives rise to a creativity in developing new ways of communicating love and showing affection.
Just as Jesus Christ put no conditions or reservations on His love for us, so married couples give themselves totally and unreservedly to each other in the bond of marriage. This totality of giving, which is required of conjugal love, is rooted in a deep faith in God's providential love and care for his people.
In the second reading from St. Paul to Timothy, St. Paul encourages his listeners to remain faithful to the full message of the Church, a message we must preach in season and out, whether convenient or inconvenient. Natural Family Planning is not the easier route consistently paraded by the contraceptive mentality of our society. But it is the most love generating and life giving way to live the mystery of married love. Strength for doing so is found in "praying always and not losing heart."