PG-13 Content---NFP!

There have been some interesting discussions around the blogosphere lately on NFP. Primarily due to this article, I believe. Rachel started another at Testosterhome. My dh and I have been NFP teachers for 10 years now. We've used it for 15 years of our 22 year marriage and it has been a huge blessing. But I think it is really hard on the more sexual half of the marriage, in most cases the husband. I have cycles which require more abstinence than most, and sometimes we really don't like it. And the timing is totally off for the woman, anyway.

That said, I think it is one of the most beautiful Church teachings, and the one that brought me into the Church. Maybe not so much "NFP" as the teaching on marriage and the life-giving, love-giving marriage act. Sex is a beautiful gift from God---a way to show our love for each other and give life. I think I said before, or I meant to, that God was incredibly generous in allowing us to share in His act of creation. He gave women infertile times that allow us to have some control over conception for serious reasons. When we talk about serious or grave reasons for using NFP, it's really between God and the spouses. No one else can determine who's right---only the '3' involved in the marriage.

I think the biggest problem these days is that we don't live in a society based on families anymore. We work constantly. We drive our kids all over town for activities. We don't live near our parents and siblings. If life were different and revolved around the home, as it used to, and families stayed close where the extended families could help with the new babies, NFP use would be different, more rare. I think more people would reserve it for life and death situations. Perhaps God did not intend for couples to use those natural rhythms He provided for years and years in our marriages, and that is why we struggle with the difficulty of it.


Throughout history, babies have been a fact of life; people got married and babies came. They expected them and accepted them. Now, even the most dedicated Catholics have a difficult time with large families because it seems that everything in society makes it so much harder. Heck, I feel guilty sometimes for stopping at 6, but emotionally, physically, and financially, I don't think we could handle anymore. But that's really a lack of faith, isn't it? Or is it a societal problem?

They're beautiful! Who wouldn't want more?