FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear St. Mary’s Parishioners:
On July 25th, we begin National Natural Family Planning Awareness Week. As always, NFP Awareness Week falls around July 25th which is the date that Pope Paul VI promulgated Humanae Vitae (“Of Human Life”), the 1968 encyclical on the faithful transmission of human life. Among other things, Humanae Vitae (HV) affirmed that NFP is the only morally acceptable way, (besides relying on God’s providence, which is, of course, completely acceptable), for couples to postpone or achieve pregnancy. In HV, Saint Pope Paul VI reminded spouses and all of us that God gifted couples with the privilege to be co-creators with Him in bringing forth new human life. He wrote: “…..husband and wife, through that mutual gift of themselves, which is specific and exclusive to them alone, develop that union of two persons in which they perfect one another, cooperating with God in the generation and rearing of new lives.” (HV, 8) If you have never read this beautiful encyclical, I encourage you to read it now. It is rather brief, probably 12 pages long.
As we mark the fifty-third anniversary of Humanae Vitae, it is good to review the wisdom of the Church’s teaching on marriage and the precious gift given to parents to collaborate with God in bringing new life into the world. In this regard, Pope Paul VI prophetically pointed out in section 17 of Humanae Vitae that the widespread use of contraception would “lead to conjugal infidelity and the general lowering of morality”. Moreover the Holy Father noted that “a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.” Finally, Paul VI projected that the widespread acceptance of contraception would place a "dangerous weapon... in the hands of those public authorities who take no heed of moral exigencies." Clearly, as many commentators have noted, all three of these prophecies have come true over the last five decades.
The anniversary of Humanae Vitae reminds us to be ever more intentional about promoting and defending a morally sound and physically and spiritually healthy understanding of marriage. An understanding that expects couples preparing for marriage to remain chaste and celibate before their wedding day. An understanding that includes married couples remaining chaste after their wedding day by following Church teaching with regard to fidelity and fruitfulness, by remaining open to God’s gift of children and only using natural and moral means, such as NFP, to space out the birth of their children. All of us need to be familiar with the sections in the Catechism on marriage and on the
Sixth and Ninth Commandments. No matter your state of life, if you are at least 18 years old, you should be informed about NFP, how it works, why it works and why the Catholic Church promotes it as a moral way to space the births of children on marriage. One should pass this teaching on to your children, your grandchildren, your friends and your co-workers. In this way, we may all become evangelizers of the truth, beauty and goodness of the Sacrament of Marriage and we may all be promoters of the Church’s teaching on the sacred transmission of human life.
In Christ,
Father Berg
