The following was written for a local church bulletin to mark the opening of NFP week.
The USCCB has set July 21-27 as Natural Family Planning (NFP) week. NFP is an invitation into communion with God’s creativity. God does not persistently produce, his creation ebbs and flows like the cycle of the moon, changing of the seasons, or the journey from life into death. In “The Language of Your Body” Christistina Valenzuela writes “The life of the Church [...] is expressed through her cyclicality, much like the biological woman whose menstrual cycles impact so much of our physical, emotional, and even spiritual lives. When we observe the liturgical life of the Church, we see how layered this cyclical life is.” NFP gives insight to the cyclical nature of women, allowing us to monitor health, avoid or achieve pregnancy, and gain deeper understanding into God’s design for women.
The world sells us “solutions” to fertility such as birth control (BC) and artificial reproductive technology (ART). Besides the ethical issues with BC & ART, both are riddled with long term side effects. BC is often prescribed to “regulate” when it really shuts down functions without addressing actual underlying issues and long term risks like infertility. ART is sold as the solution to infertility but the success rates vary, and at the highest are around 50% for a single cycle. However NaProTechnology (NPT), which utilizes NFP, has a success rate of up to 80% as an initial treatment for infertility. Not only does NFP respect God’s design for fertility, it is often more effective than the “medical” alternative.
As we enter NFP week, consider this year's theme of "Love Beyond Measure" an invitation on how NFP provides an opportunity to encounter God's immeasurable love in his design for the cyclical nature of women.
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