St Paul wrote to his great friend Timothy (1 Tim 2:15) that a woman can be saved through having children. It is in her role as mother that a woman can work out her salvation in fear and trembling, learning to make sacrifices for her children, for her family.
The whole of Scripture treats children as a great blessing and the more children the more blessed parents are.
St Paul goes on to warn the people of the church of Galatia that they should not be using 'pharmakeia' the potions available for the prevention of children. He does this in the context of teaching against the sin of lust in all its permutations. Even then it was obvious to St Paul that contracpetion went with the sins of lust and lack of love for one another.
St John also teaches against this in the Book of Revelation (9:21)
The potions tended to be made available by the pagans and often included some form of magic to help prevent the babies.
I don't think much has changed. There is a sort of superstition that contraception will make everything so much easier and God can stay out of the bedroom.
Showing posts with label NFP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NFP. Show all posts
Monday, 6 August 2007
It was NFP awareness week-but I wasn't aware.
Apparently it was NFP awareness week at the end of July-but I missed it. It's never too late to speak about Natural Family Planning though so here's a post.
As I've mentioned before you can chart on Fertility Friend They are set up specifically for couples trying to have a baby, but I you can use it for spacing as well.
On the 25th July 1968 Pope Paul VI promulgated the document Humanae Vitae which continued the 2000yr teaching of the Catholic Church on openness to Life, the sanctity of marriage and the intrinsic evil of contraception.
He propehetically pointed out the damage that contraception would do to women, to marriage and to children- and of course 40yrs later we can see how right he was.
God has given women a natural cycle that not only tells us when we can conceive, but sends out signals about our general health and ability to keep a pregnancy.
With NFP couples pray and ask discernment for when to conceive each child and when we might have a good reason to avoid pregnancy. We recognise that every child, even those we lose through miscarriage or still birth are a gift from God with a purpose for their existence.
Being open to life means trusting God fully. It means that if God wants us to have a baby, we accept that precious gift with open heart and open mind.
It also means that if He chooses to withold that gift, we accept His will -while continuing in prayer and perseverence.
I am not saying we should accept infertility and do nothing about it-but there are moral and immoral ways of dealing with infertility.
In the end as they say in AA we have to let go and let God.
As I've mentioned before you can chart on Fertility Friend They are set up specifically for couples trying to have a baby, but I you can use it for spacing as well.
On the 25th July 1968 Pope Paul VI promulgated the document Humanae Vitae which continued the 2000yr teaching of the Catholic Church on openness to Life, the sanctity of marriage and the intrinsic evil of contraception.
He propehetically pointed out the damage that contraception would do to women, to marriage and to children- and of course 40yrs later we can see how right he was.
God has given women a natural cycle that not only tells us when we can conceive, but sends out signals about our general health and ability to keep a pregnancy.
With NFP couples pray and ask discernment for when to conceive each child and when we might have a good reason to avoid pregnancy. We recognise that every child, even those we lose through miscarriage or still birth are a gift from God with a purpose for their existence.
Being open to life means trusting God fully. It means that if God wants us to have a baby, we accept that precious gift with open heart and open mind.
It also means that if He chooses to withold that gift, we accept His will -while continuing in prayer and perseverence.
I am not saying we should accept infertility and do nothing about it-but there are moral and immoral ways of dealing with infertility.
In the end as they say in AA we have to let go and let God.
Thursday, 19 July 2007
NFP-who uses it?
I was chatting about NFP with my dh yesterday. He wonders if there is any research out there that shows who uses NFP. Does anyone know?
He believes it would show that the majority of couples would be married with a single income for the family and possibly a larger family on average.
I know NFP is spreading out there particularly among those who are having problems getting pregnant.
I recommend Fertility Friend in fact for accurate charting.
He believes it would show that the majority of couples would be married with a single income for the family and possibly a larger family on average.
I know NFP is spreading out there particularly among those who are having problems getting pregnant.
I recommend Fertility Friend in fact for accurate charting.
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