By Melanie Rigney
For we who live are
constantly being given up to death for the sake of Jesus, so that the life of
Jesus may be manifested in our mortal flesh. (2
Corinthians 4:11)
When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming.
Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. (Psalms 126:1-2)
“Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your
servant; whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.” (Matthew
20:26-27)
Piety
Lord, make
us thirsty for Your wisdom.
Study
It was on this day in 1968 that Humanae Vitae was released, the papal encyclical that affirmed
traditional Catholic teachings on human sexuality, including the prohibition of
artificial birth control. Some left the Church. Others stayed with a variety of
reactions: they cheered, or they did their best to be obedient, whether that
obedience meant using natural family planning (NFP) or after discernment (or,
in some cases, not), ignoring the prohibition.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ annual
National NFP Awareness Week wraps up tomorrow. Last November, a USCCB
secretariat issued a report that found diocesan NFP programs are hampered by
lack of funding; about two-thirds operate on less than $10,000 annually, and
only a third provide an annual report about their activities to their bishop.
While most dioceses include NFP in their marriage preparation guidelines, there’s
a big gap: while nearly 164,000 Catholic marriages were celebrated, fewer than
17,000 people took part in an NFP course or received instruction. The report
concluded:
…
When evaluating any diocesan NFP program, the most important pastoral
leadership question can be summed up with a simple “yes” or “no”: Can couples who wish to be faithful
to Church teaching on conjugal love and responsible parenthood readily get the
NFP support they need? The answer to this
question will determine how best to plan and support local diocesan NFP
ministry.
I found myself chewing over that paragraph over and
over again, thinking how it could apply to so much that is misunderstood about
the Church I love. I don’t pretend to have all the answers, but when I returned
to Catholicism after more than three decades away, there were a number of
potential dealbreakers for me: Limbo. The presence or lack thereof of
non-Catholics in heaven. Divorce. Abortion. Contraception. I wasn’t coming back
if I couldn’t sign on completely. And the more time I spent with the Catechism and other Church publications,
the more I learned that the teachings were all based on love and respect and
human dignity and that what was in my heart was not that different from
Catholicism’s core beliefs.
My point today is not to try to change your mind on NFP
or immigration reform or gay marriage or abortion or anything else. It’s just
to say that dioceses and parishes across our country are pulled in a million
directions today. They always have been. They always will be. We are unlikely
to always get all the support we might need on any Church teaching. At some
level, we’re each responsible for asking for help and reaching out for
resources before we make snap judgments. When we do that, when we open our
questions to the light and look for help in understanding, we may find that
some of our positions need to be laid on the altar.
Action
Spend some
time in conversation with a learned member of the ordained or laity about a
Church teaching you find difficult to accept, or ask this person for reading
material on the topic.
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