Natural Family Planning: What is it and why practice it?
“Be fruitful and multiply…” (Genesis 1:28; 9:1; 35:11). From the beginning, God’s plan for marriage is inscribed in the nature of the human person as created, in the image of God, male and female. The call to marriage is the call for a man and a woman to join in a permanent, faithful, and fruitful union of life-giving love. Love and life go together, and husband and wife say “yes” to this sacred call and mission of fruitful love from the beginning of their marriage. This is why, in the vocation of Holy Matrimony, the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children are inextricably linked.
Within this understanding of God’s beautiful plan for marriage, Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the general term used for married couples to discern, on a continual basis, God’s call for them to be fruitful and multiply. In learning a method of NFP, one gains in-depth knowledge of a woman’s menstrual cycle. That knowledge can be used to help a couple achieve a pregnancy, or avoid one, if they have prayerfully discerned that prudence demands a pause on receiving the gift of life, given that the natural state of marriage is for a couple to be open to the gift of life.
We encourage visitors of this website to explore the NFP FAQs, methods available in the Archdiocese of Atlanta, and to contact us or an NFP instructor for more information. Additional resources from the USCCB can be found as well as on the NFP Awareness Week webpage.
Marital chastity is a struggle towards perfection in the vocation of marriage that deserves full support. Feel free to contact Daniel West at 404-920-7631 or dwest@archatl.com
