Indescribable Joy

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Read Time: 4 minutes

My Son’s First Reconciliation Journey

What does indescribable joy feel like? Well, this is something that I experienced when my son celebrated his First Reconciliation a few weeks ago. It was a Saturday before his First Communion, and he had a First Reconciliation service.

For a couple of hours, there were some stations that the first communicants were participating in along with their parents, which were highlighting various parts of the Sacrament of Confession.

So we did all those, and there’s just such great beauty in the sacrament.

We talked about the connection to the Sacrament of Baptism, the fact that the first communicants would be wearing a white garment over their first communion outfits. As an outward sign of the invisible garment that they received or they were clothed in with Baptism.

Reconciliation is a way where that baptismal garment is renewed, it’s cleansed again of any sin that a person commits after Baptism. Reconciliation is that sacrament of mercy.

It’s something that God’s mercy is so bountiful that he doesn’t want to hold back.

He welcomes you back with open arms, and he meets you.

He runs towards you.

Much like that image of the forgiving father in the parable of the prodigal son.

An Overwhelming Wave of Emotions

As I was standing in the confessional line with my son, I experienced just an incredible wave of emotion. I had such immense joy, and the only way I could describe it was, there was this joy that originated, that started in my heart, in my innermost being.

It started to radiate out of me, in a way that it couldn’t escape out of my body, except through my tears.

There was a trembling, a deep reverence I felt for God, a deep sense of gratitude that overwhelmed me entirely. My mind, my body, my soul, my heart. It eventually burst forth through tears. Tears of joy, tears of gratitude, tears of sorrow for those times where I did not see, or did I not show myself the best role model for my son, and the times that I failed him and God.

The Light of the Resurrection

So there were all of these emotions, and it was that sense where it was bursting out of me, but in a sense, kind of like how the light burst out of Jesus. At the Resurrection, Jesus was transformed completely, while still retaining his earthly body with its scars and wounds.

This image came to mind as a representation of the light we receive at confession, which is contained within us as a foretaste of heaven.

I couldn’t contain this light, and it burst forth from me in the form of tears of joy.

Overcoming Obstacles with Faith

As I looked at my son, I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude and pride in what he was doing. He was nervous about confession, and it had been a journey for our family. Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder at 18 months, he struggled to communicate his needs.

We went through countless therapy sessions over the years to help him reach the point where he could communicate effectively. The fact that he was able to stand before God in the Sacrament of Confession, through the priest, and experience that wonderful gift was something we once wondered if he would receive.

The Joy of First Communion

This past Saturday, when our son experienced his First Reconciliation, it foreshadowed the joy we felt seeing him receive Jesus in the Most Holy Sacrament for the first time. God truly worked in me, bringing me to my knees, figuratively speaking.

I was overwhelmed with emotion, feeling the power of God in that moment. It’s difficult to describe, but it was like a burst of joy, light, gratitude, wonder, and awe.

A Message of Perseverance and Faith

I must admit that I’m not always the best father, and I have sought God’s mercy many times.

In that moment, I experienced a full spectrum of emotions, both sorrow and joy, highs and lows.

It was a beautiful thing.

What I took from this is that our faith stabilizes us, and it is worth it.

If you’re struggling with young children, unsure if you’re doing the right thing by taking them to Mass, and they don’t seem to get it, I encourage you to stick with it.

You’re doing better than you think you are.

You are showing up, being present, being consistent, even if you don’t feel God’s presence. It’s really just in the effort and continuing to show up week after week.

That daily prayer at night, before meals, asking God for help, even the times where you’re frustrated. And just thanking God for the moments, for the simple things. Those are the things that really help, that lead you to these monumental milestones, like First Reconciliation.

Conclusion

I really wanted to share a little bit about this experience I had, witnessing my son preparing for the Sacrament of Confession. It’s just been a joy to experience, and I’ve been meaning to share this story so much. I’ve had a variety of things that life has hit my family and me with. Vehicle issues, medical issues with my family, lots of struggle, anxiety.

But I had to share the good news, that God is so merciful.

He works in us, He works through the Catholic Church with administering the Sacrament, and it’s just a beautiful way to experience God. God bless you and your family!

Article by Matthew Chicoine.

Matthew is a left-handed cradle Catholic who enjoys reading everything Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton and is also an avid comic book fan. He is married to his wife Jennifer and has four children. Matthew’s favorite saints include Athanasius, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Philip Neri and John of the Cross. Discover more of his Catholic content by visiting: thesimplecatholic.blog.

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How to Rejoice with Gratitude & Humility

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Read Time: 5 minutes

The rite of Holy Matrimony is beautiful.

Not only for the day of the wedding, but it bears fruit for years to come. One of the sections I have constantly reflected on during my marriage is the pledge to be faithful in all circumstances.

Here’s an excerpt of that portion of the Marriage Rite.

The bridegroom says:

I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my wife. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.

The bride says:

I, (Name), take you, (Name), to be my husband. I promise to be faithful to you, in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love you and to honor you all the days of my life.

While the strongest moments of my marriage have occurred through the suffering we endured together (miscarriages, medical issues, stress at work, etc), the high points are things I struggle to reflect on as deeply and celebrate more frequently.

I actually find it easier to be grateful to God for sustaining me during the valleys than to rejoice on the great mountaintops He brings me to.

This article will look at a few ways that my wife and I have learned to intentionally rejoice together with gratitude and humility for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.

The Difference Between Joy and Happiness

It’s important to make a distinction between joy and happiness. While the thesaurus links the two as synonyms, there are key differences. Happiness is more of a fleeting feeling. It’s usually evoked by an external thing, person, or moment. But, it fades when the external stimuli goes away.

Joy is something far deeper and more long lasting. It dwells deeper, in the heart and in the soul.

According to Saint Paul VI in his encyclical on joy, Gaudete in Domino, “Christian joy is the spiritual sharing in the unfathomable joy, both divine and human, which is in the heart of Jesus Christ glorified.” The joy we receive (like all the other graces) in the sacrament of marriage is of supernatural origin.

Joy is a gift of the Holy Spirit.

Gratitude is the Harbinger of Joy

While joy is a gift from God and not something we can conjure up on our own, we can prepare for receiving this gift. According to Blessed Solanus Casey, “Gratitude is the first sign of a thinking, rational creature.” Gratitude allows us to see our lives as a chapter of a grander story.

A good story.

A beautiful story.

A true story.

And a truly joyful story.

While happiness relies on the “good” things that happen to you, joy is a gift you can receive in good AND bad times. And gratitude is the soil by which the seed of joy is planted, grown, and come to fruition.

In my marriage, I have learned the power of gratitude, but it took years to realize it.

Early in our marriage, I shied away from suffering. I became bitter when things didn’t work out the way I planned or anticipated. This led to an ungrateful mindset, but then God sent my wife and I to the school of suffering.

We experienced several miscarriages (the most severe in 2014 and 2017), and our losses taught us (me specifically, as my wife has a more overall grateful heart) that life is not to be taken for granted.

Since those losses, I have learned the importance of being more grateful. Now, no matter how bad my day goes, I can look back and find something to be thankful for even if it’s not in the immediate moment.

Rejoice with Gratitude & Humility

Living Liturgically Provides a Foundation

Along with the suffering God blessed me and my family with over the years, receiving God’s graces through the liturgy has been a source of refreshment and strength. My wife and I developed strong devotions to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in particular Mary Undoer of Knots.

A simple way we have lived liturgically is by having sacred art and statues in our home. The Christian home is the domestic church (or, as I like to call it, the micro-church). We also have found spiritual friendships with Saints Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, and Gerard of Majella.

To live liturgically is to seek to find God’s work throughout the year.

We set the foundation by attending Mass once a week on Sundays and on holy days of obligation. The next step we made was to celebrate our family’s “patron saints”. Days like April 29, September 21, and October 15 took on new meaning. They became days we looked forward to.

Frequent confession and Eucharistic adoration are other ways my wife and I have found to be fruitful for our spiritual life. Receiving God’s mercy and love in the sacramental life have helped to reorient us when life knocks us down. We recently had to deal with a broken vehicle and emergency medical needs for our daughter. But living liturgically has given my wife and I the ability to rejoice with gratitude and humility even amid our struggles.

It’s Not Easy

Rejoicing together with gratitude and humility is a challenge. Life’s suffering makes it difficult. However, these practices help us distinguish fleeting happiness from lasting joy. They cultivate gratitude on a daily basis. The Church’s liturgical rhythms anchor us to God’s unending faithfulness. It opens us up to joy’s supernatural gift.

In our darkest valleys, my wife and I maintain devotion to Mary and the saints. We frequently celebrate sacraments. We celebrate liturgical seasons in our home church. All of this together helps us rejoice and thank God for blessings. Our hope is that all couples would strive to embrace marriage’s joys and sorrows with grateful, humble hearts.

Article by Matthew Chicoine.

Matthew is a left-handed cradle Catholic who enjoys reading everything Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton and is also an avid comic book fan. He is married to his wife Jennifer and has four children. Matthew’s favorite saints include Athanasius, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Philip Neri and John of the Cross. Discover more of his Catholic content by visiting: thesimplecatholic.blog.

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5 Saints I Wish I Knew More About

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Read Time: 5 minutes

At the start of my marriage…

One of the things I remembered talking about in marriage prep was the importance of making time for your spouse.

To carve out certain times of the day or week for quality time — putting the kids to bed early or having a babysitter watch them while you and your spouse go out on a date.

My wife and I could rarely hire a babysitter and with the diagnosis of our children with special needs it was a challenge for us to leave them in the care of someone we could trust.

Often, we had our parents help but since we moved in 2014 my mom and dad weren’t a mile or two away anymore.

We learned to be more strategic with our time: in-home date nights, making use of errands, or taking the kids to play in a park while we talked.

Along with wishing I invested more quality time with my wife at the beginning of my marriage I also wish I had a deeper relationship with several Catholic saints. Some of them I knew having gone to a Catholic school and others I learned about several years into my marriage.

Each of these 5 saints I regret not having found friendship earlier on. The aim of this article is to introduce you and your spouse to amazing holy role models and friends to learn from and reflect God’s love.

1. Teresa of Avila

In May 2018, my wife was pregnant with our fourth born child.

Months earlier we suffered our fourth miscarriage.

It was a loss that hurt us deeply and we were cautiously optimistic with this pregnancy. On Mother’s Day, my wife was experiencing signs that pointed to yet another miscarriage.

“I don’t think I can bear another loss,” my wife told me.

Feeling the same, I remember telling her, “The only thing we can do is pray. Let’s have our parish priest confer anointing of the sick. At least we can say we did everything in our power to save our child.”

We scheduled the Anointing of the Sick a few days later and asked for the intercession of Saint Teresa of Avila to help keep our unborn baby safe. Through God’s Providence our daughter survived the pregnancy and was born later that year.

We named her Avila after that tremendous saint.

The wisdom and sanctity of Saint Teresa has had a profound impact on my spiritual well-being for the past five years. I struggle with anxiety and depression, but I’m always comforted when I read her works.

Her prayer is most powerful:

Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.

2. Catherine of Siena

Along with Teresa of Avila, my daughter is named after Catherine of Siena. Her impact on my life has been great. A few years ago, I wrote an article about this saint as a model for addressing Church authority (it was during the news of the clergy scandal).

I read all of Catherine’s letters to the popes. What captured my attention was her ability to call out corruption with resolve while at the same time being charitable in her communication.

It was this balanced approach that helped influence my tone of voice and how I dealt with talking about hot-buttoned issues on social media. Reading Saint Catherine’s Dialogues was also quite insightful and drew me closer to the furnace of God’s love.

Learning about her patronage as those who suffered miscarriages was the final reason that compelled my wife and I to make her one of our family’s patron saints.

Catherine’s mantra, “Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire” are words I live by daily.

3. Philip Neri

While the first two saints provided more theological and spiritual support in my life and marriage, Saint Philip is a role model due to the joy he displayed. He is known as the patron saint of comedy.

Before I learned about this saint, I didn’t associate humor with holiness. During an especially intense period of suffering, I happened upon the awesomeness of Philip Neri.

The joyful spirit he exhibited inspires me and my wife to find hope even in the darkest of times.

4. Maria Faustina

The Polish nun had a profound impact on my wife’s conversion to Catholicism. In college she was introduced to this saint. Reading Saint Maria Faustina’s diary and praying the chaplet of Divine Mercy helped in her discernment to become Catholic.

In the early years of our marriage, I had a preliminary understanding of Saint Maria, but I wished I knew more about her prior to my marriage. She is an excellent guide to Jesus and trusting in His Providence.

5. Louis de Montfort

Finally, Saint Louis de Montfort had a strong influence on my faith life. While studying for my master’s degree in theology I came across his books The Secret of the Rosary and True Devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Both of these works deepened my understanding and relationship with the Mother of God.

My wife and I have leaned heavily on the Blessed Virgin Mary over the past dozen years and plan to continue to deepen our friendship with Her. She is the surest guide to Jesus. I can’t imagine how much stronger our early years of marriage would have been if I knew about Louis de Montfort (and his unique ability to draw you closer to Mary and Jesus) at the beginning of the sacrament!

Companionship of Saints

Our marital journey amidst the challenges of parenthood and special needs was enriched by the companionship of saints. Despite the obstacles in finding traditional quality time, we discovered innovative ways to nurture our relationship within our daily routines.

Through the intercession of Teresa of Avila, Catherine of Siena, Philip Neri, Maria Faustina, and Louis de Montfort, we find strength, wisdom, and joy to persevere.

These saints not only inspire us but fundamentally shape our approach to life and relationships. Their examples of faith, charity, joy, and devotion enrich our spiritual journey and strengthen our bond with each other and with God. As we continue forward, we are grateful for their enduring friendship and intercession, guiding us towards deeper unity and holiness in our marriage and beyond.

Article by Matthew Chicoine.

Matthew is a left-handed cradle Catholic who enjoys reading everything Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Chesterton and is also an avid comic book fan. He is married to his wife Jennifer and has four children. Matthew’s favorite saints include Athanasius, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Philip Neri and John of the Cross. Discover more of his Catholic content by visiting: thesimplecatholic.blog.

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NFP as a Path to Holiness

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Read Time: 5 minutes

Integrating Faith into Family Planning

NFP.

These three letters, standing for Natural Family Planning, represent the Catholic Church’s teaching on achieving or postponing pregnancy. Sometimes, NFP can sound like a burden rather than a blessing.

It is true that using NFP is not all sunshine and roses, and it does no one any good to sugarcoat the realities of NFP or any aspect of marriage. However, understanding the foundational virtues that support healthy Natural Family Planning can bring more beauty into the marriage relationship than most couples initially realize.

The Challenges of NFP

Marriage is hard.

Living life with another person and building a life and a family with them is hard. Charting can be challenging, especially during certain phases of a couple’s reproductive lives.

NFP is not as simple as abstaining from intercourse for a couple days each month.

There are many nuances to the instructions couples must learn and follow for every method. For example, when a woman is breastfeeding, the couple will need more support for charting as they navigate breastfeeding amenorrhea (the lack of cycles caused by breastfeeding temporarily suppressing ovulation) and the return of fertility.

Health conditions, medications, and even busy schedules can affect a woman’s cycle and the signs she relies on to determine fertility.

However, just because something is challenging, it doesn’t mean that it isn’t beautiful and fruitful.

Through the practice of Natural Family Planning, couples can experience something they may not have expected: good fruit in their spiritual lives.

Discerning Together

One of my favorite things about Natural Family Planning is month-to-month discernment. Couples don’t have to decide their intention in using NFP (meaning using their chosen method to either postphone or achieve pregnancy) forever.

They only need to decide how they will use it each cycle.

Unlike artificial methods, NFP allows couples to change their intention with ease. The couple trying to come off of a method of artificial contraception to achieve pregnancy would have to allow time for the woman’s cycle to regulate, and the woman may experience post-birth control syndrome.

However, the Creighton Model System, one of the NFP methods recommended by the Church, emphasizes that it is a method of true family planning, meaning it can be used to both achieve and postpone pregnancy.

All couples learning the system are given instructions for both avoiding and achieving pregnancy.

Growing in Discernment

Couples can also grow in their ability to discern or perceive God’s will in their lives as they make decisions regarding the planning of their family. I have found the principles of Ignatian discernment to be very helpful in my own life.

In addition, spending time in Adoration before the Blessed Sacrament has been an important part of my own discernment of our family planning decisions.

By discerning their intention in using NFP, couples can grow in their ability to pray together, discuss their spiritual lives, and see God’s movement in their lives.

The practice of discernment applies to many situations couples face in the course of life and marriage.

Understanding Sacrificial Love

Couples can also grow spiritually as they practice responsible parenthood.

As Humanae Vitae states:

“With regard to physical, economic, psychological and social conditions, responsible parenthood is exercised by those who prudently and generously decide to have more children, and by those who, for serious reasons and with due respect to moral precepts, decide not to have additional children for either a certain or an indefinite period of time.”

Growing a new life is both beautiful and physically and emotionally taxing. Understanding the realities of welcoming a child into your family is part of loving one another and your children well, even before a child is conceived.

Sacrificial love means placing your child’s (even before conception) and your spouse’s multifaceted needs before your own. Couples grow in sacrificial love when they consider all of these things and then discern to avoid or achieve pregnancy in a given season of life.

Accepting Suffering

In addition, couples experiencing infertility feel a great longing for a child that is not satisfied either temporarily or permanently. Couples who lose children to miscarriage, stillbirth, or death experience a profound grief which is often misunderstood by those around them.

Even without those heartaches, a couple avoiding pregnancy is not free of suffering.

They must lean into other ways besides intercourse to express their love during times of fertility. This suffering is greater for those who have more challenging charting situations as they may need to abstain from intercourse for longer periods of time.

Some couples avoiding pregnancy long for another child, but they cannot have more children for various reasons. Health conditions, medication side effects, upcoming surgeries, and many more issues may require couples to avoid pregnancy for a season, even if they don’t want to.

All of these seasons can be seen as manifestations of sacrificial love and opportunities to purge away selfishness, encourage mutual service in the couple, and help them align their wills with God’s even when it is difficult. In these periods of difficulty, couples can be drawn into the bleeding, suffering heart of Christ who longs to be united to us.

The True Meaning of Chastity

Through their use of Natural Family Planning, couples can grow in chastity. Chastity is an often-misunderstood virtue, and it isn’t just for single or engaged people. Everyone is called to chastity.

As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“Chastity means the successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his bodily and spiritual being. Sexuality…becomes personal and truly human when it is integrated into the relationship of one person to another” (paragraph 2337).

The Creighton Model refers to the acronym SPICE which stands for the different types of intimacy: spiritual, physical, intellectual, creative, communication, and emotional. Remembering those helps couples expand their understanding of their sexuality. Sexuality includes intercourse, but it is so much more than that. It also includes all the pathways that people can connect with each other, even with everyday things like prayer, holding hands, or discussing a great book together.

Through their use of NFP, couples can find ways to bond and strengthen their relationships that are non-genital in nature. Their understanding of intimacy broadens, as does their ability to connect on multiple levels.

The Fruit of Chastity

When couples avoid genital contact during fertile times because they are postponing or trying to avoid pregnancy, they are given the opportunity to grow in virtue and discipline. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

“Chasity includes an apprenticeship in self-mastery which is a training in human freedom. The alternative is clear: either man governs his passions and finds peace, or he lets himself be dominated by them and becomes unhappy” (paragraph 2339).

Intercourse is neither over nor under-valued in sacramental married life. Couples grow in their appreciation of this beautiful way of expressing love by their growth in self-mastery. They are able to truly love each other rather than use each other for their own pleasure.

Couples who understand these aspects of Natural Family Planning are truly drawn closer to Jesus through the suffering endured during their fertility journey.

They are drawn closer to the Father as they discern His will for their lives and their family. They experience the works of the Holy Spirit through the blessing of children and the love they express through SPICE.

Together practicing these foundational virtues of Natural Family Planning can bring couples closer to God and help them live holier lives during their time on earth.

Article by Julie McKay, Groesbeck Fertility Care Center

 

NFP Life® featuring Dr. Danielle & Kyle Koestner, Daria Bailey & Natalie Klinkhammer, and Jessie Wiegand — This foundational Natural Family Planning course covers the Catholic Church’s teaching on human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. It also provides detailed information about the biomarkers that indicate fertility and how to track them, so couples can choose a method of NFP that fits their lifestyle. Watch the trailer below and have your couples register here.

 

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What You Didn’t Know about Natural Family Planning

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Read Time: 4 minutes

Children are a gift from the Lord. – Psalm 127:3

This reminder from Scripture is often underrated and forgotten, and conversations about planning your family in discernment with God need to have this understanding in mind.

Considering children can come up long before marriage prep even enters the picture.

“What if I can’t have kids?”

“What if I am infertile?”

“What if I have the same struggles as my parents with miscarriage, children, etc?”

These questions are often asked by women who are single or dating.

I sympathize greatly with those concerns because struggles with fertility can cause women to question their entire identity and their call towards spiritual or physical motherhood. So when these questions come up, I normally ask, “Why are you concerned about these things?”

The responses I get usually reveal that there is an understandable but irrational fear. Maybe a female friend or relative had fertility struggles. These women are afraid they will face the same thing. My follow up question is, “Do you chart?” When some unmarried women hear this, they cock their heads slightly and question why they should learn a method of natural family planning when they are even engaged. Others look at me intrigued.

“Well,” I normally begin, “a lot of your concerns can be identified even before you are married or are in marriage prep,” and at this point I typically see the light return to their eyes.

The Benefits of Charting

Beginning to chart, even before you are married, can provide a lot of hope for women.

While I can’t speak about other methods, the Creighton Model FertilityCare System can identify patterns indicative of infertility and other issues related to the cycle that can cause issues with having children some day.

For example, a woman’s chart can reveal problems with their progesterone, and the solution can be as easy as beginning a dose of bioidentical progesterone. That simple solution could fix the problem of miscarriage before it even happens. Although it isn’t the only one, low progesterone is often the culprit behind miscarriage.

On the other hand, a woman’s chart can reveal something that seems totally normal with no indicators of infertility, which can help put women at ease. This is just one of many examples that the Creighton Model System can help with.

For those who are navigating the marriage prep world, charting is also a really helpful tool to discern whether there is a serious reason to avoid a pregnancy, or which days can be selected for a baby to potentially enter the picture.

It can be exciting and nerve wrecking all at the same time to begin charting while planning a wedding, but I can tell you that it can also help put the fears and anxieties about fertility struggles to rest, or give a woman time to work on anything problematic in her chart before marriage begins.

It’s an important time to reflect on the fact that fertility, children, and their potential spouse are all a gift from God.

Navigating Disappointment

Now, there are times when couples and single women can get discouraged about not being able to have kids.

It’s important for them to feel those emotions and grieve where they need to. It’s painful to feel like you are losing a dream, but it’s also important to remember that ultimately children are a gift from God, and not something that can be forced. Couples in this position should seek out help (support from friends/mentors, Napro doctors, and others) so they can realize there’s still a sense of hope, and God is ultimately the one in charge.

Whether they are learning to track their cycles, trying to achieve or postpone pregnancy, dealing with infertility, or even conceiving a child, I’ve seen women and couples fall into two traps.

They forget that their fertility is a gift from God, and/or they wrongly assume that they are guaranteed to have a child during the exact cycle they are ready to conceive.

The desire for children is good. However, a child is a gift, which is given, not a piece of property to own.

When expectations don’t meet reality, and this comes in many forms throughout life, it can lead to severe disappointment and even resentment.

It is wonderful for women and couples to be aware of their fertility, to participate in it properly in the various stages of life, but ultimately, they need to learn to surrender the outcome to the Lord, even when the outcome is having, or not having, children.

Pray, Connect, and Breathe…

So, what is a couple (or single woman realizing that her chart shows likely infertility) supposed
to do in times where they are struggling with their fertility?

  1. Pray. This is a time to grow closer to God in prayer and be honest with him. This doesn’t mean that prayers need to sound like perfectly wrapped Christmas presents with a bow on top…God wants our hearts, our desires, and our honesty with Him. We can tell Him how we feel, and give Him space to speak into our wounded hearts.
  2. Spouses can grow in intimacy in new ways. In the Creighton Model System, we have something called SPICE, which stands for the spiritual, physical (not exclusive to intercourse), creative/communicative, and emotional aspects to the human person. These concepts remind couples that they can learn and grow even during times of difficulty.
  3. Find support – your priest, the parish Family Life Director, family, friends, or other couples in your parish community who have been through this experience.
  4. I end almost every list similar to this with the same advice – grab a latte, your favorite whipped cream, and breathe.

To quote Julian of Norwich, “all shall be well and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”

Whether a woman is nursing her first baby, single and trying to navigate how cycles function, or engaged or newlywed and excited for marriage, it is important to never lose hope.

With prayer, time, and support, hope can become clearer and more real every day.

Article by Anna Murphy, Groesbeck Fertility Care Center

NFP Life® featuring Dr. Danielle & Kyle Koestner, Daria Bailey & Natalie Klinkhammer, and Jessie Wiegand — This foundational Natural Family Planning course covers the Catholic Church’s teaching on human sexuality, conjugal love, and responsible parenthood. It also provides detailed information about the biomarkers that indicate fertility and how to track them, so couples can choose a method of NFP that fits their lifestyle. Watch the trailer below and have your couples register here.

 

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