“Called to the Joy of Love, Natural Family Planning, Supporting God’s gifts of love and life in marriage” is the theme of this year’s Natural Family Planning Awareness Week, a national educational campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to celebrate God’s vision for marriage and promote the methods of Natural Family Planning.
Natural Family Planning (NFP) is a general title for ethical, natural, safe and effective methods for both achieving and avoiding pregnancy in marriage. NFP methods teach couples how to observe and interpret the wife’s signs of fertility and infertility. In the words of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, NFP methods “respect the bodies of the spouses, encourage tenderness between them and favor the education of an authentic freedom.” (CCC, no. 2370)
The dates of Natural Family Planning Awareness Week are: July 24–30. These dates highlight the anniversary of the papal encyclical Humanae vitae (July 25) which articulates Catholic beliefs about human sexuality, marriage, conjugal love and responsible parenthood.
The Diocese of Saginaw's Marriage and Family Ministry joins with the U.S. bishops in highlighting the benefits of NFP as ethical methods to help married couples live God’s design for their marriages.
Learn about online classes through the Couple to Couple League
Visit the NFP section of the USCCB website here for more information and resources.