Natural Family Planning (NFP) Awareness Week will be held from July 24-30, 2016. In accordance with the Year of Mercy, this year’s theme is “Love, Mercy, Life: Opening the Heart of Marriage.”
NFP Awareness Week is a national educational campaign of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). It is held annually during the week of July 25 and 26, the anniversary of papal encyclical on human sexuality Humanae Vitae and the feast of Saints Joachim and Anne, respectively.
NFP is a natural way for couples to achieve or prevent pregnancy. Its methods chart different aspects of a woman’s cycle. It is used in conjunction with NaPro technology to pinpoint irregularities and problems in a woman’s fertility to combat infertility.
NFP is based in part on Pope St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body. “It’s greater than birth control. It is meant to help us see the wholeness of the way we were created,” said Kimberly Quatela, diocesan coordinator of family formation.
Married couples can benefit from practicing NFP. Quatela said, “NFP draws attention to the science behind our bodies while helping married couples to embrace their fertility and learn about God’s plan for their sexuality.”
NFP Awareness Week is a week of fertility appreciation and greater awareness for the benefits of NFP. Additionally, Quatela said, “it’s a push for general knowledge of health.”
She added, “Fertility isn’t something that you can just turn off and on. It’s a part of our bodies and, as with any other system in our bodies, we should know how it works.”
Click here for more information on NFP, and to contact certified teachers in your area.