July 2018

How Humanae Vitae Shaped our Family

Humanae Vitae Giving Day 2018 * * * From the Family Foundations archives by Jack and Sonia Ferraro Like most engaged couples, we set goals for our life together. As we progressed toward our wedding date, we constructed an idea of what our life would be like in “The Five-Year Plan.” We…

Why the Catholic Church is against Contraception

Humanae Vitae Giving Day 2018 * * * by Jason Evert Contraception is nothing new; history records people using various methods of birth control four thousand years ago. Ancient people swallowed potions to cause temporary sterility; they used linens, wool, or animal skins as barrier methods; they fumigated the uterus with poison to…

From Humanae Vitae to Theology of the Body

Humanae Vitae Giving Day 2018 We are very glad to share this excerpt from Christopher West’s newest book which he debuted at our conference earlier this month, Eclipse of the Body: How We Lost Sight of the Meaning of Sex, Gender, Marriage, and Family and How to Regain It. * * * by Christopher West Soon after…

50 Reasons to Read Humanae Vitae

It’s the 50th anniversary of one of the most ground-shaking, pot-stirring, life-giving documents the Church has released in recent history. In 31 short paragraphs, soon-to-be-Saint Pope Paul VI defended the Church’s unchangeable teaching on contraception and laid the groundwork that would inspire a certain Cardinal Wojtyla to pen the Theology of the Body. So what’s…

Surviving a Year Without Sex

Humanae Vitae Giving Day 2018 * * * We are pleased to share this piece from the fabulous blog of Jenny Uebbing, Mama Needs Coffee, hosted on the Catholic News Agency site. This was the first of a series of articles she shared in advance of today’s anniversary. Be sure to check out and follow…

4 Ways NFP is Different from Contraception

Humanae Vitae Giving Day 2018 * * * by Professor Janet E. Smith On the 50th year anniversary of Humanae Vitae, let’s take a moment to consider the differences between NFP and contraception. Some people think they are essentially the same because both are used by couples who want to have sexual intercourse but who…

The Nuptial Leap of Faith

There are times when it’s right to take a hike. Your business partner is getting lazy. Your dentist pulls the wrong tooth. Your boyfriend starts doing drugs. Your girlfriend wreaks your car and doesn’t even apologize. You need to dissociate, divide, disconnect, split or disjoin. It can be painful but there are times when you…

Cold Eggs / Warm Heart

Have you ever been to an egg-freezing party? They are all the rage in Silicon Valley, according to the blog, sfgate.com: http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2014/11/10/for-women-in-tech-egg-freezing-parties-are-new-post-work-event At an egg-freezing party, a young woman can munch on hors d’oeuvres, sip wine and learn about a remarkable power never before available to the human race. She can learn about what is…

From “No” to “Yes”

Blessed Pope Paul VI, beatified last month by Pope Francis, acquired his halo the hard way. He had the thankless job of saying “No” at a time when the whole world was expecting and demanding that he say ”Yes.” Science and technology had produced a near-miraculous solution to a profound and ancient problem. A wife…

Love and Marriage

Love means many things. The baseball player loves his glove. The little girl loves her Easter dress. The father loves his son. When we think of the essence of love, however, we tend to think of the love of a man and a woman, especially the love of a man and woman who give themselves…