Teaching NFP and Life’s Blessings
Pete and Lora Brodeur have been an NFP teaching couple for over twenty years, both in-person and online. They have also been involved in sharing NFP and marital ethics at the marriage preparation program in their diocese. They have four grown children who have each found their own passions. Their eldest son is a teacher living in FL with his beautiful wife and two children. Their eldest daughter is an RN in Massachusetts, while their younger daughter works as a Social Media Manager for the Diocese of Arlington, VA. Lora and Pete’s youngest son was just ordained to the Priesthood, and he will complete his studies in Rome this coming year.
Céline: How did you meet? Tell me a little about yourselves and your family.
Pete:
We first met through a mutual friend at church, but it was nothing more than an introduction. About a month later, we went out on a date. We were both around thirty and we wanted to get married and have a family. We had both dated, so I think we each knew what we wanted and what we didn’t want. From the start, we were very honest with each other, and we quickly realized how much we had in common. We got engaged just a few months later and were married in the Spring of 1989. We have four grown children and two lovely grandchildren!
Céline: How did you start using Natural Family Planning?
Lora:
After we had two children under two years old, I started experiencing a ‘fear’ that if we continued to have more children very close together, we would be unable to give all of them our full attention and care. Taking care of children was more challenging than I’d anticipated and I was just so very tired and depleted at the end of the day. We reached out to a teaching couple in the Diocese to learn more about NFP, and to say that our eyes were opened is an understatement. How very little we both understood about our fertility! We were so excited and amazed that NFP truly works, and we became quite passionate about it in the following years.
Céline: How has Natural Family Planning been a stronghold in your marriage and how has using it been a dynamic experience?
Lora:
After we had our first two children and started using NFP, I had a miscarriage. Thanks be to God, we conceived again and had our third child. When she was about five months old, I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. We were quickly thrown into radiation, surgery, and everything else that comes with a cancer diagnosis. During this time, my cycles were very erratic. Because I was often receiving treatment, we really needed to abstain for the better part of a year.
I think a lot of couples have a fear of abstinence, but because we practiced having shorter periods of abstinence early on in our marriage while using NFP, we were better fortified to weather the storm, even if it was an exceedingly challenging time for our family. Once I recovered, we really wanted to have more children. We did not know if I would be able to conceive after what my body had been through. NFP was a blessing in a different way during this time. We used it to achieve pregnancy and had our youngest son who was just ordained a priest!
Pete:
When we got married, we both agreed that we would never use contraception. I didn’t think we needed NFP because we wanted children, and we married later in life. When you first get married, life feels so natural and smooth – we were enjoying being intimate like any other newlyweds. As challenges start arising, however, you come to realize that our wills must come into play to face those challenges harmoniously as a couple. To deliberately choose to learn NFP and practice those periods of abstinence for the sake of one’s spouse and one’s family it truly the maturation of your love for each other. NFP provides that opportunity of sacrifice that really helps a marriage grow.
Céline: In your work as a teaching couple, how have you been a witness to the dynamic movement of fertility awareness?
Lora:
We have definitely noticed a slow but steady shift to a more widespread openness to fertility awareness. So many women have been on the Pill far too long because it was prescribed by their physician. With time and research, the evidence is out on how detrimental most forms of birth control are to a woman’s health. Knowledge is empowering!
The benefits of charting cannot be understated. For instance, we worked with a young, engaged couple a number of years ago. Her diligence in charting revealed that she may not have been ovulating. Because of this information, she is now married with two young children. She was spared years of agonizing over the fear and heartbreak of infertility. For every couple that we teach, our hope is that they learn to use and live NFP in their lives. They can then share the beauty they discover in it with their friends and family.
Pete:
When CCL first began offering live online and self-paced options, we decided to commit to teaching virtually. We have been teaching online for about three years now, and in that time, we have taught more couples than in all our years of teaching in-person combined. We try to limit each class size to five couples to keep the personal aspect of teaching intact. However, they often fill up within minutes of posting a class. I think the ability to teach online is fantastic because it not only gives couples the flexibility to learn conveniently, but it also makes it possible to share NFP with young people everywhere. We have taught couples all over the country and our goal is to say we have taught couples from each of the 50 states! It is incredibly inspiring how many couples come to our classes dedicated to learning and practicing Natural Family Planning.
We are very excited to announce that we have a new Teacher Training Session starting soon. We are open to receiving applications from students and promoters who are interested in teaching NFP to other couples. Also, we have a new opportunity for individuals to teach NFP as a paid FSI Instructor.