Catholic Family Life Archives

Serving the Church, Impacting Others

By Savanna Duca for Family Foundations magazine. If Crystal Wen wasn’t an eye doctor, she’d be an OB-GYN. An optometry professor in awe of human creation, she realized early on that teaching Natural Family Planning (NFP) was a way she’d love to strengthen her marriage and serve the Church. Her husband Matthew agreed wholeheartedly. “We…

Follow the Footsteps of the Saints to Mary

There are many beautiful quotes from holy men and women in the Church about Mary. Have you ever stopped to wonder why they said these things about the Blessed Mother? What were they going through in their own lives? What brought them to these insights and wisdom? Let’s follow in the footsteps of these great…

The Rosary Beats With the Rhythms of Our Lives

Written by the Family Foundations Editorial Staff One of the greatest tools of prayer in our Catholic faith is the rosary. When you watch a movie there is usually music that plays in the background as the story unfolds before your eyes. The Hail Marys and Our Fathers of the rosary are the background music…

Dads, Daughters and NFP

Written by Jim Volpe. Originally published in Family Foundations. My dad has two sons, so I always had first-hand experience being a father to boys. When my first daughter was born, I wasn’t sure I knew what to do. I was still figuring out women at the time, having only been married 3 years, but…

CCL Central New Office Blessing

Written by Martha Haenni This summer, CCL’s Central office in Cincinnati moved into a larger, remodeled space within the Our Lady of the Holy Spirit Center building. Early in September, Fr. Rob Jack, Theology instructor at the Cincinnati Athenaeum and host of Driving Home the Faith radio show on 910 AM Sacred Heart Radio, toured…

Co-Creation With God

Growing up, I would often ask my mom to “Just tell me what you want me to do, and I’ll do it.” She would remind me, instead, that she wanted me to look around and see what needed to be done and who needed a hand. I wanted a checklist; she wanted me to develop…

Volunteering – Receive More Than You Ever Give!

Karen and I have sometimes wondered how it is we have been active volunteers for 35+ years. Looking back, a few key themes seem to explain our inability to stop. First, volunteering brought us together with other like-minded souls who have over the years become a cadre of lifelong friends. Second, volunteering gave us something that…

St. Philomena Novena & Pregnancy Intercessor

Young St. Philomena has been such a powerful intercessor, she’s actually the only saint who was canonized on the grounds of intercession alone. While miracles have been reported regarding a whole span of requests, she’s known as the patroness of babies, infants, and youth. It’s unsurprising, then, that she’s taken a special place in hearts…

Connection of NFP and Odds of Divorce

Written by Jim Volpe. Originally published in Family Foundations. One of the many important endeavors that CCL has been working on throughout its history has been to establish NFP in the scientific community as a respectable option for family planning. Mike Manhart, Ph.D. and co-author, Richard Fehring, Ph.D, RN, FAAN from Marquette University took a…

Pro-Life and Pro-NFP (Part 2)

Written by S.J. Duca. Originally published in Family Foundations. Part 2 of a 2 Part Series. A parent’s impact reverberates for generations. In three interviews across three states, I heard testimonies as to what a difference it makes when parents share with their children about the goodness of life and Natural Family Planning (NFP). These…