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“He’s in Hell now!” “Burn in Hell, Timothy.” These are some of the headlines that were printed around the country the morning after Timothy McVay was executed. One of the things that I hate more than anything is when people judge others, and try to say where someone is going to land up after they die. Truth be told, you never know where someone is going to end up when they die; because you never know what is on their heart and soul the moment that they die. Timothy McVay could have said a perfect contrtion (expression of sorry and guilt), and could be in heaven now. We just don’t no the power and mercy of God.

Also, I don’t like it when religious people claim that they are going to heaven because they believe in God. Ladies and gentleman, there is a difference between believing in God, and trying to immitate Him. One must immitate God in order to get to heaven, not just merely believe. To merely believe is a cop-out, and justification for actions. One must act more like Christ when nobody is looking, not just when people are around. For example: a few months ago, a Promise Keepers event was being held here in the United States. After the group of men left to go home, the hotel reported that there was a huge increase in the number of porn movie subcriptions. These men have no problem professing their faith in public, but in private, they don’t live what they believe.

Let me close saying this: I’m a devout Catholic. I try to live by the faith on a daily basis, and preach by actions, not words. I am not holier than you; and I believe that you may have a better chance of reaching heaven that I do.

One of the biggest complaints about NFP is that it’s too hard to follow the guidelines; there are too many rules; or you mean we have to wait THAT long before we have marital relations again!  One thing that you will want to know about NFP is that it is very effective in both preventing pregnancy, and acheiving pregnancy.  The catch is that you must follow the guidelines of the women’s cycle.  If you flirt with the rules, you flirt with pregnancy, and if you abide by them, there is a good chance that your wife will not get pregnant. 

More than acheiving or preventing pregnancy, NFP is effective on the marriage.  I’m sure you know that right now, there is a 50% + divorce rate in the United States.  Did you also know that there is a 50% divorce rate in the Catholic Church?  But, of the 10%-15% that follow NFP (yes, only 10%-15% of catholics follow this teaching) 95% + remain married until the death of one of the spouses.  (You may lift up your jaw now).  This probably comes as surprising to you, but if you try to understand the purpose of NFP, you begin to realize why.  Contraception encourages and makes the woman ready on demand.  If a man asks his wife to contracept, the man is asking his wife to be ready for his desire 24/7.  This does not foster a deep relationship among the marriage, it fosters a SELFISH relationship among the husband and wife (the man expects his wife to be willing, and the couple is closed to life; children teach the act of selflessness.  You see, NFP promotes communication among husband and wife, and it also promotes selflessness by the controlling of one’s desires, and fostering of children. 

As you can see, NFP is effective in two very important ways: it prevents or acheives pregnancy, and it helps the marriage bond.  If you want to know more about birth control, and how one Pope prophesized how it would effect the world, visit this link: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Paul06/p6humana.htm

First of all, let me say that Natural Family Planning is NOT the Catholic form of birth control.  Birth control attempts to avoid pregnancy, and those who practice birth control are completely closed to life.  Natural Family Planning is a way that married couples, who have good reason to prevent pregnancy ABSTAIN, marital relations during the women’s fertile period.  The difference between NFP and contraception is that those who practice NFP are OPEN to life; they are not using artificial means to prevent pregnancy.  Rather, they are using natural biological signs that a fertile woman gives.  To tell the most fertile days, couples chart the basil body temerpature and the cervical mucas of the woman.  As the woman approaches peak day (ovulation), the women’s temerature generally peaks, and the cervical mucus is thin and stretchy (easiest form of mucus for sperm to swim through).  Couples who wish to avoid pregnancy avoid marital relations about a week before peak day, and a few days afterward.  Those who follow the rules of NFP are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy; and the remaining 2% are thankful for the life inside the womb because they were always open to life. 

If you have any questions, ask away, and if you are interested in finding out more about Natural Family Planning, visit http://www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/information.shtml.

That’s the basic overview of NFP.  Tomorrow, we will take a look at why the Catholic Church teaches NFP.

The Catholic Church gets a bad wrap.  Sometimes I feel that my church is attacked more than the extreme Muslim sect who wage Jihad.  We get labeled as too conservative, hypocritical, out of touch, etc.  When Pope John Paul II passed away, many journalists, non-Catholics and liberal Catholics were hoping that a more liberal pope would be elected so that some of the controversial teachings would possibly go away.  First of all, regardless of the pope, church doctrine does not disappear like bills and laws passed by a previous president.  Doctrine is revealed to the Church by the Holy Spirit, and will stay through the life of the church.   One of the more difficult teachings of the church is the teaching of the evils of contraception.  Well my friends, this week is Natural Family Planning awareness week, and since the media won’t cover this, I will be blogging about this every day this week.  My hope is that you will be more enlightened, and accepting of this teaching.  I will start off tomorrow with the teachings of the church, and what NFP is.

One of the sad realities of life is that humans are infactuated with negative news.  You know the saying, no news is good news.  For example, Americans would rather hear about abuses in the Church rather than the good the Church does for human kind.  A teen that kills his girlfriend or sleeps with his high school teacher is a hotter headline than a teen that spends his weekend at the nursing home taking care of those who are in the twilight of their lives.  Such is the case with World Youth Day.  How many of you know that millions of young catholics are coming together in Austrailia right now to celebrate their faith, and spend time with the pope.  Some of you may be saying “I’m not Catholic, therefore I don’t care.”  Even if you aren’t Catholic, this event should move you because so many teens, which is often thought of a troubled or lost generation, are coming together for a good cause; to be united with each other and celebrate.  This event should have much more coverage than it is receiving, and it’s sad that all the negative news has to overshadow the good.

A few weeks ago, a Brazilian priest went missing.  No foul play is suspected, and rescuers know exactly what happened to the man.  The priest wanted to build a retreat center for his congregation, but he didn’t have enough support from the members of his parish.  So the priest decided to try to set the world record for flying using helium-party balloons.  The priest was strapped to the balloons, and had a radio strapped to him.  Shortly after take off though, the priest went missing off the coast and was suspected to fall into the ocean.  He was never found, and the search has recently been called off.  Think twice before you try to a world record

There is an outcry for women priests, and that the Catholic Church is afraid of the ‘women power’ or is an ‘all male club.’  Picture this for a moment.  You’re watching a movie on the Civil War, and Abraham Lincoln is about to give his famous speech that abolish slavery.  The president walks on the stage, and it’s a woman.  Wouldn’t you be outraged?  In the Catholic Church, the priest stands ‘In Persona Christi’ (in the person of Christ).  He is not a mere person, he actually takes on the role of Christ to adminster the sacraments that Christ instituted.  To have a women priest is much like having a women Abe Lincoln.