Should priests talk about NFP/ABC in their homilies a bit more?

[whatevergirl]

I fear it’s closer to they won’t preach on what they don’t believe.

Oh my gosh, that’s a worse possibility. I think personally, it’s because they are fearing people leaving their parish, the faith, etc…

If people want subjective truths, there’s plenty of new age nonsense out there for them to follow…the Catholic Church should really be educating its members as much as possible…and there are a lot of creative ways to do this, besides during Sunday mass…

 

[PaulinVA]

Oh my gosh, that’s a worse possibility. I think personally, it’s because they are fearing people leaving their parish, the faith, etc…

If people want subjective truths, there’s plenty of new age nonsense out there for them to follow…the Catholic Church should really be educating its members as much as possible…and there are a lot of creative ways to do this, besides during Sunday mass…

I say that because I think a lot of the priests believe in the “conscience clause” that I alluded to earlier. Because of that, they (wrongly) don’t actually believe use of ABC is wrong in all instances.

After reading threads here for a while, there have been a lot of instances of people coming questioning what a priest told them in confession or whatever.

That said, it is a terrible responsibility that our Pastors have taken on. They are responsible for us, spiritually speaking. Talk about a a hard job.

 

[AliciaCL]

EM in FL. Not trying to be obstructionist here but citing to the catechism to explain WHY b/c inside marriage is immoral doesn’t help. “The spouses’ union achieves the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. These two meanings or values of marriage cannot be separated without altering the couple’s spiritual life and compromising the goods of marriage and the future of the family.”

I’m sorry, that sounds like doublespeak to me. WHAT is the “good” of marriage that is unachieved by the use of the b/c pill??? I do not see how use of b/c “alters” the couple’s spiritual life, or “compromises” the goods of marriage and family’s future. I and millions of others simply don’t get that. What does it mean? HOW is it immoral? Humane Vitae did not explain the reasoning which led to its conclusion. It still sounds to me like it’s immoral because the Church says so and ask no more or you’re simply to be regarded as a rabble rauser.

I’ve been looking for a step by step reasoned explanation. Everyone skips ovwer the premise that God persumably intends the possiblity of life forming at every encounter. Why is that necessarily the must-be premise? That Genesis told Adam and Eve to muliply and Onan wasted seed by disobeying God, simply do not logically add up to the premise. I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I’m trying to get someone who is fully on board with the RCC’s position to break it down in simple terms and explain it to the rest of us. There’s a reason millions depart from this. They don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to them. Please explain why b/c pills inside a marriage which has children and has reason to limit more, is immoral??? We’re talking only b/c pills here not IUD’s or other methods.

 

[Paul1961]

I’ve been looking for a step by step reasoned explanation. Everyone skips ovwer the premise that God persumably intends the possiblity of life forming at every encounter. Why is that necessarily the must-be premise? That Genesis told Adam and Eve to muliply and Onan wasted seed by disobeying God, simply do not logically add up to the premise. I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I’m trying to get someone who is fully on board with the RCC’s position to break it down in simple terms and explain it to the rest of us. There’s a reason millions depart from this. They don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to them.

Many Catholics share this your feelings. It’s not simply a matter if never hearing at at mass.(I certainly never have).

 

[Kit15]

I’ve been looking for a step by step reasoned explanation. Everyone skips ovwer the premise that God persumably intends the possiblity of life forming at every encounter. Why is that necessarily the must-be premise? That Genesis told Adam and Eve to muliply and Onan wasted seed by disobeying God, simply do not logically add up to the premise. I’m not trying to be a jerk here. I’m trying to get someone who is fully on board with the RCC’s position to break it down in simple terms and explain it to the rest of us. There’s a reason millions depart from this. They don’t understand it. It doesn’t make sense to them. Please explain why b/c pills inside a marriage which has children and has reason to limit more, is immoral??? We’re talking only b/c pills here not IUD’s or other methods.

The reasoning my husband and I were given was that having sex with contraception (such as the pill) is not a fully unitive act. “I love you…but not your fertility…not right now anyway. So you/I/we will use these artificial methods so we don’t have to deal with it.” Of course no loving couple says this to each other. But in many relationships, fertility is considered an obstacle that needs to be dealt with.

NFP takes natural fertility into account when making decisions to have or not have sex.

Even if I was not Catholic, I would be looking at NFP anyway. My fertility is not a disease. It’s part of being a healthy woman. Yet it is something we have to “cure”. We make our bodies *less *healthy in order to make sex more convenient.

It’s not just a matter of not wasting a man’s seed. It’s about respect for our bodies and complete unity in the marital embrace.

Yeah I wish it was covered in homilies too…it was actually very inspiring…even empowering…to hear it that way. Especially as a woman. But we didn’t get any of it until our marriage prep classes.

 

[whatevergirl]

The reasoning my husband and I were given was that having sex with contraception (such as the pill) is not a fully unitive act. “I love you…but not your fertility…not right now anyway. So you/I/we will use these artificial methods so we don’t have to deal with it.” Of course no loving couple says this to each other. But in many relationships, fertility is considered an obstacle that needs to be dealt with.

NFP takes natural fertility into account when making decisions to have or not have sex.

Even if I was not Catholic, I would be looking at NFP anyway. My fertility is not a disease. It’s part of being a healthy woman. Yet it is something we have to “cure”. We make our bodies *less *healthy in order to make sex more convenient.

It’s not just a matter of not wasting a man’s seed. It’s about respect for our bodies and complete unity in the marital embrace.

Yeah I wish it was covered in homilies too…it was actually very inspiring…even empowering…to hear it that way. Especially as a woman. But we didn’t get any of it until our marriage prep classes.

In so many places that I have read or heard this explained, wow, you really brought the point home so succinctly. Thanks for posting this.

 

[Pug]

I don’t have the problem of silent priests. Our parish mentions various hard topics. We’ve even brought in a speaker on TOTB for an evening presentation. Still, though, these brief mentions aren’t enough to cover stuff like that it is wrong to use contraception even if your doctor is telling you to use it on account of you can’t risk pregnancy again.

Do you suppose the problem is that Catholics receive their catechesis when they are young children, so nobody ever teaches them about what to do when faced with these adult decisions? It’s not like female medical conditions would be covered with small children. Catholics who are faced with these decisions are probably consulting their close friends or relatives for advice, and if none of them ever receive adult catechesis, they surely would all be in the dark, together, going off what they learned as kids.

My pastor complains that no one reads the bulletin, though. I’m not sure inserts would reach the right people, if he is right. I do think that regularly hearing that certain things are wrong would help some people keep the teaching. I think people follow teachings more easily if they have social support to do so. And hearing about it regularly would help provide that support. But other people don’t understand the why of it all, and need assistance that a homily can’t provide.

 

[DiannaK]

I am all for our priests being much more vocal about things like NFP, abortion and the like from the pulpit. I struggled for a long time with reconciling my thoughts/will with NFP, and I know NO one in real life I could talk to about it. It’s websites such as this one that have brought me more in line with our Church, and I am thankful for that.

 

[Jay82]

I personally would really like to see the NFP (and other similar topics) addressed more by priests. I honestly can say I never even heard of NFP until recently. I am single and still abstinent, so it hasn’t really affected me yet, but it would have been nice to be informed. If I didn’t find this forum, I would still not know about it.

I have never heard any priests talk about NFP/ABC or similar subjects and rarely do any priests publicly address any controversial moral topics. But I can definitely see why they avoid tougher issues for fear they will drive people away from the church/mass. For example…

Back in college, when I would attend mass their was a priest who always spoke controversially about politics in a distasteful manner. After several masses he conducted, it made me not want to go back again because I felt like he was pushing ‘propaganda’ on us instead of talking about more important moral issues, regardless of whether or not I agreed with him. I could over hear many conversations expressing the same sentiments after leaving each mass. While this is an extreme example, priests do have to be careful how they present certain issues.

I don’t think priests have to go into at great length about NFP at mass (if they do, that’s great), but if they touch on the subject in a manner which peaks curiosity and then mention that it can be discussed further at a meeting/lecture at a later date (or after mass) – that may be all that is needed. Further knowledge can also be conveyed through literature handed out after mass (as mentioned by whatevergirl), but if the priest touches on it first, the parishioners will be more likely to read it after mass. If the priests can bring these topics up in a manner that will facilitate discussion among husbands/wives, couples, etc then that is a great step in the right direction.

 

[BiologyBrain]

I’m going to go a step further w/ the ignorance of Catholics & address the facts that many (not a specific number, but I know some & you probably do too) priests either don’t know, disregard, or don’t understand the Church’s teachings on ABC, NFP, abortion, etc. I think it all goes back to when the Faith was watered down in the 60s & 70s & became more of a ‘feel good about yourself & God’ instead of an ‘obey God at all costs’. Some priests that I know frequently counsel couples to be on ABC or tell them there’s nothing wrong w/ it in their particular situation. I’m sure we’ve all heard stories (from people on CAF even) of priests advocating abortions, homosexual unions, etc.

There definitely needs to be more preaching about the slippery slope of secular sex. Many of the Gospels that speak of love and self-less-ness can be turned into appropriate anti-ABC, pro-NFP, anti-abortion homilies. The priests at Priests for Life do it every week.

Our parish has an insert in the bulletin that w/ the homily/discussion from Priests for Life every Sunday. I’m not sure how many actually read it & take it to heart, but its there. The biggest problem (after not getting the message out) is the hardened hearts of parishioners. One of my favorite Gospel readings to go w/ this discussion is that of the seed on the varying types of soil. There are those that are like the rocky soil/path that completely will not accept the truth. There are those like the decent soil w/ weeds that will accept the teaching, but it becomes too difficult and they give up. There are those who are fertile soil and they embrace the truth and live it. I’ve heard one of our local priests use this homily in relation to ABC &/or abortion. They don’t typically talk about NFP for whatever reason.

Anyway, I think the entire Church from Pope Benedict down to the newest Catholics need to proclaim the truth to one another. I guess that’s my way of saying everyone should catechize in this area.

 

[whatevergirl]

I’m going to go a step further w/ the ignorance of Catholics & address the facts that many (not a specific number, but I know some & you probably do too) priests either don’t know, disregard, or don’t understand the Church’s teachings on ABC, NFP, abortion, etc. I think it all goes back to when the Faith was watered down in the 60s & 70s & became more of a ‘feel good about yourself & God’ instead of an ‘obey God at all costs’. Some priests that I know frequently counsel couples to be on ABC or tell them there’s nothing wrong w/ it in their particular situation. I’m sure we’ve all heard stories (from people on CAF even) of priests advocating abortions, homosexual unions, etc.

There definitely needs to be more preaching about the slippery slope of secular sex. Many of the Gospels that speak of love and self-less-ness can be turned into appropriate anti-ABC, pro-NFP, anti-abortion homilies. The priests at Priests for Life do it every week.

Our parish has an insert in the bulletin that w/ the homily/discussion from Priests for Life every Sunday. I’m not sure how many actually read it & take it to heart, but its there. The biggest problem (after not getting the message out) is the hardened hearts of parishioners. One of my favorite Gospel readings to go w/ this discussion is that of the seed on the varying types of soil. There are those that are like the rocky soil/path that completely will not accept the truth. There are those like the decent soil w/ weeds that will accept the teaching, but it becomes too difficult and they give up. There are those who are fertile soil and they embrace the truth and live it. I’ve heard one of our local priests use this homily in relation to ABC &/or abortion. They don’t typically talk about NFP for whatever reason.

Anyway, I think the entire Church from Pope Benedict down to the newest Catholics need to proclaim the truth to one another. I guess that’s my way of saying everyone should catechize in this area.

:bowdown: well said.

 

[GracedUpon]

I’m going to go a step further w/ the ignorance of Catholics & address the facts that many (not a specific number, but I know some & you probably do too) priests either don’t know, disregard, or don’t understand the Church’s teachings on ABC, NFP, abortion, etc. I think it all goes back to when the Faith was watered down in the 60s & 70s & became more of a ‘feel good about yourself & God’ instead of an ‘obey God at all costs’. Some priests that I know frequently counsel couples to be on ABC or tell them there’s nothing wrong w/ it in their particular situation.

This is so true. In my RCIA class, which was led by the parish priest, we only touched on the issue of ABC in the curriculum, but the priest told the class that ABC is not really a big sin, nothing that should stop us from receiving Communion. Thank God I had such strong Catholic role models in my life so I knew that his assertions were 100% wrong.

I also think a lot of Catholics are clueless about the sinfulness of certain fertility treatments, such as IVF and artificial insemination. This needs to be taught in church as well.

I did see one young priest give a homily about the sinfulness of many Catholics in today’s culture, which included many people’s rejection of the Church’s teachings on abortion and birth control, among other things. It was the most amazing and gutsy homily I’ve ever heard from a priest at Mass. I wish there were more priests out there who would be as daring as he is.

 

[LeonBloy]

YES! to the OP, YES!

here is a link to some great talks about it, Homilies, from good Catholic Priests, and I think a few protestant pastors as well:

godsplanforlife.org/Homilies/Homilies.htm

I’ve listened to a few by the Catholic Priests, and they’re excellent. I’d like to hear the others as well.

edit to add: this first link are Homilies you can download and read. Here is a Link to the ones you can hear:

omsoul.com/pamphlet188.Homilies-from-Called-to-Give-Life

the one by Father Anthony is excellent on the Church’s teachings on Contraception. It is 3 parts.

edit again: I guess they’re all just documents to read… I listened to them at one point, so I know they’re out there… I’ll do some more digging… but there they are…

 

[Pug]

I personally would really like to see the NFP (and other similar topics) addressed more by priests. I honestly can say I never even heard of NFP until recently. I am single and still abstinent, so it hasn’t really affected me yet, but it would have been nice to be informed. If I didn’t find this forum, I would still not know about it.

Thanks for posting this. Now that I think about it, I’ve never heard NFP discussed in a homily. I’ve heard contraception condemned a bunch of times, but I don’t recall a word about NFP. I always mentally fill in the blank with, oh, and NFP is okay to use for the proper reasons, etc. But if a person didn’t know that already, they’d be totally left in the dark and have no idea that they could do something instead of contraception. Also, the words “natural family planning” may be obvious to some, but to me when I was younger, I would have needed to be told what that was about.

 

[rudytoo72]

We have a priest at our church who isn’t afraid to speak the truth. He has preached homilies on all these topics. He frequently preaches about abortion and has even been on the local news talking about why it is wrong. He will tell the congregation, I am about to say something that some of you may not like, won’t want to hear and which may cause you to get up and leave and not come back. But i can’t stand here and not tell the truth because then I wouldn’t be doing what Christ requires of me as a priest. I think that’s great! We need more priests who we know are very passionate about their roles in educating the Catholics entrusted to them. There are things we need to hear from our priests regardless of whether others won’t like hearing it. I wish I had a priest like this 15 years ago when we got married. Not only was I not informed (my fault for not knowing) of the Church’s stance on ABC, I told the priest who married us that I was using ABC. He said nothing. So I thought it wasn’t a big deal. No one told me I was mortally sinning! He also told us that while the church “didn’t agree with birth control, off the record, I think a couple should wait a few years before having kids.” That’s what he told us. Now I take responsibility for not knowing the church’s teachings completely, but when a priest knows you are using ABC and tells you to wait before having kids, what are you supposed to think? I very much regret having done what I did. I have confessed and repented. But I think the Church needs to have priest who are ALL in line with its teachings. Otherwise people like me get a mixed message, and end up doing things they wouldn’t have done had they been better informed. I think its up to us as Catholics to learn what is permitted and what isn’t. But we need more information from our priests so we can make the right choices. I agree with the idea of putting something in the bulletin or pamphlets in the back of church, etc. Our priest does this also.

 

[whatevergirl]

YES! to the OP, YES!

here is a link to some great talks about it, Homilies, from good Catholic Priests, and I think a few protestant pastors as well:

godsplanforlife.org/Homilies/Homilies.htm

I’ve listened to a few by the Catholic Priests, and they’re excellent. I’d like to hear the others as well.

edit to add: this first link are Homilies you can download and read. Here is a Link to the ones you can hear:

omsoul.com/pamphlet188.Homilies-from-Called-to-Give-Life

the one by Father Anthony is excellent on the Church’s teachings on Contraception. It is 3 parts.

edit again: I guess they’re all just documents to read… I listened to them at one point, so I know they’re out there… I’ll do some more digging… but there they are…

*Thank you very much for these links!! *

 

[turtle18]

I think most people know that the Catholic Church teaches this is a sin. However, I think they believe it is something on the “books” and is not “officially” practiced precisely because they never hear anyone preaching about it or encouraging us to live out our faith.

Our pastor gave a sermon on it one Sunday and it got so quiet in Church you could hear the breath of God coming out of the tabernacle.

 

[LeonBloy]

*Thank you very much for these links!! *

I’m glad someone can use them! I think it might be helpful to share them with your priest, so maybe he can get some ideas…

And I can see the problem a little better, a lot of priests do condemn contraception, but don’t so much talk about the beauty of NFP. But if you look for talks on Theology of the Body, you will find some discussion of it. When we lived in Oakland, CA the Bishop did a talk on Theology of the Body, and I believe there was some mention of NFP.

 

[VertHorizon]

Yes because otherwise the priest is enabling peoples sins. Contraception, abortion, euthanasia, in vetro fertilization, fertility drugs, viewing television shows and movies that show sex or unclothed people, et cetra, lead people to believe this is acceptable and if the priest says nothing, they will continue to do these things. Priests need to also refuse to give communion until all have gone to confession for these sins. They should also teach that supporting or even communicating with someone who supports these evil sins is a sin and should refuse to communicate or have any contact until these sinners repent of their evil ways. Priests need to be forceful with their parishioners. People are too stupid.

 

[whatevergirl]

Yes because otherwise the priest is enabling peoples sins. Contraception, abortion, euthanasia, in vetro fertilization, fertility drugs, viewing television shows and movies that show sex or unclothed people, et cetra, lead people to believe this is acceptable and if the priest says nothing, they will continue to do these things. Priests need to also refuse to give communion until all have gone to confession for these sins. They should also teach that supporting or even communicating with someone who supports these evil sins is a sin and should refuse to communicate or have any contact until these sinners repent of their evil ways. Priests need to be forceful with their parishioners. People are too stupid.

*Well, priests are available for confessions, but it is up to us to confess our sins. Unless someone is pulbically open about being pro-abortion, pro contraception, etc…there would be no way for a priest to know the content of someone’s heart…the condition of his/her soul. But, our priests should be extensions of our Pope, and our Pope is not shy about bringing up the tough subjects. Again, doesn’t HAVE to be in a homily, but in the bulletin, etc…he could write something…he could point us in the right direction by talking about the theology of the body, etc… *