Popular Video Relates Marriage Ceremony to Natural Family Planning

Feb. 26, 2010 - PRLog -- A compelling and popular video that explores three questions in the Catholic marriage ceremony is a boon to engaged couples in the Chicago area.

The seven-minute video, produced by the Archdiocese of Detroit and which has attracted close to 2,000 YouTube views in a year, looks at three questions in the marriage ceremony that are asked before the vows are taken, and discusses how they relate to Natural Family Planning (NFP).

The video is moderated by Fr. Jeff Day, spiritual advisor for Natural Family Planning for the archdiocese. The first question is “Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves in marriage?” Fr. Day explains that NFP allows a couple to give themselves freely, because each spouse accepts all of each other, including the other’s fertility and infertility. Contraception, on the other hand, does not.

The second question is, “Will you love and honor each other for the rest of your lives?” Fr. Day points to a crucifix during his homily and talks about the sacrificial love of Christ on the cross. When couples use NFP, “They are more easily able to imitate this sacrificial love within their marriages,” he says.

The third question is, “Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?” Fr. Day explains, “If a couple is using Natural Family Planning, they are open to the number of children that God might bless them with.” He adds that if there is a serious reason to avoid pregnancy they can use NFP.

- Couples Give Testimony -

Several couples in the video give testimony to their beliefs. One woman, Lauren, explains, “Love without respect wouldn’t be love at all. It would just be lust for each other. We can’t separate sex and fertility. We have to apply this to our sexuality. We have to accept them together.”

The Archdiocese of Detroit offers more videos about NFP on a two-disk DVD with testimonies of 17 couples and two medical professionals.

- NFP Classes in the Chicago Area -

Classes in the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning are offered by the Couple to Couple League to married and engaged couples, and can be taken at 15 locations in the Archdiocese of Chicago, IL and surrounding area, including southeast Milwaukee and northwest Indiana. A homestudy course is also available at CCL Central.

The next series of classes in northeast Illinois will begin Sun., Mar. 21, 2010 at 6 pm at St. Irene’s parish in Warrenville, IL, and will be taught by Mike and Denise Kenealy. To register, and for a list of classes throughout the U.S., go to CCL Central at http://www.ccli.org. Illinois class information is at http://www.naturalfamilyplanningchicago.com.

# # #

The Couple to Couple League (CCL) is an international, interfaith, non-profit organization dedicated to teaching Natural Family Planning (NFP) to married and engaged couples. This news article is sponsored by the Chicago chapter of CCL International.