Natural Family Planning

Father Jaroslaw Szymczak goes by many nicknames. Father Jay and Padre Jota are just a couple. But the one that perhaps has the most meaning is "Rescuer of Married Couples."

The native Polish priest, an instructor with the Faculty for Studies on the Family in Lomianki-Warsaw, Poland, at Cardinal Stefan Wysznski University, was in town late last month to give a talk on the gift of human sexuality. The archdiocesan Office of Natural Family Planning hosted the April 23 talk at the Cardinal Rigali Center in Shrewsbury.

As part of her job as a Creighton Model FertilityCare System educator, Diane Daly often travels to other states and overseas to work with students eager to learn more about the method of natural family planning.

Last month's trip to Poland was different, though. Daly, who directs the archdiocesan Office of Natural Family Planning, along with FertilityCare educator Ann Prebil, had a direct hand in teaching people from all over the world how to start their own FertilityCare education programs. It was the first time that such a program was offered overseas, said Daly.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Dr. Evelyn Billings, who with her husband, John, pioneered research that led them to develop a form of natural family planning supported by the Catholic Church, died Feb. 16 after a short illness. She was 95.

Like many parents, Kathy and Dr. Tom Sommers were feeling the pressures of day-to-day life with their four children ages 5 and under.

In 2005, the couple finally hit a breaking point -- as much as they loved their children, they decided in the moment that four were all they could handle. They were in their mid-30s at the time, with plenty of years of fertility ahead of them -- so they agreed that Tom would have a vasectomy.

The "Infertility Companion for Catholics" boasts that it offers spiritual and practical support for couples. A quick turn through the pages of the book comprehensively shows how the Church serves as a support -- and not a hindrance -- to women and men who bear the cross of infertility.

As the U.S. bishops kick off Natural Family Planning Awareness Week July 22-28, there's a lot to be said about what's offered here in the Archdiocese of St. Louis and elsewhere.

This weekend, the Humanae Vitae Association will celebrate NFP awareness with a picnic at Faust Park in Chesterfield. After a short hiatus from activities, the association -- which is part of the archdiocesan Office of Natural Family Planning -- is going through a period of new growth, under the leadership of Elizabeth Brunner.