Welcome! Our parish is grateful to offer a terrific new resource to support couples. Our certified team will help you explore and tap into the beautiful blessings of Natural Family Planning.
Natural Family Planning is...
St. Gabriel's Natural Family Planning team organically sprung into being from a few couples who were seeing firsthand the blessings God shower upon us when we say "yes" to His design for marriage. Through Natural Family Planning, we saw our marriages strengthened, an increase of tenderness and self-sacrifice between spouses, a deeper appreciation for the unity that comes from sex, and families we never could have thought up for ourselves. We discovered much better hormonal health in the process.
We were ignited and inspired to share the joy we personally experienced in practicing openness to life. We want to equip everyone with the tools we have received to build strong marriages, healthy bodies, and happy families.
If you always had a vague notion that the Catholic Church was against contraception but never heard the exact revelation protected and held consistently by the Church for the last 2000 years… it is so much more than just being "against contraception."
The Gospel reveals, and the Church's tradition has steadily upheld, that our bodies are a gift from God, "fearfully and wonderfully made," with a profound meaning and beauty behind our sexuality. When we make the radical decision to live our lives as intentional gifts that we receive, we open ourselves to a showering of grace and joy that is unfathomable beforehand. This is the heart of the Christian faith.
As St Paul says, "I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, your spiritual worship. Do not conform yourselves to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:1-2 This verse, friends, is Natural Family Planning. We don't conform to this age; we live out a monthly discernment that involves openness to God having a better plan than we might.
"Natural Family Planning (NFP) is the general title for the scientific, natural, and moral methods of family planning that can help married couples achieve or postpone pregnancy.
NFP methods are based on observing the naturally occurring signs and symptoms of the fertile and infertile phases of a woman's menstrual cycle. No drugs, devices, or surgical procedures are used to avoid pregnancy. Since the methods of NFP respect the love-giving (unitive) and life-giving (procreative) nature of the conjugal act, they support God's design for married love!" (from the USCCB website)
God does not ask us to have babies without responsibility or prudence; we are merely asked to approach our bodies and our spouses with respect for their natural design, which requires that we wisely use the infertile times God gave our bodies in monthly cycles, instead of artificially forcing infertility by damaging healthy organs and causing hormonal imbalance.
NFP, when practiced under the instruction of certified teachers, is as effective as any contraceptive method, but unlike contraceptive methods, its benefits for your body as a whole are enormous.
This commitment to obedience involves real personal sacrifice at times, but we have repeatedly seen that God is never outdone in generosity. (Mark 10:23-30).
No matter what your reproductive goals or challenges are, we can accompany you in integrating your sexuality with your faith and discover a community of like-minded friends in the process.
We offer certified, one-on-one instruction in charting your monthly cycles with the latest scientific research, instilling a confident knowledge of your biomarkers and empowering you at every stage. We offer retreats, ongoing learning, connections to pro-life specialists, and spiritual support.
Our conversations are always confidential.
email Katie and kallah here
"I am so grateful for the NFP aid St. Gabriel offers parishioners. I'd tried to self-educate and follow NFP principles when we first married, but it was hard to figure out a good method. It was hard for me to track my ovulation without someone to take my questions to or confirm what I was tracking. Katie has helped me feel confident and hopeful about tracking."
AH, Parishioner