Natural Family Planning: What It Is and What It Isn’t (with Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio)
Fr. Josh JohnsonShare
Fr. Josh Johnson and Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio discuss the many facets of Natural Family Planning (NFP) and share resources if this is something that you are learning or struggling with. There is no one size fits all approach when it comes to fertility awareness methods. There are many approved methods depending on your personality, season of life, etc. While looking at the potential challenges of any method, we must keep our hearts close to Jesus and His mercy. Without His love, we can do nothing.
Snippet from the Show
We are all on the same team… I want to encourage you to not give up. There are resources and people who are trained, and their job is to help you.
Glory Story (1:44)
Listener Question (8:05)
"I'm a relatively recent convert to NFP. Although I did 13 years of Catholic school, it was never something that was taught to me, and my husband and I contracepted for the first decade of our marriage. Since stopping birth control, I've gotten pregnant twice. The first resulted in a loss, which even though unplanned, was heartbreaking. While I believe my current baby is a gift to help make up for the one I lost, I still struggle with the thought that I've gotten pregnant twice while using NFP to avoid pregnancy. I've done so much reading on this topic, including Theology of the Body. I understand the Church's teaching, and I logically agree with it AND comprehend the science of how to track myself. But in the busyness of everyday life, I just struggle remembering to do it. I am already stressed about what to do after my new baby arrives. I know every little one is a blessing, but I don't think I could handle a fourth. I know God provides and all. But I already feel like I'm scrambling to get by. I respect the Church's teaching, but I also find it hard to believe that there's only one correct way to avoid pregnancy. I'm one of the more organized people I know. If I can't remember to track my body, I tend to think most people I know would have an even harder time. So while I might understand the Church's stance, I find its real-world use case to be limited. I could just not have intimate time with my husband anymore. It honestly wouldn't bother me. But I know that would bother him and, consequently, not be good for my marriage. I feel trapped no matter what I do. Is there any other way?"
-Anonymous
Prayer (25:05)
Litany of Trust, The Sisters of Life
From the belief that I have to earn Your love
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that I am unlovable
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the false security that I have what it takes
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear that trusting You will leave me more destitute
Deliver me, Jesus.
From all suspicion of Your words and promises
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the rebellion against childlike dependency on You
Deliver me, Jesus.
From refusals and reluctances in accepting Your will
Deliver me, Jesus.
From anxiety about the future
Deliver me, Jesus.
From resentment or excessive preoccupation with the past
Deliver me, Jesus.
From restless self-seeking in the present moment
Deliver me, Jesus.
From disbelief in Your love and presence
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being asked to give more than I have
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the belief that my life has no meaning or worth
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of what love demands
Deliver me, Jesus.
From discouragement
Deliver me, Jesus.
That You are continually holding me, sustaining me, loving me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your love goes deeper than my sins and failings and transforms me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That not knowing what tomorrow brings is an invitation to lean on You
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are with me in my suffering
Jesus, I trust in You.
That my suffering, united to Your own, will bear fruit in this life and the next
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will not leave me orphan, that You are present in Your Church
Jesus, I trust in You.
That Your plan is better than anything else
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You always hear me and in Your goodness always respond to me
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me the grace to accept forgiveness and to forgive others
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You give me all the strength I need for what is asked
Jesus, I trust in You.
That my life is a gift
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You will teach me to trust You
Jesus, I trust in You.
That You are my Lord and my God
Jesus, I trust in You.
That I am Your beloved one
Jesus, I trust in You.
Chaplet of Divine Mercy, Closing Prayer
Eternal God, in whom mercy is endless and the treasury of compassion inexhaustible, look kindly upon us and increase your mercy in us, that in difficult moments we might not despair nor become despondent, but with great confidence submit ourselves to your holy will, which is Love and Mercy itself. Amen.
About Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio
Dr. Sarah Denny Lorio holds a PhD in Bioethics from the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome, and her doctoral research argued for a “third way” of sex education that teaches young people fertility awareness-based methods both as preventive medicine and as proximate vocation preparation. Throughout the last 12 years, Sarah has taught at both the university and high school levels: working as an ethics professor at Loyola University in New Orleans, teaching and coaching young women at Archbishop Chapelle High School in New Orleans, and speaking and leading international trips for college students as a campus minister at Louisiana State University. Trained in two methods of fertility awareness–Creighton Model FertilityCare System (2013) and FEMM (2024)–her passion is to empower women through a deeper knowledge of the great gift and beauty of their bodies and sexuality. In her work, she consistently seeks to integrate the demands of medicine with the dignity of womanhood and highlights the essential role of human freedom in the education of young women. She is in the process both of developing a high school curriculum that brings light to these realities as well as creating similar resources for parents. She currently lives in New Orleans, LA, and works remotely as a Personal Consultations Fellow with the National Catholic Bioethics Center.