Natural Family Planning...when lived with prayer, humility, and openness, is one of the most profound ways a couple can honor God with their marriage. It requires faith. It requires communication. It requires surrender. It requires trust.

To be open to life is to be open to death. A reflection on discerning family size after pregnancy loss, the loss of a child, or the near loss of the mother.

On Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, the priest will often ask the mothers or fathers in the congregation to stand for a special blessing. Blessings are, of course, great, but I want to speak to those who feel like they can’t stand up or who stand and feel a pang of grief as they do. The ones who long for biological motherhood or fatherhood. The ones whose children are already in Heaven. The ones whose families are split between earth and eternity. For many, hearing phrases like