gifts – United Yam

Catholic women discuss beauty, difficulty, redemptive nature of Church’s teachings on sexuality #Catholic

Keynote speakers at “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman” conference, held Jan. 9-10, 2026, in Houston (left to right): Erika Bachiochi, Mary Eberstadt, Angela Franks, Pia de Solenni, and Leah Sargeant. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the University of St. Thomas

Jan 18, 2026 / 10:26 am (CNA).
This past week, nearly a quarter of U.S. states sued the federal government for defining biological sex as binary, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against legally allowing males to compete against females in sports, and a Vatican official called surrogacy a “new form of colonialism” that commodifies women and their children.These are just the latest legal and cultural effects of a “mass cultural confusion” surrounding the meaning and purpose of the human body, and particularly women’s bodies, according to Leah Jacobson, program coordinator of the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.On Jan. 9–10, the program sponsored a symposium titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman,” which brought together a group of Catholic women who have used their gifts of intellect and faith to serve as what Jacobson calls an “antidote” to the “chaos and confusion” of the cultural moment.The speakers presented on a wide range of topics concerned with the beauty, truth, and necessity of the Church’s teachings on human sexuality, while also acknowledging how difficult living according to those teachings can sometimes be.‘Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction’In one of the first talks, writer Mary Eberstadt argued that the question “Who am I?” became harder to answer due to the widespread use of the birth control pill, which has led to huge increases in abortion, divorce, fatherlessness, single parenthood, and childlessness. “Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction,” Eberstadt said. “I’m not trying to make a point about morality, but arithmetic.”“The number of people we can call our own” became smaller, she said. While she acknowledged that not everyone has been affected equally, “members of our species share a collective environment. Just as toxic waste affects everyone," she said, the reduction in the number of human connections “amounts to a massive disturbance to the human ecosystem,” leading to a crisis of human identity.This reduction in the number of people in an individual's life, she argued, resulted in widespread confusion over gender identity and the meaning and purpose of the body.Eberstadt also attributed the decline in religiosity to the smaller number of human connections modern people have.“The sexual revolution subtracted the number of role models,” she said. “Many children have no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles, no father; yet that is how humans conduct social learning.”“Without children, adults are less likely to go to church,” she said. “Without birth, we lose knowledge of the transcendent. Without an earthly father, it is hard to grasp the paradigm of a heavenly father.”‘A love deficit’“Living without God is not liberating people,” she continued. “It’s tearing some individuals apart, making people miserable and lonely.”When the sexual revolution made sex "recreational and not procreative, what it produced above all is a love deficit,” Eberstadt said.At the same time, secularization produced “troubled, disconnected souls drifting through society without gravity, shattering the ability to answer ‘Who am I?’”“The Church is the answer to the love deficit because Church teachings about who we are and what we’re here for are true,” she said.She concluded with a final note on hope, saying “it is easy to feel embattled, but we must never lose sight of the faces of the sexual revolution’s victims,” she said, “who are sending up primal screams for a world more ordered than many of today’s people now know; more ordered to mercy, to community and redemption.”The Church’s teachings were ’truly beautiful’ but 'very, very hard to live'Erika Bachiochi, a legal scholar and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who has taught a class for the graduate program, shared her experience as a mother of seven who tried to live according to the Church’s “difficult” teachings.As her children began to arrive at “a breakneck pace” and each pregnancy was “a bit of a crucible,” Bachiochi said being a mother was “very hard” for her, partly due to wounds from her youth (among other troubles, her own mother had been married and divorced three times), and partly because of a lack of community. Echoing Eberstadt’s “arithmetic” problem, Bachiochi described having very few examples of Catholic family life and a very small support system.Bachiochi said she believes God heals us from our wounds through our “particular vocations,” however.Of motherhood, she said: “I think God really healed me through being faithful to teachings that I found quite hard, but truly beautiful. I was intellectually convinced by them and found them spiritually beautiful, but found them to be very, very hard to live.” “Motherhood has served to heal me profoundly," she said, encouraging young mothers to have faith that though it might be difficult now, there is an “amazing future” awaiting them. “It’s really an incredible gift that Church has given me … the gift of obedience,” she said. She also said by God’s grace, she was given an “excellent husband” and has found that “just as the Church promises, that leaning into motherhood, into the little things, the daily needs, the constant requests for my attention, has truly been a school of virtue.” The Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program is a new part of the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas, a recognized Catholic cultural center of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

unitedyam January 18, 2026

Keynote speakers at “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman” conference, held Jan. 9-10, 2026, in Houston (left to right): Erika Bachiochi, Mary Eberstadt, Angela Franks, Pia de Solenni, and Leah Sargeant. | Credit: Photo courtesy of the University of St. Thomas

Jan 18, 2026 / 10:26 am (CNA).

This past week, nearly a quarter of U.S. states sued the federal government for defining biological sex as binary, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for and against legally allowing males to compete against females in sports, and a Vatican official called surrogacy a “new form of colonialism” that commodifies women and their children.

These are just the latest legal and cultural effects of a “mass cultural confusion” surrounding the meaning and purpose of the human body, and particularly women’s bodies, according to Leah Jacobson, program coordinator of the Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of St. Thomas in Houston.

On Jan. 9–10, the program sponsored a symposium titled “The Beauty of Truth: Navigating Society Today as a Catholic Woman,” which brought together a group of Catholic women who have used their gifts of intellect and faith to serve as what Jacobson calls an “antidote” to the “chaos and confusion” of the cultural moment.

The speakers presented on a wide range of topics concerned with the beauty, truth, and necessity of the Church’s teachings on human sexuality, while also acknowledging how difficult living according to those teachings can sometimes be.

‘Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction’

In one of the first talks, writer Mary Eberstadt argued that the question “Who am I?” became harder to answer due to the widespread use of the birth control pill, which has led to huge increases in abortion, divorce, fatherlessness, single parenthood, and childlessness.

“Each of these acts is an act of human subtraction,” Eberstadt said. “I’m not trying to make a point about morality, but arithmetic.”

“The number of people we can call our own” became smaller, she said.

While she acknowledged that not everyone has been affected equally, “members of our species share a collective environment. Just as toxic waste affects everyone," she said, the reduction in the number of human connections “amounts to a massive disturbance to the human ecosystem,” leading to a crisis of human identity.

This reduction in the number of people in an individual's life, she argued, resulted in widespread confusion over gender identity and the meaning and purpose of the body.

Eberstadt also attributed the decline in religiosity to the smaller number of human connections modern people have.

“The sexual revolution subtracted the number of role models,” she said. “Many children have no siblings, no cousins, no aunts or uncles, no father; yet that is how humans conduct social learning.”

“Without children, adults are less likely to go to church,” she said. “Without birth, we lose knowledge of the transcendent. Without an earthly father, it is hard to grasp the paradigm of a heavenly father.”

‘A love deficit’

“Living without God is not liberating people,” she continued. “It’s tearing some individuals apart, making people miserable and lonely.”

When the sexual revolution made sex "recreational and not procreative, what it produced above all is a love deficit,” Eberstadt said.

At the same time, secularization produced “troubled, disconnected souls drifting through society without gravity, shattering the ability to answer ‘Who am I?’”

“The Church is the answer to the love deficit because Church teachings about who we are and what we’re here for are true,” she said.

She concluded with a final note on hope, saying “it is easy to feel embattled, but we must never lose sight of the faces of the sexual revolution’s victims,” she said, “who are sending up primal screams for a world more ordered than many of today’s people now know; more ordered to mercy, to community and redemption.”

The Church’s teachings were ’truly beautiful’ but 'very, very hard to live'

Erika Bachiochi, a legal scholar and fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center who has taught a class for the graduate program, shared her experience as a mother of seven who tried to live according to the Church’s “difficult” teachings.

As her children began to arrive at “a breakneck pace” and each pregnancy was “a bit of a crucible,” Bachiochi said being a mother was “very hard” for her, partly due to wounds from her youth (among other troubles, her own mother had been married and divorced three times), and partly because of a lack of community.

Echoing Eberstadt’s “arithmetic” problem, Bachiochi described having very few examples of Catholic family life and a very small support system.

Bachiochi said she believes God heals us from our wounds through our “particular vocations,” however.

Of motherhood, she said: “I think God really healed me through being faithful to teachings that I found quite hard, but truly beautiful. I was intellectually convinced by them and found them spiritually beautiful, but found them to be very, very hard to live.”

“Motherhood has served to heal me profoundly," she said, encouraging young mothers to have faith that though it might be difficult now, there is an “amazing future” awaiting them.

“It’s really an incredible gift that Church has given me … the gift of obedience,” she said.

She also said by God’s grace, she was given an “excellent husband” and has found that “just as the Church promises, that leaning into motherhood, into the little things, the daily needs, the constant requests for my attention, has truly been a school of virtue.”

The Catholic Women’s and Gender Studies Program is a new part of the Nesti Center for Faith and Culture at the University of St. Thomas, a recognized Catholic cultural center of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Culture and Education.

National Catholic Partnership on Disability wins service award from Catholic historians #Catholic

The National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Charleen Katra (right) speaks at a panel accompanied by former American Catholic Historical Association President Mary Dunn (left). | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

Jan 13, 2026 / 10:41 am (CNA).
CHICAGO — A Catholic nonprofit that helps parishes and schools provide faith formation and catechesis for people with disabilities was selected to win the 2026 award for service to Catholic studies from the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA).The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) was presented the award during a panel discussion about the historical and modern interactions between the Church and Catholics with disabilities at the annual ACHA meeting in Chicago on Jan. 8.During the discussion, panelists highlighted the ongoing efforts to make Catholic parish and school life more welcoming to members of the faithful who have disabilities and also spoke about persistent struggles to ensure that inclusivity is comprehensive throughout the Church.“Though this recognition of our mission and ministry was very unexpected, it is both energizing and affirming,” Charleen Katra, executive director of NCPD, told CNA in a statement.Katra said the award helps bring attention to the NCPD’s efforts to ensure Catholics with disabilities receive access to their baptismal rights: “To be educated in the faith; to live a sacramental life; and to respond to God’s call.”“Persons with disabilities have unique gifts that bless the Church,” she said. “Thank you for blessing NCPD with this honor. We gratefully accept it on behalf of Catholics living with disabilities, and their families, who seek meaningful participation in the Church!”Mary Dunn, outgoing ACHA president, said NCPD was selected because of its efforts to “promote real belonging” for those with disabilities and said “the lines between history and practice are always thin.”Katra, who has a background in special education, said in the panel discussion that she first became involved in special religious education when she tutored a child with an intellectual disability named Brandon, who needed catechesis to prepare for the sacraments.She said there are “a lot of different ways” to learn about God. Brandon needed multisensory learning that included a lot of visuals, which was not a learning experience offered at the parish at that time. In her current role, she helps provide training and resources to parishes to make sure Catholics with disabilities have access to a learning experience that fits their needs.Although many parishes have incorporated these options into their catechesis, Katra said she still hears from families whose needs are not met by the Church. In some cases, she warned, families will leave the Catholic Church altogether if those needs are not met: “The Church can’t not look at this.”“What happens?” she said. “They go somewhere else that will meet their needs or their loved one’s needs.”“No one should not feel at home in the house of the Lord,” she added.University of Southern Mississippi English professor Leah Parker, who has expertise in disability studies related to literature, said 15% of children in American public schools receive some form of special education, which highlights the need for greater inclusion.“We’re all made in the image of God,” she said. “… I need my brothers and sisters with disabilities. We are incomplete without each other.”The ACHA gave out two other awards during its 2026 annual meeting.The Excellence in Teaching award was presented to Harvard ecclesiastical history professor Kevin Madigan. The Lifetime of Distinguished Scholarship Award was given to Yale history and religious studies professor Carlos Eire.

unitedyam January 13, 2026

The National Catholic Partnership on Disability’s Charleen Katra (right) speaks at a panel accompanied by former American Catholic Historical Association President Mary Dunn (left). | Credit: Ken Oliver-Méndez/CNA

Jan 13, 2026 / 10:41 am (CNA).

CHICAGO — A Catholic nonprofit that helps parishes and schools provide faith formation and catechesis for people with disabilities was selected to win the 2026 award for service to Catholic studies from the American Catholic Historical Association (ACHA).

The National Catholic Partnership on Disability (NCPD) was presented the award during a panel discussion about the historical and modern interactions between the Church and Catholics with disabilities at the annual ACHA meeting in Chicago on Jan. 8.

During the discussion, panelists highlighted the ongoing efforts to make Catholic parish and school life more welcoming to members of the faithful who have disabilities and also spoke about persistent struggles to ensure that inclusivity is comprehensive throughout the Church.

“Though this recognition of our mission and ministry was very unexpected, it is both energizing and affirming,” Charleen Katra, executive director of NCPD, told CNA in a statement.

Katra said the award helps bring attention to the NCPD’s efforts to ensure Catholics with disabilities receive access to their baptismal rights: “To be educated in the faith; to live a sacramental life; and to respond to God’s call.”

“Persons with disabilities have unique gifts that bless the Church,” she said. “Thank you for blessing NCPD with this honor. We gratefully accept it on behalf of Catholics living with disabilities, and their families, who seek meaningful participation in the Church!”

Mary Dunn, outgoing ACHA president, said NCPD was selected because of its efforts to “promote real belonging” for those with disabilities and said “the lines between history and practice are always thin.”

Katra, who has a background in special education, said in the panel discussion that she first became involved in special religious education when she tutored a child with an intellectual disability named Brandon, who needed catechesis to prepare for the sacraments.

She said there are “a lot of different ways” to learn about God. Brandon needed multisensory learning that included a lot of visuals, which was not a learning experience offered at the parish at that time. In her current role, she helps provide training and resources to parishes to make sure Catholics with disabilities have access to a learning experience that fits their needs.

Although many parishes have incorporated these options into their catechesis, Katra said she still hears from families whose needs are not met by the Church. In some cases, she warned, families will leave the Catholic Church altogether if those needs are not met: “The Church can’t not look at this.”

“What happens?” she said. “They go somewhere else that will meet their needs or their loved one’s needs.”

“No one should not feel at home in the house of the Lord,” she added.

University of Southern Mississippi English professor Leah Parker, who has expertise in disability studies related to literature, said 15% of children in American public schools receive some form of special education, which highlights the need for greater inclusion.

“We’re all made in the image of God,” she said. “… I need my brothers and sisters with disabilities. We are incomplete without each other.”

The ACHA gave out two other awards during its 2026 annual meeting.

The Excellence in Teaching award was presented to Harvard ecclesiastical history professor Kevin Madigan. The Lifetime of Distinguished Scholarship Award was given to Yale history and religious studies professor Carlos Eire.

How to bless your home on the feast of Epiphany 2026 #Catholic

A chalk home blessing from the feast of the Epiphany. | Credit: A.Davey via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Jan 4, 2026 / 04:00 am (CNA).
Have you ever walked past a door and seen what appears to be random letters and numbers written at the top? These letters and numbers actually have a great significance.Traditionally on the feast of Epiphany, Catholics bless their homes by writing the letters C, M, and B and the numbers of the year on either side — so this year it would look like “20+C+M+B+26.”The letters stand for the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They also represent the Latin blessing “Christus mansionem benedicat,” which means “May Christ bless this house.”Many Catholic parishes will give their parishioners a piece of chalk, a small bottle of holy water, and the words for the house blessing so that each family can bless its home.Epiphany, which is also known as “Little Christmas,” is the feast that celebrates the arrival of the three Magi who came to worship the child Jesus shortly after his birth. It is traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6. However, the Church in the United States celebrates it on the Sunday between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8. Many around the world celebrate this feast with as much pomp and circumstance as Christmas, including the exchanging of gifts.The blessing, which is popular in Poland and other Slavic countries, has spread around the world and become increasingly popular in the United States.How do you bless your home?Begin by having all family members gather outside the front door. All make the sign of the cross. One person will then read this prayer:Leader: Peace be to this house.All: And to all who dwell herein.Leader: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of his burial.(Enter your home and read the Magnificat, the hymn of praise sung by the Blessed Virgin Mary in Luke’s Gospel after being greeted by Elizabeth. During this, sprinkle the area you are in with holy water. After that is complete, pray:)All: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of his burial.Leader: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,All: But deliver us from evil.Leader: All they from Saba shall comeAll: Bringing gold and frankincense.Leader: O Lord, hear my prayer.All: And let my cry come unto thee.Leader: Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we who know thee by faith may also attain the vision of thy glorious majesty. Through Christ, Our Lord.All: Amen.Leader: Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee — Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.All: And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and kings in the splendor of thy rising, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.Leader: Let us pray. Bless, O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness, and mercy, the fulfillment of thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ, Our Lord.All: Amen.After the prayers are recited, walk throughout your home sprinkling each room with holy water. Then write the initials of the Magi connected with crosses at the top of your front door. Then the numbers of the year. The numbers will be split so that they are on each side of the initials. You will write:20 + C + M + B + 26This is a special tradition at the beginning of each year, a way to invite God into your home and place your family under his protection.This story was first published Jan. 6, 2022, and was updated Jan. 2, 2026.

unitedyam January 4, 2026

A chalk home blessing from the feast of the Epiphany. | Credit: A.Davey via Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Jan 4, 2026 / 04:00 am (CNA).

Have you ever walked past a door and seen what appears to be random letters and numbers written at the top? These letters and numbers actually have a great significance.

Traditionally on the feast of Epiphany, Catholics bless their homes by writing the letters C, M, and B and the numbers of the year on either side — so this year it would look like “20+C+M+B+26.”

The letters stand for the traditional names of the three Magi: Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar. They also represent the Latin blessing “Christus mansionem benedicat,” which means “May Christ bless this house.”

Many Catholic parishes will give their parishioners a piece of chalk, a small bottle of holy water, and the words for the house blessing so that each family can bless its home.

Epiphany, which is also known as “Little Christmas,” is the feast that celebrates the arrival of the three Magi who came to worship the child Jesus shortly after his birth. It is traditionally celebrated on Jan. 6. However, the Church in the United States celebrates it on the Sunday between Jan. 2 and Jan. 8. Many around the world celebrate this feast with as much pomp and circumstance as Christmas, including the exchanging of gifts.

The blessing, which is popular in Poland and other Slavic countries, has spread around the world and become increasingly popular in the United States.

How do you bless your home?

Begin by having all family members gather outside the front door. All make the sign of the cross. One person will then read this prayer:

Leader: Peace be to this house.

All: And to all who dwell herein.

Leader: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of his burial.

(Enter your home and read the Magnificat, the hymn of praise sung by the Blessed Virgin Mary in Luke’s Gospel after being greeted by Elizabeth. During this, sprinkle the area you are in with holy water. After that is complete, pray:)

All: From the east came the Magi to Bethlehem to adore the Lord; and opening their treasures they offered precious gifts: gold for the great King, incense for the true God, and myrrh in symbol of his burial.

Leader: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation,

All: But deliver us from evil.

Leader: All they from Saba shall come

All: Bringing gold and frankincense.

Leader: O Lord, hear my prayer.

All: And let my cry come unto thee.

Leader: Let us pray. O God, who by the guidance of a star didst on this day manifest thine only-begotten Son to the Gentiles, mercifully grant that we who know thee by faith may also attain the vision of thy glorious majesty. Through Christ, Our Lord.

All: Amen.

Leader: Be enlightened, be enlightened, O Jerusalem, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee — Jesus Christ born of the Virgin Mary.

All: And the Gentiles shall walk in thy light and kings in the splendor of thy rising, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon thee.

Leader: Let us pray. Bless, O Lord God almighty, this home, that in it there may be health, purity, the strength of victory, humility, goodness, and mercy, the fulfillment of thy law, the thanksgiving to God the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit. And may this blessing remain upon this home and upon all who dwell herein. Through Christ, Our Lord.

All: Amen.

After the prayers are recited, walk throughout your home sprinkling each room with holy water. Then write the initials of the Magi connected with crosses at the top of your front door. Then the numbers of the year. The numbers will be split so that they are on each side of the initials. You will write:

20 + C + M + B + 26

This is a special tradition at the beginning of each year, a way to invite God into your home and place your family under his protection.

This story was first published Jan. 6, 2022, and was updated Jan. 2, 2026.

CNA explains: What is natural family planning? #Catholic

Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).
In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning (NFP). Far from merely another birth control technique, NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32),” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). NFP — also known as a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) — relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle. Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives, which suppress or block fertility, NFP respects the woman’s body and its natural rhythms and allows spouses to achieve or postpone pregnancy, after mutual discernment, through informed abstinence during fertile windows. Most importantly, NFP honors the sacredness of the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act, which the Church teaches must always be a total gift of self between the spouses and open to the gift of new human life. “Suppressing fertility by using contraception denies part of the inherent meaning of married sexuality and does harm to the couple’s unity,” according to the USCCB. “The total giving of oneself, body and soul, to one’s beloved is no time to say: ‘I give you everything I am — except…’ The Church’s teaching is not only about observing a rule but about preserving that total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity.”In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, St. Paul VI affirmed that couples may space births for serious reasons, using natural methods that honor the “inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings” of the marital act. The USCCB explains that “NFP is not a contraceptive, it does nothing to suppress or block conception.”“On the surface, there may seem to be little difference (between NFP and contraception),” according to the bishops. “But the end result is not the only thing that matters, and the way we get to that result may make an enormous moral difference. Some ways respect God’s gifts to us while others do not.”The bishops continue: “When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God’s design for life and love. They may choose to refrain from sexual union during the woman’s fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning that is present. This is the difference between choosing to falsify the full marital language of the body and choosing at certain times not to speak that language.”The practice of NFP traces its modern roots to the mid-20th century, evolving from early, relatively unreliable calendar-based methods in the 1930s to the smartphone app-based approaches of today. Common methods include the Billings Ovulation Method, which tracks cervical mucus changes, and sympto-thermal methods, which combine the charting of mucus observations, temperature shifts, and cervical changes. The Marquette Model uses “several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH, and progesterone),” according to its website.Per USCCB data, NFP, with perfect use, yields 88% to 100% effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy, with imperfect use at 70% to 98%. For couples trying to achieve pregnancy, it typically occurs in about one year for approximately 85% of couples not using NFP, and within three to six months for those who are. Pope Francis praised the Billings method in 2023 as “a valuable tool” for “responsible management of procreative choices,” urging a “new revolution in our way of thinking” to value the body’s “great book of nature.” He noted its simplicity amid a “contraceptive culture,” promoting tenderness between the spouses and an authentic freedom.Beyond efficacy at planning, preventing, or postponing pregnancy in a morally licit way, couples who use NFP acknowledge that it can be difficult but say it builds intimacy and improves communication as well as self-mastery, transforming what can be otherwise difficult times of periodic abstinence into opportunities for deeper intimacy.Jessica Vanderhyde, a nurse and mother of seven who is using the Marquette method because she and her husband do not feel ready to welcome another child, told CNA that while NFP can be frustrating because of the periods of abstinence it requires, it also “leads to a lot more closeness in the marriage.”“If it’s been a long period of abstinence, we try to come up with other ways to be close. I need to make sure I’m more affectionate with him because sexual intimacy is one of the primary ways he feels I love him. If that can’t happen, I have to be conscious of that,” she said.“We have become good at taking each other’s feelings and needs into consideration. I work at providing what he needs as much as I can.”Vanderhyde also noted how charting symptoms can bring the couple closer as it allows the husband to really appreciate his wife’s body as well as her needs.“The husband should be involved in the tracking of it,” she continued, “so that he fully participates in the process and doesn’t feel like he’s at the whims of his wife’s moods.”She said it can also reveal underlying health issues like infertility or hormonal imbalances, which artificial forms of birth control can mask.

unitedyam December 20, 2025

Credit: Chinnapong/Shutterstock

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA).

In an era when artificial contraception often dominates public discussions on family planning, the Catholic Church continues to champion natural family planning (NFP).

Far from merely another birth control technique, NFP invites couples to cooperate with God’s plan for married love, which “is a ‘great mystery,’ a sign of the love between Christ and his Church (Eph 5:32),” according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

NFP — also known as a fertility awareness-based method (FABM) — relies on observing and measuring a woman’s natural signs of fertility, such as basal body temperature, cervical mucus, and hormone levels, in order to identify fertile and infertile phases of her menstrual cycle.

Unlike chemical or mechanical contraceptives, which suppress or block fertility, NFP respects the woman’s body and its natural rhythms and allows spouses to achieve or postpone pregnancy, after mutual discernment, through informed abstinence during fertile windows.

Most importantly, NFP honors the sacredness of the unitive and procreative aspects of the conjugal act, which the Church teaches must always be a total gift of self between the spouses and open to the gift of new human life.

“Suppressing fertility by using contraception denies part of the inherent meaning of married sexuality and does harm to the couple’s unity,” according to the USCCB. “The total giving of oneself, body and soul, to one’s beloved is no time to say: ‘I give you everything I am — except…’ The Church’s teaching is not only about observing a rule but about preserving that total, mutual gift of two persons in its integrity.”

In his 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae, St. Paul VI affirmed that couples may space births for serious reasons, using natural methods that honor the “inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings” of the marital act.

The USCCB explains that “NFP is not a contraceptive, it does nothing to suppress or block conception.”

“On the surface, there may seem to be little difference (between NFP and contraception),” according to the bishops. “But the end result is not the only thing that matters, and the way we get to that result may make an enormous moral difference. Some ways respect God’s gifts to us while others do not.”

The bishops continue: “When couples use contraception, either physical or chemical, they suppress their fertility, asserting that they alone have ultimate control over this power to create a new human life. With NFP, spouses respect God’s design for life and love. They may choose to refrain from sexual union during the woman’s fertile time, doing nothing to destroy the love-giving or life-giving meaning that is present. This is the difference between choosing to falsify the full marital language of the body and choosing at certain times not to speak that language.”

The practice of NFP traces its modern roots to the mid-20th century, evolving from early, relatively unreliable calendar-based methods in the 1930s to the smartphone app-based approaches of today.

Common methods include the Billings Ovulation Method, which tracks cervical mucus changes, and sympto-thermal methods, which combine the charting of mucus observations, temperature shifts, and cervical changes. The Marquette Model uses “several different biomarker devices to detect urinary biomarkers (estrogen, LH, and progesterone),” according to its website.

Per USCCB data, NFP, with perfect use, yields 88% to 100% effectiveness in avoiding pregnancy, with imperfect use at 70% to 98%. For couples trying to achieve pregnancy, it typically occurs in about one year for approximately 85% of couples not using NFP, and within three to six months for those who are.

Pope Francis praised the Billings method in 2023 as “a valuable tool” for “responsible management of procreative choices,” urging a “new revolution in our way of thinking” to value the body’s “great book of nature.” He noted its simplicity amid a “contraceptive culture,” promoting tenderness between the spouses and an authentic freedom.

Beyond efficacy at planning, preventing, or postponing pregnancy in a morally licit way, couples who use NFP acknowledge that it can be difficult but say it builds intimacy and improves communication as well as self-mastery, transforming what can be otherwise difficult times of periodic abstinence into opportunities for deeper intimacy.

Jessica Vanderhyde, a nurse and mother of seven who is using the Marquette method because she and her husband do not feel ready to welcome another child, told CNA that while NFP can be frustrating because of the periods of abstinence it requires, it also “leads to a lot more closeness in the marriage.”

“If it’s been a long period of abstinence, we try to come up with other ways to be close. I need to make sure I’m more affectionate with him because sexual intimacy is one of the primary ways he feels I love him. If that can’t happen, I have to be conscious of that,” she said.

“We have become good at taking each other’s feelings and needs into consideration. I work at providing what he needs as much as I can.”

Vanderhyde also noted how charting symptoms can bring the couple closer as it allows the husband to really appreciate his wife’s body as well as her needs.

“The husband should be involved in the tracking of it,” she continued, “so that he fully participates in the process and doesn’t feel like he’s at the whims of his wife’s moods.”

She said it can also reveal underlying health issues like infertility or hormonal imbalances, which artificial forms of birth control can mask.

How Iskali is helping young Latino Catholics encounter God and find their purpose #Catholic

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, seeks to form active missionary disciples. / Credit: Iskali

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).
Fifteen years ago, Vicente Del Real felt called to create a way to reach out to young Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and provide them with a space to encounter God and use their gifts and talents for the Church. He went on to found Iskali, a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish spiritually, personally, academically, and socially. Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role in the Americas as “the star of the new evangelization,” Iskali works to form, empower, and equip young Latinos to become transformative leaders and to invigorate the Catholic Church.The name “Iskali” comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language symbolizing growth, resurgence, and new beginnings. This was also the language Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke when she appeared to Juan Diego. Despite Juan Diego being from the Chichimeca people, and not an Aztec, the two groups of people shared the same language. Del Real told CNA in an interview that he felt the need to “respond to the urgent need to walk with young Hispanics as they navigate the questions of life, the struggles of life, and to be able to provide to them what the Church has to say and has to offer.”He added that “at the heart of Iskali is the work of evangelization.” This is done through providing young Latinos with an “adequate formation so they can understand the faith,” which will hopefully lead them to have a “personal encounter with God.”Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, received major grants to help it continue its evangelization efforts. Credit: IskaliIskali is founded on four pillars: faith and community, mentorship and scholarship, sports and wellness, and service to the poor. The pillar of faith and community involves members coming together each week for fellowship. Anywhere from five to 600 young adults gather to spend time getting to know one another and learning more about God and the Catholic faith. Through Iskali’s mentorship program, individuals are matched with a Latino professional who serves as a mentor and helps them with professional development. Iskali also provides scholarships for young people to attend colleges and trade schools, and works with parishes to set up a variety of sports leagues to help young people build relationships, provide another form of faith formation, and stay active. Additionally, once a month, Iskali communities serve those most in need — the homeless, people in hospitals, nursing homes, and immigrant families who have been affected by detentions or deportations.Members of Iskali gather for fellowship. Credit: IskaliSeveral recent studies show that the Latino population is the fastest-growing demographic in the Catholic Church. Del Real said he believes this is because “Latino young people are very attentive to the faith.”“They have seen their faith lived in their families, our home, with their grandmas, with their mothers. Faith is kind of embedded in our culture,” he added.In response to this growth being seen among Latinos in parishes, Iskali is launching a missionary program where a full-time missionary will be assigned to a parish that has a Hispanic population of over 50% to work in Hispanic ministry.“We are very, very excited … this is the first missionary program that helps to serve the Latino Church in the U.S., and we hope that this missionary program will bear the fruits of vocations to marriage, vocation to priesthood in the Hispanic community,” Del Real shared.Del Real said he also hopes that those who are a part of Iskali leave the formation knowing that they “are beloved, know that God is seeking intimacy with you, and know that he wants you to flourish as a person.”“We always say that we hope the people flourish,” he said. “God is a God of love and he wants to see us flourish. If we are a flower in his garden, he wants us to bloom.”

unitedyam December 20, 2025

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, seeks to form active missionary disciples. / Credit: Iskali

CNA Staff, Dec 20, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

Fifteen years ago, Vicente Del Real felt called to create a way to reach out to young Hispanic Catholics in the U.S. and provide them with a space to encounter God and use their gifts and talents for the Church. He went on to found Iskali, a nonprofit based in Chicago that promotes the leadership and holistic development of Latino youth, helping them flourish spiritually, personally, academically, and socially.

Inspired by Our Lady of Guadalupe’s role in the Americas as “the star of the new evangelization,” Iskali works to form, empower, and equip young Latinos to become transformative leaders and to invigorate the Catholic Church.

The name “Iskali” comes from the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language symbolizing growth, resurgence, and new beginnings. This was also the language Our Lady of Guadalupe spoke when she appeared to Juan Diego. Despite Juan Diego being from the Chichimeca people, and not an Aztec, the two groups of people shared the same language.

Del Real told CNA in an interview that he felt the need to “respond to the urgent need to walk with young Hispanics as they navigate the questions of life, the struggles of life, and to be able to provide to them what the Church has to say and has to offer.”

He added that “at the heart of Iskali is the work of evangelization.” This is done through providing young Latinos with an “adequate formation so they can understand the faith,” which will hopefully lead them to have a “personal encounter with God.”

Iskali, a ministry that serves young Hispanic Catholics in the United States, received major grants to help it continue its evangelization efforts. Credit: Iskali

Iskali is founded on four pillars: faith and community, mentorship and scholarship, sports and wellness, and service to the poor.

The pillar of faith and community involves members coming together each week for fellowship. Anywhere from five to 600 young adults gather to spend time getting to know one another and learning more about God and the Catholic faith.

Through Iskali’s mentorship program, individuals are matched with a Latino professional who serves as a mentor and helps them with professional development. Iskali also provides scholarships for young people to attend colleges and trade schools, and works with parishes to set up a variety of sports leagues to help young people build relationships, provide another form of faith formation, and stay active.

Additionally, once a month, Iskali communities serve those most in need — the homeless, people in hospitals, nursing homes, and immigrant families who have been affected by detentions or deportations.

Members of Iskali gather for fellowship. Credit: Iskali

Several recent studies show that the Latino population is the fastest-growing demographic in the Catholic Church. Del Real said he believes this is because “Latino young people are very attentive to the faith.”

“They have seen their faith lived in their families, our home, with their grandmas, with their mothers. Faith is kind of embedded in our culture,” he added.

In response to this growth being seen among Latinos in parishes, Iskali is launching a missionary program where a full-time missionary will be assigned to a parish that has a Hispanic population of over 50% to work in Hispanic ministry.

“We are very, very excited … this is the first missionary program that helps to serve the Latino Church in the U.S., and we hope that this missionary program will bear the fruits of vocations to marriage, vocation to priesthood in the Hispanic community,” Del Real shared.

Del Real said he also hopes that those who are a part of Iskali leave the formation knowing that they “are beloved, know that God is seeking intimacy with you, and know that he wants you to flourish as a person.”

“We always say that we hope the people flourish,” he said. “God is a God of love and he wants to see us flourish. If we are a flower in his garden, he wants us to bloom.”