Over the last forty years we have witnessed the catastrophic destruction of the institution of marriage in our country. The most recent statistics tell us that of every one thousand marriages, fifty to sixty percent will end in divorce! Unfortunately this statistic is almost the same for Catholic couples as well. Marital infidelity has exploded, pornography is rampant and more single women are raising children in poverty than at any other time in our country's history.

Most people will readily admit that there has been a general lowering of morality in the United States over the last forty years. We have seen the acceptance of abortion on demand. Euthanasia is on the rise and assisted suicide has become legal, turning Oregon doctors into killers. Children are shooting each other at school and gangs of angry young men rule many inner cities. Most TV shows, movies, videos and current music glorify violence, perverted sexuality, dishonesty and many other forms of immoral behavior.

It should come as no surprise that as the institution of marriage has disintegrated, so has our society. Why? The family is the building block and stabilizer of society and marriage is at the heart of a family. If our marriages break down, then families break down. And if families break down, then society does as well.

So why do so many marriages end in divorce? There are endless reasons, but one of the most destructive is the use of artificial contraception within marriage. Pope Pius XI recognized this in 1930 when he wrote his encyclical Casti Connubi (On Christian marriage). It was written in response to the Anglican Church's acceptance of contraception within marriage earlier that year (the first Christian denomination since Christ walked the earth to ever sanction contraception). Thus began a slippery slope. As the use of contraceptive pills became widespread in the 1960's, Pope Paul VI reaffirmed the traditional Christian view of marriage when he condemned artificial contraception in Humane Vitae (Of Human Life) in 1968. Unfortunately, most people rejected his prophetic message.

What are the underlying reasons that the Church does not support the use of artificial contraception? The reasons go to the heart of marriage. The purpose of marriage is two-fold: procreative and unitive. The marriage act, therefore, is to be open to new life and is a form of bonding between the husband and wife. The use of artificial contraception prohibits both of these purposes. It prohibits procreation by not allowing the natural conditions created by God to occur, thus pushing God out of the marriage. It prohibits unity because one or both of the spouses is not giving all of themselves to the other in this act of total self-giving. One spouse says to the other (almost always subconsciously), "I don't want a part of you" or "I won't let you have a part of me". By contracepting, the act becomes merely selfish pleasure over time. Marriage is a covenant, not a contract - a covenant between the spouses and God. Artificial contraception shuts God out of the covenant.

Does this mean the Church expects each family to have ten kids in ten years? No, the Church teaches responsible parenting within God's plan. Married Catholic couples have the moral option of Natural Family Planning (NFP) should the need arise to limit family size or space children. NFP is different from artificial contraception in many ways. If fosters a deeper respect for the wife's body and the way God made it to work. It teaches self-control and chastity and it challenges the couple to find other ways of expressing love for each other besides the marital act. It increases communication and dramatically lowers the chances of divorce. Compare the national divorce rate of 50-60%, to that of couples using NFP. Out of every 1000 couples using NFP, less than 1% get a divorce!

At the heart of a contraceptive mind frame is selfishness between spouses and an anti-life mentality that will become the cancer of any marriage. Strong marriages are built on selfless love for the spouse and openness to God and the possibility of new life. NFP can bring that to your marriage, artificial contraception cannot. This is why the Church has been so adamantly opposed to artificial contraception and will continue to be in the future.

For more information on the Church's teaching about artificial contraception please take a free videotape by Dr. Janet Smith from the back lobby or parish library. For more information on Natural Family Planning, please contact our priests by emailing Priests@sjy.org.

Let us also remember as we celebrate this day of new life and the resurrection of our Lord, that this new life was not possible without the sacrifice of Good Friday. In the same way, out of a sacrificial and selfless love for each other, spouses will produce the fruit of new life.