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Natural Family Planning to alleviate poverty
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The practice of Natural Family Planning among married couples can alleviate poverty, not because they have less children, but because they becpme responsible, motivated, caring and industrious parents, no matter how many children they have, through the value-orientation seminars that all learners of NFP should undergo.
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Beth Lozada is a Natural Family Planning teacher in the Cagayan de Oro Diocese. She learned the Billings Ovulation Method (BOM or cervical mucus method) ten years ago from the Family and Life workers in her parish. Her four children are spaced three or four years apart and her youngest, a girl, she proudly claims, was planned according to sex, since her three elder ones are all boys. Lately, she has been keeping track of her monthly cycles through the Standard Days Method (SDM) of natural family planning as she fits the criteria of regular cycles. She knows when to shift from BOM to SDM or back to BOM as needed because she is well versed in both. Her husband is very cooperative and can teach the methods himself. Both are often invited to share their experiences in promoting natural versus the artificial methods. Beth is a grade school teacher in a nearby public school and she has been teaching NFP to many of the teachers there. She also talks about it to the market women and to her neighbors. She eagerly invites them to come to her house for more detailed explanation and to get a copy of the chart, if the choice is for the BOM, or the beads, if the woman prefers to use the SDM. She reports regularly to the Diocesan Family and Life Center and attends updates on the “All NFP Methods Program” whenever it is offered. She is very strict with the learners that they should not be using any artificial methods since the Diocesan Program is Pro-life, she says.
CFLA, the Christian Family and Life Apostolate of the Diocese of Cagayan and Oro held their Coral or 35th Anniversary last Dec 1 at Christ the King College, Gingoog City. It was attended by over 700 CFLA workers. Fifteen parish priests concelebrated with Archbishop Antonio Ledesma and quite a few more parish priests were around to show their support for these parish volunteers who have been conducting pre-cana, marriage validation and enrichment seminars, all methods of natural family planning programs and human sexuality teachings to the youth in their own areas.
I was invited to give the Keynote Address. I began my talk by telling them that I accepted the invitation in order to gain inspiration from them because there was not much more that I could add to their motivation and information except to encourage them to continue to be “Persistent, Insistent, and Consistent in being Persons In Christ” for the sake of Life and Family.
The afternoon was spent with songs and dances from each of the districts. Winning first prize in best presentation and costume was the group from Cagayan de Oro East District. These CFLA workers - twenty women were in flaming red and yellow costumes of the Tiganon tribe and fifteen men in blue and red silk attires brandished their spears. It was amazing and amusing to see these couples, many in their fifties and sixties, swayed and danced in unison to the ethnic beat. Much can be said about the gracefulness of their chosen Muslim Princes and Datu. Of course, the other groups gave very good performances as well and were given recognition in their own way.
My trip to CdO was indeed very memorable. Day One was in Xavier University Theology Department on the invitation of Fr. Poulin, SJ and Mrs. Love Naces. I was tasked to brief the student leaders on how to organize a pro-life youth program in their university. The next two days was spent with the Family and Life workers for a Training on how to conduct Pro-life Orientation Seminars, Counseling, Lobby and Organizing.
The day before I returned to Manila, I visited the natural family planning teachers. That is when I met Beth Lozada, her husband and children. I was accompanied by Sr. Ludy, MSHP , the CFLA Coordinator and Ann Pielago, the NFP Coordinator. I also interviewed Agnes Banisula and her daughter-in-law whom she taught NFP soon after she delivered her second child. The NFP teachers attest to the satisfaction of the couples regarding the value of NFP in their married life – how they have learned to be responsible not only in their sexual relations, but in caring for their children as well. The men are more challenged to do better at work, seeking ways to increase family income, while the mothers seem to have more time too to bring in some extra income. Their children are better behaved as they see their parents caring and respecting each other unlike in the past when they were often distraught and overburdened. How true that artificial contraceptives were never the answer to their problems. What they really needed were concerned people who would show them God’s Good news of life, love, marriage and family.
To all of you in CdO Diocese - Xavier U, CFLA, and the Serve Life members whom I had a chance to connect with on my last day – my heartfelt congratulations! May many more Diocesan and Parish Family and Life Apostolates flourish and touch peoples’ lives as you have done these past 35 years!
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