Simple Supplements: Seven Considerations While Navigating Infertility

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Seven Considerations while Navigating Infertility

Simple Supplements
 

 
  Simple Supplements
 
  Provided to assist with
  personal enrichment or to
  complement presentations
  given by teachers, homilists,
  youth ministers, etc.

 

 

Scripture

• Genesis 18:1-15, 21:1-8, 25:21;
• Judges 13:2-24;
• 1 Samuel 1:1-2:11, 18-21;
  
• Psalm 34:19;
  
• Psalm 61:2-5;
  
• Isaiah 55:8-9;
  
• Luke 1:5-25, 36-37;
  
• Romans 12:12-13, 15 

Catechism of the Catholic Church

2374-2379

Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church

499-501

From the Popes

• Pope St. John Paul II. Homily, Mass for the Families, February 13, 1982. Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1982. No. 3 (third paragraph).
  
  
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Donum vitae (Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1987. II. Interventions upon Human Procreation, §B, No. 8.
  
  
• Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Instruction Dignitas personae (The Dignity of a Person). Vatican City: Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2008. Nos. 12-23, 28-30.
  
  

USCCB Resources

• Webpages

-  Infertility

-  Reproductive Technology

-  Natural Family Planning

-  www.foryourmarriage.org

• Begotten not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology
  
  
• Reproductive Technology (Evaluation & Treatment of Infertility): Guidelines for Catholic Couples
  Listed on "Infertility" under "Resources for Catholic Couples."
  
  
• Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology
  Teaching document from the U.S. bishops. 20 pp. Item #1070. (Order)
  
  

Saints

• Sts. Joachim and Anne: "Tradition holds that these saints struggled with infertility and were childless for decades."4
  
  
• St. Rita of Cascia: Patron saint of infertility
  
  

Real People, Real Life

• "We felt so hopeless at times. Words can't even explain this experience of loss. Fortunately, our marriage only grew stronger, because we were there for each other and continued to rely on God."5
  
  
• "As I became more educated on what IVF entails, I realized the wisdom and beauty of the Church's teaching in upholding my dignity as a woman and in safeguarding my personal health."6
  
  

Did You Know?

There are medical options for addressing infertility that follow Church teaching and have rates of pregnancy that are statistically significantly higher than in vitro fertilization (IVF).7

Intercessions

For married couples experiencing
difficulty conceiving a child:
May they find solace in the
compassionate sensitivity of others;
We pray to the Lord:

For those longing for a child of their own:
May they find consolation in God's tender care,
and peace in the assurance of his loving plan;
We pray to the Lord:

For those whose hearts ache
for a child of their own:
May they experience the Lord's presence
and be filled with his peace;
We pray to the Lord:

 

Related Works of Mercy (Spiritual / corporal)

• Comfort the sorrowful.
• Instruct the ignorant.
• Counsel the doubtful.
• Pray for the living and the dead.

 

 

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1 USCCB, "Infertility" United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/resources/infertility.cfm (accessed June 10, 2016).

2 USCCB, "Reproductive Technology" United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/reproductive-technology/index.cfm (accessed June 10, 2016).

3 John M. Haas, Ph.D., S.T.L., "Begotten Not Made: A Catholic View of Reproductive Technology", USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, 1998, https://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/human-life-and-dignity/reproductive-technology/begotten-not-made-a-catholic-view-of-reproductive-technology.cfm (accessed June 10, 2016).

4 "Married Saints: St. Joachim & St. Anne," https://www.marriageuniqueforareason.org/2012/07/26/married-saints-st-joachim-st-anne/ (accessed June 10, 2016).

5 USCCB Secretariat of Pro-Life Activities, An Adoption Love Story (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2014).

6 USCCB Secretariat of Pro-life Activities, Life-giving Love in an Age of Technology (Washington, DC: United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 2009).

7 Pope Paul VI Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction, "Infertility", NaProTechnology.com, https://www.naprotechnology.com/infertility.htm (Accessed April 15, 2016).