Amidst global cultural revolution in 1968, Pope Paul VI looked ahead and issued a series of predictions on the effects of separating love from life. His Encyclical letter, Humanae Vitae, transcends its original time; it functions as a prophetic roadmap addressing the very crisis confronting this generation and the next.
In today’s technological landscape, where gender identity and demographic concerns are prevalent, let us reflect on the core chapters in which the Pope laid out the foundational teachings on conjugal love and responsible parenthood.
Here are some lines from Humanae Vitae which are worth pondering:
“This love [married love] is above all fully human, a compound of sense and spirit. It is not, then, merely a question of natural instinct or emotional drive. It is also, and above all, an act of the free will, whose trust is such that it is meant not only to survive the joys and sorrows of daily life, but also to grow, so that husband and wife become in a way one heart and one soul, and together attain their human fulfillment.” (Humanae Vitae, 9)
“Responsible parenthood concerns the objective moral order which was established by God, and of which a right conscience is the true interpreter. In a word, the exercise of responsible parenthood requires that husband and wife, keeping a right order of priorities, recognize their own duties toward God, themselves, their families and human society.” (Humanae Vitae, 10)
“New life is not the result of each and every act of sexual intercourse. God has wisely ordered laws of nature and the incidence of fertility in such a way that successive births are already naturally spaced through the inherent operation of these laws.” (Humanae Vitae, 11)
“To experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator.” (Humanae Vitae, 12)
May we continue to pray for the courage and strength to pursue holiness, even when it demands great personal sacrifice.