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February 1, 2017When it comes to the painful spiritual struggle that Catholics who have infertility issues experience, Fr. Russell Kovash, Pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Williston, offered plenty of helpful advice.
“The very first thing I would tell a couple struggling with infertility is that they should not lose hope,” he said. “With God all things are possible. I know many stories of people who went years without conceiving and doctors told them it just wasn't going to happen. And yet, it did. God's ways are not our ways, and His timing isn't always our timing.”
And, thanks to the rich treasure chest of Catholicism, infertile couples have access to special prayers, sacramentals, and other spiritual helps to carry them through their darkest moments.
“There are several novenas for achieving a pregnancy,” Fr. Kovash noted. “There is one from St. Pope John Paul II that I like to give out, and there are other ones you can find online. The patron saint of motherhood is St. Gerard Majella, so I would encourage couples to ask for his intercession.”
Furthermore, Fr. Kovash said he encourages the couples to see the deeper meaning behind their challenges, and give them to God with a pure, trusting heart.
“I advise infertile couples to not only keep praying, but to also offer up their sufferings. It's a lot easier to live ones' faith when all is smooth sailing, but it is a lot more difficult when it involves the cross. However, it is tremendously pleasing to God when we are fighting the good fight!”
On a practical level, there are various methods the Church has approved of that can greatly assist an infertile couple in achieving a pregnancy. There are also methods the Church does not approve of, keeping the best interest of the couple and sound moral choices in mind.
“The Creighton Method of NFP has been extraordinary in helping infertile couples to achieve a healthy pregnancy,” Fr. Kovash said. “In addition, the Pope Paul IV Institute in Omaha, Nebraska, is also there to help struggling couples in amazing ways, as well as the resources on the website catholicinfertility.org.”
On the flip side, there are a number of practices that the Church deems morally wrong, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“The Church disapproves of some of the current 'fertility' practices out there because they go against several core teachings of the Church—they do not respect the dignity of human life, and do not allow conception to occur when married spouses are in the sexual act,” Fr. Kovash says. “The main standard that the Church uses to deem a conception practice moral or immoral is whether or not one is assisting nature or attempting to replace it.”