The right
and lawful ordering of birth demands, first of all, that spouses fully
recognize and value the true blessings of family life and that they acquire
complete mastery over themselves and their emotions. For if with the aid of
reason and of free will they are to control their natural drives, there can be
no doubt at all of the need for self-denial. Only then will the expression of
love, essential to married life, conform to right order.
This is
especially clear in the practice of periodic continence. Self-discipline of
this kind is a shining witness to the chastity of husband and wife and, far
from being a hindrance to their love of one another, transforms it by giving it
a more truly human character.
And if
this self-discipline does demand that they persevere in their purpose and
efforts, it has at the same time the salutary effect of enabling husband and
wife to develop to their personalities and to be enriched with spiritual
blessings. For it brings to family life abundant fruits of tranquility and
peace.
It helps
in solving difficulties of other kinds. It fosters in husband and wife
thoughtfulness and loving consideration for one another. It helps them to repel
inordinate self-love, which is the opposite of charity. It arouses in them a
consciousness of their responsibilities. And finally, it confers upon parents a
deeper and more effective influence in the education of their children. As
their children grow up, they develop a right sense of values and achieve a
serene and harmonious use of their mental and physical powers.
Humanae
Vitae 21
Reflection – OK, so I have to smile a bit at the first
sentence here. To live the Church’s teachings in this matter, married couples
have to not only recognize the true blessings of family life (I think many if not
most couples can manage that), but also ‘acquire complete mastery over
themselves and their emotions.’
Hey, no
problem, eh? People with complete mastery over themselves and their emotions
are just thick on the ground in our world today! Easiest thing in the world to
do, right?
OK, perhaps at
this point in our reading of the encyclical we should expect from an encyclical
what an encyclical can deliver. A formal document, containing binding teaching
on all the faithful, is not going to lay out an entire pastoral program of how
to achieve this self-mastery or talk about the whole underlying picture of
Christian moral life in which this statement makes perfect sense, is obvious
really.
Because the
need for self-mastery does not just pertain to moral conduct in areas of
sexuality, you know. It is a fundamental requirement for any serious moral
achievement. If I am never to tell lies, I must acquire mastery over myself and
my emotions. If I am to never steal or be fraudulent in my financial dealings,
I must have this mastery. If I am to use food and drink properly, treat my
neighbor with kindness, generosity, and fairness, I must have self-control.
What we’re
talking about here is the cardinal virtue of temperance. The four cardinal virtues[1]
(can you name them without peeking?) are each called ‘cardinal’, from the Latin
word for hinge, because the practice of all virtue, the ability of a person to
live a morally good life, hinges upon our possession of these four virtues.
And we can see
how this is the case with temperance. Because our emotions, our unruly desires
and passions are always flying off in all directions, and essentially are like
little toddlers who want what they want when they want it, we need the virtue
that ‘tempers’ these passions, which is quite different from repressing or suppressing
them. Rather, temperance ‘tames’ the emotions, bridles them, puts the force of
emotional life to the service of the good. It is obvious, I hope, that no
serious plan of moral action can succeed without this control over the
emotions.
And so it is
not so ridiculous that the Church presents the plan of moral action known as ‘right
and lawful ordering of birth,’ according to the changeless and ancient doctrine
of the evil of contraception, and then says that ‘well, it requires
self-mastery’.
The rest of
this paragraph has been criticized at times for providing an overly rosy
picture of the
personal and communal benefits of following the teaching. I think
that the book I reviewed here a couple weeks ago by Simcha Fisher does the best
job of responding to those criticisms from an actual NFP user, so I will leave
it at that for now.