Theology of the Body
"Theology of the Body" is the working title Pope John Paul II gave to the first major teaching project of his pontificate. In 129 short talks delivered between September of 1979 and November of 1984, the Pope offered the Church and the world a rich, biblical reflection on the meaning of human embodiment, particularly as it concerns sexuality and erotic desire."
(Christopher West, The Theology of the Body for Beginners, p. 1)
The Nazareth Project is committed to providing continuing education on the Theology of the Body, on a variety of levels to:
- Parish Leaders
- FOCCUS Facilitators
- Seminarians and Clergy
- Married Couples
- By offering workshops, in-service events, conferences and symposia.
Please check our Programs and Events page for upcoming offerings.
Natural Family Planning – God's Gift to Us
Welcome to the Natural Family Planning (NFP) page of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. The Nazareth Project is here to enthusiastically teach, encourage and support you and stands with the Church “on the side of life.”1
We acknowledge with the Church that “a child does not come from outside as something added on to the mutual love of the spouses, but springs from the very heart of that mutual giving, as its fruit and fulfillment.”2 Children are truly a gift from God!
In his addresses on Human Love in the Divine Plan (better known now as The Theology of the Body), Pope John Paul II acknowledged that those “are considered ‘to exercise responsible parenthood who prudently and generously decide to have a large family, or who, for serious reasons and with due respect to the moral law, choose to have no more children for the time being and even for an indeterminate period.’”3
To this end, The Nazareth Project promotes Natural Family Planning as a highly effective, maritally enriching, spiritually enlightening, and moral means of planning one’s family and we are here to help you not only to understand the Church’s teachings but to learn the NFP method of your choice and to support you in your ongoing living out of your marital promise.
The difference between contraception and periodic abstinence “is much wider and deeper than is usually thought, one which involves in the final analysis two irreconcilable concepts of the human person and of human sexuality”.4 This speaks to the great mystery of God’s plan for all of us!
1 The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CC) 2366
2 CC 2366
3 Pope John Paul II, The Theology of the Body
4 Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, 32
Let all be convinced that human life and the duty of transmitting it are not limited by the horizons of this life only: their true evaluation and full significance can be understood only in reference to man’s eternal destiny. (CC 2371)
Please click on the below links for more NFP Information
Frequently Asked Questions about NFP
Getting Started - Overview of NFP Methods
Further NFP Resources
NFP Physicians and Teachers (pdf)
For more information on NFP or if you have any questions about what is available in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, please contact Lydia LoCoco, Director, The Nazareth Project for Marriage and Family Formation, The John Paul II Center. Phone: 414-758-2214 or email.
Make your house - your family - another Nazareth where love, peace, joy and unity reign, for love begins at home! ~ Blessed Teresa of Calcutta