I found a sermon on infertility on an NFP forum, and decided to take a listen, though I knew it might not be as thorough in the morality department as I prefer. I really enjoyed it, with a big exception. My comments from the forum (no replies yet…huh): The pastor who gave the sermon is certainly a lover of the Lord, in the Sacred Scriptures, and has been touched deeply by his family struggle with infertility. I was really touched by his sharing of his story and sufferings, and found his sermon gave a lot of food for thought and meditation. I especially appreciated his admonition against the “prosperity gospel” which might lead some IF sufferers to think they’ve done something wrong to deserve it.
One perspective on the suffering element is that we are allowed to suffer to enter into the suffering of the Lord, and that we can be allowed to suffer for many reasons, including to purify us from sin and attachments, grow closer to our Lord (the only road to the Resurrection is the Cross), and suffer as a way of prayer/ intercession in action on behalf of some intention or person. Catholics call this “Redemptive Suffering.” More on this here.
Also, there’s a beautiful letter on the meaning of suffering here
Anyway, my big issue with this sermon is that he really skips over the morality bit, without even a cursory explanation of what is correct and what isn’t. I do love that he does mention that not all fertility treatments are licit, but he really leaves the congregation hanging. Is it because he doesn’t have enough time in the sermon, or perhaps he doesn’t wish to discuss it in mixed company, or is it because he lacks a certain courage to condemn certain practices (IVF, “selective reduction”,therapeutic cloning, etc.)? It’s not clear to me, and I wish it was addressed even in a general way.
Non-Catholic Christians, what are your thoughts on this? Have you had an guidance in the morality department, especially from spiritual leaders? What’s the response? Have you struggled with this? What’s been the most helpful to you.
2 Responses to Infertility Sermon: Vague, Pastoral or both?
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So, admittedly, I have not listened to the sermon, but I would like to reflect on some things you stated. So, the guidance that I have received from my pastor has been zilch, but since we haven’t gone to him with our situation this is not his fault (hmmm, maybe we should go see him and see what he says). In terms of selective reduction I know our pastor would definitely speak out on that, but not in a sermon format. The same goes for IVF. Also I believe many non-catholic pastors are a bit scared to approach this in a congregational setting. Along with you I am not quite sure why. I have been blessed to have pastors over the years who are unapologetic about what the Bible has to say and they don’t try to water it down, but when I think about it, they have not addressed any kind of ART, nor birth control for that matter. So, that was a lot of words to say, I have no clue why many pastors today don’t speak on this issue – could be any number of reasons and not always bad reasons. I know, I was no help at all.
You should check out the sermon when you get a chance, Sarah. It’s a little long, but it’s quite decent.
You should contact your pastor (email perhaps if a phone convo isn’t doable) about your questions. Give him a chance, but def ask him straight out why it’s not addressed. It’s interesting that you say your pastor would not speak about it in a sermon format. Surely he must have a reason. It’s a delicate topic, especially with kids present, but there’s a way to talk about it in adult terms that adults get without getting explicit. Bottom line: like you said, pastors are scared. (See my most recent post on NFP/ Vocations. It’s the same thing that keeps pastors from preaching the truth, Catholic or non-Catholic.) Lastly, there’s so many divergent views on this issue (hello? CFPF anyone?) in the non-Catholic arena, that you could get a hundred different answers from a hundred different non-Catholic Christian pastors. As a Catholic, I believe this is just a logical outgrowth of the Protestant schism. When there’s no central authority to interpret the Gospel message in modern times, the truth gets shattered in a thousand pieces, including the approach to modern moral issues in Family Planning.