Some couples told us that the practice of ecological breastfeeding has led them to enter the Catholic Church.
One mother wrote:
“Natural Mothering had brought us to NFP which brought us back to the Church.”
Another mother wrote:
“We used the information in your book on ecological breastfeeding to space our babies at 2 years apart (and continue to do so), but all of your references to the Church and Faith got this life-long Protestant thinking! To make this long story shorter, we will be received into the Church on Pentecost Sunday, along with our six children. I just wanted to thank you for the part you share in this. This journey has been one where God has shined little lights along the path we were traveling on. You have been one of those lights!”
A father wrote:
“When my wife first read this article [The Crucial First Three Years] when we were Protestants, my wife was attending college and I was working. Our plan was for her to finish college, and I would stay home with our son. At the most, we would only be away for 17 hours a week, and during this time he would be watched by grandma. We never really considered the effect it would have on him because 17 hours a week was the most that he would be left and once she obtained her degree, I would stay home.
Thank you for causing me to look at my beliefs and values. Thank you for having the guts to tell us what no other minister or friend would. Since we read this article, my wife is now working at home. We are expecting our second child, and further research has led us to the doors of the Catholic Church. God works in mysterious ways. Thanks for being His vessel.”
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“Among these associations [in the apostolate of the laity], those which promote and encourage a closer harmony between the everyday life of the members and their faith must be given primary consideration.”—Vatican II, Apostolate of the Laity, n. 19.
Priests and lay ministers should be promoting ecological breastfeeding and the importance of mothers to be present and available to their little ones. Couples who practice eco-breastfeeding frequently begin to appreciate God’s plan for their family and may look more seriously to the Church for other answers to questions of life, love and truth.
I developed two animation youtube videos recently. I’m sorry about the cat animation but you can close your eyes and listen: Ecological Breastfeeding and Natural Family Planning.
Sheila Kippley