Grave Reasons, Magnanimity, and Nunya

Yet again, another Facebook group I'm part of has descended into the depths of agony known as "The Grave Reasons Debate." 

For those who are not yet initiated, let me sum up: 

Someone says, "Does the Church say you can only use NFP for grave reasons?" 

A number of folks chime in to say, "Technically that word was used in some translations, but it comes from the Latin and Italian, where grave has a different connotation. In English, the Church is now favoring words like serious reasons, or just cause." 

Then everyone's Facebook avatar heads explode because they think sOmEonE iS wRoNG oN thE iNtErNeT

Conversation takes a nasty turn as everyone now debates whether or not NFP is just "Catholic birth control" and if you can use it with a "contraceptive mentality." 

I just... don't have time for this anymore. 
I address this directly in my NFP Masterclass and NFP Ambassador Training videos because it is important to know the answers to these objections. It is important for Catholics to be well-versed in what the Church teaches, and to understand the implications for how they apply NFP in their own lives. Discernment is important.  Being able to extricate discernment about NFP use from what JPII calls "selfish reasons" is important. 

So if you really want to to think about that topic, here's a fabulous article by Kevin Miller, PhD, that you should read. Have fun. 

What I want to talk about today is actually the virtue of magnanimity and how I think it is so absolutely crucial to understand this virtue in order to be able to converse with with each other respectfully about NFP.

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