(Dec. 11, 2009) Times have changed, and many couples don’t think twice about living together before marriage. That thinking was challenged, however, for Mike and Toni, of Colorado, whose hearts were changed forever after attending a Catholic marriage preparation class.

Married love involves sacrifice and an openness to children.

The couple, who had come from the East Coast, took a marriage preparation class that involved Natural Family Planning (NFP), and were so impressed by a witness couple’s talk and with the relationship with their mentors that they decided to abstain before their marriage.

“I have to say at the time I wasn’t a very well-formed Catholic,” Toni recalled.  “To me it was perfectly normal to live with your boyfriend and use birth control, but upon reflection the act was totally desensitizing. And the fact is that for a woman to use birth control … is not good for her health.”

Conversion Experience

Mike, for his part, called it a conversion experience, and said, “What made the impression for us was the testimony of a married couple, our mentors in the class, and their journey about discovering the sacredness of the sacrament of matrimony,” Mike told the Denver Catholic Register.

After starting the class they agreed to abstain before marriage. They lived under the same roof but in separate bedrooms. Toni said that at the time she did not understand her faith too well, but that was about to change. “For me, this was the beginning to get back on the path of being obedient to the Church and renewing my love for God and the faith.”

The conversion aspect of the story is similar to that of other couples, such as that on this website of Dawn and Ariel Farias.

Welcoming God

Mike said that the decision to abstain got them off to a good start. “I feel it helped us welcome God in our marriage and reminded us that there are other things that come before us, such as raising children. It taught us not to be selfish,” Mike told the Register.

Mike and Toni (not their real names), of western Colorado, have been married for a decade and have several children.  Mike works outside the home while Toni is a homemaker.

Classes in the Sympto-Thermal Method of Natural Family Planning are offered by the Couple to Couple League (CCL) to married and engaged couples, and can be taken at 15 locations in the Archdiocese of Chicago, IL and surrounding area, including southeast Milwaukee and northwest Indiana. A homestudy course is also available at CCL Central.

The next series of classes in northeast Illinois will begin Fri., Jan. 29, 2010 at 7:30 pm at Holy Family Hospital in Des Plaines. To register, and for a list of classes, go to the CCL Central class locator. Or go to the Chicago CCL’s Classes by Location and Maplinks.