Catholic Infertility Resources

Passages taken from New American Bible.

Abraham and Sarah Are Promised a Son, Isaac, through Whom God Will Maintain His Covenant

Genesis 17:16-22: “God further said to Abraham: ‘As for Sarai your wife, do not call her Sarai; her name will be Sarah. I will bless her, and I will give you a son by her. Her also will I bless; she will give rise to nations, and rulers of peoples will issue from her. Abraham fell face down and laughed as he said to himself, ‘Can a child be born to a man who is a hundred years old? Can Sarah give birth at ninety?’ So Abraham said to God, ‘If only Ishmael could live in your favor!’ God replied: ‘Even so, your wife Sarah is to bear you a son, and you shall call him Isaac. It is with him that I will maintain my covenant as an everlasting covenant and with his descendants after him. Now as for Ishmael, I will heed you: I hereby bless him. I will make him fertile and will multiply him exceedingly. He will become the father of twelve chieftains, and I will make of him a great nation. But my covenant I will maintain with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you by this time next year.’ When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God departed from him.”

Genesis 18:1-15: “The LORD appeared to Abraham by the oak of Mamre, as he sat in the entrance of his tent, while the day was growing hot. Looking up, he saw three men standing near him. When he saw them, he ran from the entrance of the tent to greet them; and bowing to the ground, he said: ‘Sir, if it please you, do not go on past your servant. Let some water be brought, that you may bathe your feet, and then rest under the tree. Now that you have come to your servant, let me bring you a little food, that you may refresh yourselves; and afterward you may go on your way.’ ‘Very well,’ they replied, ‘do as you have said.’ Abraham hurried into the tent to Sarah and said, ‘Quick, three measures of bran flour! Knead it and make bread.’ He ran to the herd, picked out a tender, choice calf, and gave it to a servant, who quickly prepared it. Then he got some curds and milk, as well as the calf that had been prepared, and set these before them, waiting on them under the tree while they ate. ‘Where is your wife Sarah?’ they asked him. ‘There in the tent,’ he replied. One of them said, ‘I will return to you about this time next year, and Sarah will then have a son.’ Sarah was listening at the entrance of the tent, just behind him. Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in years, and Sarah had stopped having her menstrual periods. So Sarah laughed to herself and said, ‘Now that I am worn out and my husband is old, am I still to have sexual pleasure?’ But the LORD said to Abraham: ‘Why did Sarah laugh and say, ‘Will I really bear a child, old as I am?’ Is anything too marvelous for the LORD to do? At the appointed time, about this time next year, I will return to you, and Sarah will have a son.’ Sarah lied, saying, ‘I did not laugh,’ because she was afraid. But he said, ‘Yes, you did.’”

Isaac Intercedes for His Wife Rebekah and She Conceives Jacob and Esau

Genesis 25:20-21: “Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Aramean of Paddan-aram and the sister of Laban the Aramean. Isaac entreated the LORD on behalf of his wife, since she was sterile. The LORD heard his entreaty, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.”

Rachel Begs Her Husband Jacob for Children

Genesis 29:31 – Genesis 30:2: “When the LORD saw that Leah was unloved, he made her fruitful, while Rachel was barren. Leah conceived and bore a son, and she named him Reuben; for she said, ‘It means, ‘The LORD saw my misery; surely now my husband will love me.’’ She conceived again and bore a son, and said, ‘It means, ‘The LORD heard that I was unloved,’ and therefore he has given me this one also’; so she named him Simeon. Again she conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘Now at last my husband will become attached to me, since I have now borne him three sons’; that is why she named him Levi. Once more she conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘This time I will give thanks to the LORD’; therefore she named him Judah. Then she stopped bearing children.

When Rachel saw that she had not borne children to Jacob, she became envious of her sister. She said to Jacob, ‘Give me children or I shall die!’ Jacob became angry with Rachel and said, ‘Can I take the place of God, who has denied you the fruit of the womb?’”

Genesis 30:22-24: “Then God remembered Rachel. God listened to her and made her fruitful. She conceived and bore a son, and she said, ‘God has removed my disgrace.’ She named him Joseph, saying, ‘May the LORD add another son for me!’”

Manoah’s Wife, Though Barren, Conceives and Bears a Son, Samson, Who Will Deliver Israel from the Philistines

Judges 13: 2-5: “There was a certain man from Zorah, of the clan of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren and had borne no children. An angel of the LORD appeared to the woman and said to her, ‘Though you are barren and have had no children, yet you will conceive and bear a son. Now, then, be careful to take no wine or strong drink and to eat nothing unclean. As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb. It is he who will begin the deliverance of Israel from the power of the Philistines.’”

Hannah’s Prayers Are Answered with a Son, Samuel, Whom She Gives to the Lord

1 Samuel 1:1-28: “There was a certain man from Rama-thaim, Elkanah by name, a Zuphite from the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. He had two wives, one named Hannah, the other Peninnah; Peninnah had children, but Hannah was childless. This man regularly went on pilgrimage from his city to worship the LORD of hosts and to sacrifice to him at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were ministering as priests of the LORD. When the day came for Elkanah to offer sacrifice, he used to give a portion each to his wife Peninnah and to all her sons and daughters, but a double portion to Hannah because he loved her, though the LORD had made her barren. Her rival, to upset her, turned it into a constant reproach to her that the LORD had left her barren. This went on year after year; each time they made their pilgrimage to the sanctuary of the LORD, Peninnah would approach her, and Hannah would weep and refuse to eat. Her husband Elkanah used to ask her: ‘Hannah, why do you weep, and why do you refuse to eat? Why do you grieve? Am I not more to you than ten sons?’ Hannah rose after one such meal at Shiloh, and presented herself before the LORD; at the time, Eli the priest was sitting on a chair near the doorpost of the LORD’S temple. In her bitterness she prayed to the LORD, weeping copiously, and she made a vow, promising: ‘O LORD of hosts, if you look with pity on the misery of your handmaid, if you remember me and do not forget me, if you give your handmaid a male child, I will give him to the LORD for as long as he lives; neither wine nor liquor shall he drink, and no razor shall ever touch his head.’ As she remained long at prayer before the LORD, Eli watched her mouth, for Hannah was praying silently; though her lips were moving, her voice could not be heard. Eli, thinking her drunk, said to her, ‘How long will you make a drunken show of yourself? Sober up from your wine!’ ‘It isn’t that, my lord,’ Hannah answered. ‘I am an unhappy woman. I have had neither wine nor liquor; I was only pouring out my troubles to the LORD. Do not think your handmaid a ne’er-do-well; my prayer has been prompted by my deep sorrow and misery.’ Eli said, ‘Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him.’ She replied, ‘Think kindly of your maidservant,’ and left. She went to her quarters, ate and drank with her husband, and no longer appeared downcast. Early the next morning they worshiped before the LORD, and then returned to their home in Ramah. When Elkanah had relations with his wife Hannah, the LORD remembered her. She conceived, and at the end of her term bore a son whom she called Samuel, since she had asked the LORD for him. The next time her husband Elkanah was going up with the rest of his household to offer the customary sacrifice to the LORD and to fulfill his vows, Hannah did not go, explaining to her husband, ‘Once the child is weaned, I will take him to appear before the LORD and to remain there forever; I will offer him as a perpetual nazirite.’ Her husband Elkanah answered her: ‘Do what you think best; wait until you have weaned him. Only, may the LORD bring your resolve to fulfillment!’ And so she remained at home and nursed her son until she had weaned him. Once he was weaned, she brought him up with her, along with a three-year-old bull, an ephah of flour, and a skin of wine, and presented him at the temple of the LORD in Shiloh. After the boy’s father had sacrificed the young bull, Hannah, his mother, approached Eli and said: ‘Pardon, my lord! As you live, my lord, I am the woman who stood near you here, praying to the LORD. I prayed for this child, and the LORD granted my request. Now I, in turn, give him to the LORD; as long as he lives, he shall be dedicated to the LORD.’ She left him there.”

Elisha Raises the Shunammite’s Son

2 Kings 4:8-37: One day Elisha came to Shunem, where there was a woman of influence, who pressed him to dine with her. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he would stop there to dine. So she said to her husband, “I know that he is a holy man of God. Since he visits us often, let us arrange a little room on the roof and furnish it for him with a bed, table, chair, and lamp, so that when he comes to us he can stay there.” One day Elisha arrived and stayed in the room overnight. Then he said to his servant Gehazi, “Call this Shunammite woman.” He did so, and when she stood before Elisha, he told Gehazi, “Say to her, ‘You have troubled yourself greatly for us; what can we do for you? Can we say a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I am living among my own people.” Later Elisha asked, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi answered, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” Elisha said, “Call her.” He did so, and when she stood at the door, Elisha promised, “This time next year you will be cradling a baby son.” She said, “My lord, you are a man of God; do not deceive your servant.” Yet the woman conceived, and by the same time the following year she had given birth to a son, as Elisha had promised; and the child grew up healthy. One day the boy went out to his father among the reapers. He said to his father, “My head! My head!” And his father said to the servant, “Carry him to his mother.” The servant picked him up and carried him to his mother; he sat in her lap until noon, and then died. She went upstairs and laid him on the bed of the man of God. Closing the door on him, she went out and called to her husband, “Let me have one of the servants and a donkey. I must go quickly to the man of God, and I will be back.” He asked, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath.” But she said, “It is all right.” When the donkey was saddled, she said to her servant, “Lead on! Do not stop my donkey unless I tell you.” She kept going till she reached the man of God on Mount Carmel. When he saw her at a distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi: “There is the Shunammite! Hurry to meet her, and ask if everything is all right with her, with her husband, and with the boy.” “Everything is all right,” she replied. But when she reached the man of God on the mountain, she clasped his feet. Gehazi came near to push her away, but the man of God said: “Let her alone, she is in bitter anguish; the LORD hid it from me and did not let me know.” She said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not mislead me’?” He said to Gehazi, “Get ready for a journey. Take my staff with you and be off; if you meet anyone, give no greeting, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff upon the boy.” But the boy’s mother cried out: “As the LORD lives and as you yourself live, I will not release you.” So he started back with her. Meanwhile, Gehazi had gone on ahead and had laid the staff upon the boy, but there was no sound, no response. He returned to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.” When Elisha reached the house, he found the boy dead, lying on the bed. He went in, closed the door on them both, and prayed to the LORD. Then he lay upon the child on the bed, placing his mouth upon the child’s mouth, his eyes upon the eyes, and his hands upon the hands. As Elisha stretched himself over the child, the boy’s flesh became warm. He arose, paced up and down the room, and then once more stretched himself over him, and the boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” He called her, and she came to him, and Elisha said to her, “Take your son.” She came in and fell at his feet in homage; then she took her son and left.

Elizabeth, Barren and Advanced in Years, Will Bear a Son, John the Baptist

Luke 1:5-17: “In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. Once when he was serving as priest in his division’s turn before God, according to the practice of the priestly service, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord to burn incense. Then, when the whole assembly of the people was praying outside at the hour of the incense offering, the angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right of the altar of incense. Zechariah was troubled by what he saw, and fear came upon him. But the angel said to him, ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.’”