1067. Is sexual pleasure in marriage pleasing to God?
Yes. While practicing due moderation, the sexual pleasure enjoyed in the marital act is a gift from God. Its purpose is to foster the twofold end of marriage, namely the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of human life. (2360-2363)
1068. What is marital fidelity?
It is the mutual lifelong commitment of husband and wife, who enter into a covenant with God to remain faithful to each other, irrevocably, until death. In the Sacrament of Matrimony, they become part of the mystery of Christ's fidelity to His Church. (2364-2365)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
In Defense of the Family: Part Nine - Humanae Vitae Paragraph 14
Unlawful ways of regulating birth
"Therefore we base our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when we are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of controlling the birth of a child.
Equally to be condemned, as the Magisterium of the Church has affirmed on various occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary
Similarly excluded is any action, which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation-whether as an end or as a means.
Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberatively contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with normal relations of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful , even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it. - in other words, to intend positively something which intrinsically contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberatively contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong."
"Therefore we base our words on the first principles of a human and Christian doctrine of marriage when we are obliged once more to declare that the direct interruption of the generative process already begun and, above all, direct abortion, even for therapeutic reasons, are to be absolutely excluded as lawful means of controlling the birth of a child.
Equally to be condemned, as the Magisterium of the Church has affirmed on various occasions, is direct sterilization, whether of the man or of the woman, whether permanent or temporary
Similarly excluded is any action, which either before, at the moment of, or after sexual intercourse, is specifically intended to prevent procreation-whether as an end or as a means.
Neither is it valid to argue, as a justification for sexual intercourse which is deliberatively contraceptive, that a lesser evil is to be preferred to a greater one, or that such intercourse would merge with normal relations of past and future to form a single entity, and so be qualified by exactly the same moral goodness as these. Though it is true that sometimes it is lawful to tolerate a lesser moral evil in order to avoid a greater or in order to promote a greater good, it is never lawful , even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it. - in other words, to intend positively something which intrinsically contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general. Consequently it is a serious error to think that a whole married life of otherwise normal relations can justify sexual intercourse which is deliberatively contraceptive and so intrinsically wrong."
Sunday, January 2, 2011
In Defense of the Family - Part Eight : The Dignity of the Family
In this regard we refer to the Vatican II document, Gaudium et spes, (The Pastoral Constitution of the Church in the Modern World), Part two, chapter one, "The dignity of marriage and the family", #47 paragraph two. "However, this happy picture of these partnerships is not reflected everywhere, but is overshadowed by polygamy, the plague of divorce, so-called free love, and similar blemishes: furthermore, married love is too often dishonored by selfishness, hedonism, and unlawful contraceptive practices".
This section of the document continues to discuss, "holiness of marriage and the family" in section #48: married love in section #49; "the fruitfulness of marriage" in section #50. In section #51, "Married love and respect for human life," we come to the heart of the matter of our inquiry into, "In defense of the family" where we find this instruction. "...all this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. The sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the Divine law".
This section of the document continues to discuss, "holiness of marriage and the family" in section #48: married love in section #49; "the fruitfulness of marriage" in section #50. In section #51, "Married love and respect for human life," we come to the heart of the matter of our inquiry into, "In defense of the family" where we find this instruction. "...all this is possible only if the virtue of married chastity is seriously practiced. The sons of the Church, faithful to these principles, are forbidden to use methods disapproved by the teaching authority of the Church in its interpretation of the Divine law".
In Defense of the Family - Part Seven : The Catholic Hierarchy of Bishops as Successors of the Apostles
Continuing from part six with His Eminence Raymond L. Burke as our guide we see that the content of the Encyclical Humanae Vitae is part of the Magisterial teaching, "Pope Benedict makes clear that the teaching in Humanae Vitae was not simply a matter of individual morality, " declaring: Humanae Vitae indicates the strong lines between life ethics and social ethics ushering in a new area of Magisterial teaching that has gradually been articulated in a series of documents, most recently, John Paul II's Encyclical Evangelium Vitae ( Caritas in Veritate no.15 )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)