Chapter Five The Christian Family

Adjusting to Married Life The grace of the sacrament of matrimony is the promise that Christ will remain present in married life The love that God showed humanity through the Incarnation in Jesus and the redemption that Christ brings to the world is unconditional and everlasting A husband and wife share this love with one another Through this unconditional love, they reproduce in their children the very image of Christ

Problems and Solutions The first few years of married life can have their ups and downs where many new problems arise and need to be dealt with Financial issues In-law issues Social issues Sexual Issues Communication Issues

Problems and Solutions While the first years of marriage can be filled with many obstacles, they can be handled constructively and in a positive way Keeping an open mind is important Be aware of differing personalities Keep channels of communication open Love one another Pray together

Problems and Solutions There is no escaping the fact that for a marriage to work, each spouse will have to give up something of his or her previous self It is in the “giving up” of one’s own desires for the other that the marriage finds success and each spouse finds satisfaction and life

Love of Husband and Wife Conjugal love: the total love between a husband and wife that encompasses their entire being, body, and soul Sex in marriage is meant to be unitive and procreative The joy and pleasure of the couple and the transmission of life are combined Sex helps to sustain marriage by fostering intimacy, providing emotional security, and reducing stress The couple must learn from each other how to make sex pleasurable and satisfying for both

The Gift of a Child Catholic married couples who observe the church’s teaching to always be open to the procreation of human life and do not break the dual purpose of sexual intercourse as being both unitive and procreative stand out as Christian witnesses Most of popular culture and society today associate sex only with pleasure and the avoiding of pregnancy Even in modern married life, the commitment and openness to the possibility of a pregnancy from sex is often limited

God intended for sex to be both an expression of love between husband and wife and for the procreation of children

Regulation and Procreation The regulation and procreation is only morally acceptable when practiced using natural means The Church teaches that it is “morally permissible to take into account natural rhythms of human fertility and to have sex only during the infertile times in order to regulate contraception” Participating in this way with God in determining the timing of children demands that married couples practice chastity by abstaining from sex during fertile periods

When Couples Can’t Conceive While the Church encourages scientific research to reduce human sterility, it demands that the rights of the human person are respected and that they do not involve the dissociation of the husband and wife from the act of procreation Church opposes artificial insemination and fertilization that involves a third party (surrogate mother) Devote themselves to service of those in need

Family in God’s Plan It is the responsibility of the parents to educate their children both morally and spiritually This is done by creating a home where there is tenderness, forgiveness, compassion and respect where children can feel secure physically and emotionally Sharing meals together Establishing family traditions

Family in Society It is the responsibility of society to defend family life When individuals or families cannot fulfill their responsibilities it is up to agencies in a society to fill in and meet those tasks

“No one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home and a family for everyone” Pope John Paul II

Vocabulary incarnation conjugal love contraception coitus continence Surrogate mother Ovulation Discipline Holy Family incarnation conjugal love contraception coitus continence surrogate mother ovulation discipline holy family