The Church on Marriage

We live in a hedonistic society. Hedonism is the idea that pleasure, and especially physical pleasure, is the primary goal of life, instead of love of God and love of neighbor. One of the most common ways in which pleasure is pursued is sexual pleasure. Having sex outside of marriage has become so common that…

Today the Catholic Church faces a daunting pastoral and sacramental challenge due to the sad fact that many Catholics who have married sacramentally are now divorced, civilly remarried, and having sexual relations with the new spouse. Assuming that the first marriage was not annulled, this is a situation that is objectively and gravely sinful, one…

We have other articles dealing with the motives, threats, and devastating consequences of adultery. In this article, we would like to answer the question: why is adultery a grave sin? This way of approaching the issue is a doctrinal approach. We will answer the question drawing from the teachings of the Bible and the teachings…

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that the conjugal act has four goods: “The goods of conjugal love, which for those who are baptized is sanctified by the sacrament of Matrimony, are unity, fidelity, indissolubility, and an openness to the procreation of life” (no. 495). However, if we consider the sign…

The purpose of this article is to show the importance of the theology of the body (TOB) of St. John Paul II in explaining the meaning of adultery and, by implication, the true meaning of marriage. To accomplish this purpose we are going to develop the following subtopics: The failure of the concept of sex…

“The Theology of the Body (TOB) is pretty hard to understand for a lay person. How can I use it to have a conversation about human sexuality and chastity with my son or daughter who is already a young adult?” It is evident that the parent-child relationship takes a turn when the son or daughter…

Over the course of 129 general audiences—from September 5, 1979, through November 28, 1984—Pope John Paul II taught about God’s love, our relationship with Him and with others, and God’s desire to watch us grow in love and fullness with Him. This collection of papal addresses is now known as the Theology of the Body.…