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

Communication Issues

Sexual 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 ones
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
churchs 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 Cant 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 Gods 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
incarnation Conjugal love
surrogate mother
Contraception
conjugal love Coitus ovulation
Continence
contraception Surrogatemother
discipline
Ovulation
coitus
Disciplineholy family
continence Holy Family