Chapter Three

Marriage in Gods Plan

Benefits and Purpose of Married Life

Marriage is always necessary as a means for
procreation of the human race and for the
wholesome and proper raising of children

God made marriage good because he created the

world and everything in it to be good

Jesus raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament

Benefits and Purpose of Married Life

Purposes of marriage:
Procreation/ Raising of Children
Willingness of spouses to give
themselves to each other
Sharing Family Life
Sexual intimacy
Companionship
Friendship

Marriage in the Bible

The catechism teaches that God created man and
woman together and willed each for the other

Man and woman are created equal as a communion

of persons, equal to one another, and
complementary as masculine and feminine

Man and woman are to be stewards of God, caring

for the earths resources

Influence of Sin
The struggles that married couples face are all
a result of sin
Some examples of these are domination, infidelity, and jealousy

To heal the wounds of sin, a man and woman rely on the

help of Gods grace, which in his infinite mercy he
extends to them

Since the first sin, marriage has helped couples

overcome self-absorption and choose to be selfgiving with another

Introduction of the Law

The Israelites married mostly within their local tribe
There was no wedding or religious rite that marked the
marriage
An engaged woman was considered legally married
When the marriage was consummated, the husband
received the wife and the family of the wife
received a dowry
Dowry: money or property considered compensation for the
loss of the daughter

New Covenant and Marriage

As Jesus began his public life,
his first miracle was at the
wedding at Cana
The miracle was a statement
of the goodness of marriage

It was a statement that from

then on, marriage would be
an efficacious sign of His
presence

New Covenant and Marriage

Marriage was to be indissoluble to death

What God has joined together, no human being

must separate

In the same way that Christ loves the Church,

husbands and wives love each other with
faithfulness that does not end until death

Love and Other Relationships

The way in which many people talk about being in
love would be more aptly described as being infatuated
with one another
Infatuations are usually short in duration whereas true
love lasts
Two elements make up human relationships:
Friendship
Exploitation

Infatuation and Friendships

Friendship is often comfortable and easy, and based
on mutual trust, understanding, and enjoyment of one
another
Friendship is not exclusive or possessive
Filial love is a connection that can last a lifetime but
is not romantic; most friendships are this type of love

Infatuation and Friendships

A romantic infatuation involves sexual attraction or
sexual feelings
While they can be normal and exciting, they can be
dangerous if a person decides to become sexually
intimate with someone based only on infatuation
Exploitation refers to a relationship that is based in
selfishness
This occurs when one person takes what he or
she can get without showing respect or concern for
the other person

Vocation to Chastity
Marriage involves the total self-giving of a husband
and wife to each other both emotionally and physically
Sex is both unitized and procreative in marriage
Chastity is the moral virtue under the cardinal virtue
of temperance that helps us to moderate our desires
for sexual pleasure
The virtue of chastity integrates a persons sexuality
with his or her whole being

Vocation to Chastity
Chastity gives you the freedom from:
Guilt, doubt, worry, regret
Sexually transmitted diseases
Being used by others
Pregnancy
Chastity gives you the freedom to:
Have many relationships
Develop self-respect and selfcontrol
Find a mate who values
you for the person you are

As with most other areas of life living

chastely comes down to backing up
your verbal promise and commitment
with your actions

Vocabulary
Sexual Fidelity
Dowry
Efficacious
Exploitation
Filial Love
Temperance