God is love. He created people in his image who would share love with Him and with one another.
In addition to their souls, men and woman were created with the gift of bodies that are different but complimentary, revealing that they were created for each other.
Within the unique and powerful bond of marriage, God calls men and women to freely give themselves to each other in a loving union of their flesh.
Based on the Bible, reason, and Tradition the Catholic Church teaches that sex the way God intended it is good.
Expressing their sexuality with lifelong fidelity and openness to life, faithful married Catholics reveal the same qualities of the love God has for us.
Humans are made for intimacy:
A genuine expression of self-giving:
Sex is not just good or pleasurable, but holy :
God created man in his own image and likeness: calling him to existence through love, He called him at the same time for love. God is love and in Himself He lives a mystery of personal loving communion. Creating the human race in His own image and continually keeping it in being, God inscribed in the humanity of man and woman the vocation, and thus the capacity and responsibility, of love and communion. Love is therefore the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. As an incarnate spirit, that is a soul which expresses itself in a body and a body informed by an immortal spirit, man is called to love in his unified totality. Love includes the human body, and the body is made a sharer in spiritual love.
Pope John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, November 22, 1981
Sexuality is where the physical and the spiritual meet:
Our sexuality gets to the core of who we are:
There is something special about sex:
For no man ever hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, as Christ does the Church, because we are members of his Body. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the church; however, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Ephesians 5: 29-33
Sex reveals the love of Jesus for his Church:
The second holiest thing that you can do:
The Church says “no” to inadequate expressions of sex:
“The acts in marriage by which the intimate and chaste union of the spouses takes place are noble and honorable; the truly human performance of these acts fosters the self-giving they signify and enriches the spouses in joy and gratitude.” Sexuality is a source of joy and pleasure: The Creator himself . . . established that in the [generative] function, spouses should experience pleasure and enjoyment of body and spirit. Therefore, the spouses do nothing evil in seeking this pleasure and enjoyment. They accept what the Creator has intended for them. At the same time, spouses should know how to keep themselves within the limits of just moderation.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2362
Exchanging wedding vows in the flesh:
Intimacy is intended within, and throughout, marriage:
What are Catholics allowed to do?:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
“If you love Jesus, we’re on the same team”:
Share this page with friends and family to start a conversation about your faith.
Don’t miss a post. Learn more about the Catholic Church and strengthen your Catholic faith.
Find more Fiercely Catholic video issues here.
Subscribe here.
