Tag Archives: Married Life

Retiro Matrimonial 2019 – El Matrimonio, Hecho por una Razón

Acompáñanos a celebrar la Semana Nacional del Matrimonio (del 7 al 14 de febrero de 2019), tomándote unos momentos cada día para reflexionar y orar con tu cónyuge. El tema de este año es: El matrimonio, hecho por una razón. Este retiro te ayudará a reflexionar sobre lo que hace que el matrimonio sea algo único, tal como fue establecido por Dios, entre un hombre y una mujer, como la base de la familia y la sociedad.

Para más instrucciones o inspiración, visita el sitio web marriageuniqueforareason.org.

Día 1 – El matrimonio: hecho por Dios

Abriendo el tema
A pesar de las grandes diferencias entre las culturas, sociedades y religiones, el matrimonio siempre se ha considerado un vínculo sagrado que expresa una forma profunda y comprometida de amor mutuo. El matrimonio no es, sin embargo, una institución puramente humana: “el estado matrimonial fue establecido por el Creador y dotado por él con sus propias leyes… Dios mismo es el autor del matrimonio” (GS, 48).

¿De qué manera es Dios el autor del matrimonio?

Primero, “Dios creó al hombre a su imagen; a imagen de Dios lo creó; varón y hembra los creó” (Gén. 1:27). Dado que el hombre y la mujer son creados a imagen de Dios, quien es Amor, el amor es una vocación innata del hombre y de la mujer. El matrimonio responde a un deseo fundamental y a la necesidad de dar y recibir amor.

Segundo, como varón y hembra, Dios creó al hombre y a la mujer con una complementariedad anatómica única que posibilita la colaboración con Su trabajo de creación. La naturaleza misma del hombre y de la mujer está preparada para la posibilidad del matrimonio y del recibimiento de una nueva vida.

Tercero, la Sagrada Escritura afirma que es bueno que un hombre y una mujer se pertenezcan el uno al otro y formen un vínculo de comunión: “No es bueno que el hombre esté solo” (Gén. 2:18)…”Por tanto, dejará el hombre a su padre y a su madre, y se unirá a su mujer, y los dos serán una sola carne (Gén. 2:24). En el Nuevo Testamento, Jesús invoca el plan original de Dios para la humanidad como una unión inquebrantable de dos vidas, recordando el plan inicial del Creador: “Así que ya no volverán a ser dos, sino una sola carne” (Mt. 19: 6)

En el plan divino, el matrimonio es la comunión exclusiva e indisoluble de vida y amor entre un hombre y una mujer. Entre dos cristianos bautizados, esta alianza es un sacramento.

Reflexión
Como católicos, la comprensión del plan de Dios para el matrimonio y la familia es una parte esencial de vivir el llamado a la santidad. Los esposos católicos han sido bendecidos con la certeza de que el sacramento del matrimonio proporciona las gracias necesarias para santificarse como esposo y esposa, padre y madre. Esta gracia otorga fuerza a la alianza matrimonial y la fortalece en momentos de dificultad. También se traslada a la iglesia doméstica, el hogar, donde la familia crece y se convierte en un testigo del amor de Dios hacia los demás.

Sin embargo, el plan de Dios para el matrimonio no se limita a los católicos. Como se explicó anteriormente, está enraizado en la naturaleza e identidad del hombre y de la mujer, creados a imagen de Dios. La dignidad del matrimonio con su propósito y características específicas es un bien que debe sostenerse y defenderse para beneficio de todas las personas.

Para pensar
Para iniciar esta semana de reflexión, pregúntense individualmente y como pareja:

a) ¿Qué hace al matrimonio distinto de otras relaciones? ¿Por qué el amor y el compromiso matrimonial son únicos? ¿Qué significa cuando se dice que Dios creó el matrimonio en el mismo momento en que creó al ser humano?

b) Como pareja, ¿cómo nos complementamos en nuestras necesidades, deseos y atributos? ¿De qué manera nos otorga Dios los diferentes dones, como hombre y mujer, que contribuyen al matrimonio?

Oración de las parejas casadas
Dios todopoderoso y eterno,
bendijiste la unión de marido y mujer
para que podamos reflejar la unión de Cristo con su Iglesia:
míranos con bondad.
Renueva nuestra alianza matrimonial.
Incrementa tu amor hacia nosotros
y fortalece nuestro vínculo de paz
para que [con nuestros hijos]
podamos siempre regocijarnos en el regalo de tu bendición.
Te lo pedimos a través de Cristo nuestro Señor. Amén.

Día 2 – El matrimonio: hecho para el amor

Abriendo el tema
El matrimonio entre un hombre y una mujer responde al anhelo más profundo del corazón humano por el amor y la pertenencia. Anhelamos ser amados y recibir amor. Lo mismo puede decirse de la vida familiar: en una familia, los hijos son recibidos para ser amados y retornar ese amor.

A pesar de las limitaciones humanas, la pareja casada y la familia son reflejos de Dios, quien es tres personas divinas en una comunión de amor. En el matrimonio, el hombre y la mujer se convierten en “una sola carne” (Gén. 2: 24), una comunión de amor que genera nueva vida. De manera similar, la familia humana se convierte en una comunión de amor a través del intercambio de amor entre sus miembros.

El matrimonio y la vida familiar son escuelas de amor. Nos enseñan cómo alcanzar una comunión de amor en el contexto de la vida cotidiana: llena de alegrías, sacrificios, pruebas y esperanzas. En todo esto, el amor se purifica y se perfecciona, se hace auténtico y completo. Como el ejemplo del sacrificio de Cristo en la cruz, el amor es dar la vida del uno por el otro. Los cónyuges y los miembros de la familia están llamados a hacer lo mismo todos los días.

Reflexión
A pesar de nuestros mejores esfuerzos para amar fiel e incondicionalmente, el matrimonio y la vida familiar pueden ser difíciles y desafiar nuestra capacidad de amar continuamente. Sin embargo, el amor conyugal que es bendecido por el sacramento del matrimonio es fortalecido y sostenido por una gracia única que pretende “perfeccionar el amor de la pareja y fortalecer su unidad indisoluble” (CCC, 1641). En virtud de esta gracia, la pareja se ayuda mutuamente para alcanzar la santidad.

La fuente de esta gracia es Cristo. “Así como en la antigüedad Dios se encontró con su pueblo a través de una alianza de amor y fidelidad, así nuestro Salvador, el cónyuge de la Iglesia, se encuentra ahora con esposos cristianos a través del sacramento del matrimonio” (GS, 48). Cristo vive con ellos, les da la fuerza para tomar sus cruces y puedan seguirlo, levantarse de nuevo después de haber caído, perdonarse el uno al otro, sobrellevar el uno la carga del otro, “someterse el uno al otro por respeto a Cristo, “y amarse el uno al otro con amor sobrenatural, tierno y fructífero” (CCC, 1642).

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿Qué hace que el amor entre el hombre y la mujer sea único, especialmente dentro de la relación matrimonial? ¿Qué hace que el amor de los miembros de una familia sea una comunión entre personas?

(b) ¿Cómo son nuestras escuelas de amor matrimonial y familiar? Como pareja y familia, ¿demostramos una comunión de amor que se nutre a sí misma, que es pura y sacrificada?

(c) Como pareja, ¿qué tanto confiamos en la gracia del sacramento del matrimonio para que nos ayude en los momentos de retos y dificultades?

Día 3 – El matrimonio: hechos el uno para el otro

Abriendo el tema
Dios creó al hombre y a la mujer juntos y quiso que fueran el uno para el otro. “No es bueno que el hombre esté solo. Voy a crear a alguien adecuado a sus necesidades para que lo ayude” (Gén. 2:18). La mujer que Dios ‘fabrica’ de la costilla del hombre, hace que él exclame maravillado, con amor y comunión: “Ésta, por fin, es hueso de mis huesos y carne de mi carne” (Gén. 2: 23). Este hermoso relato del libro de Génesis sobre la creación de Eva del costado de Adán demuestra cómo la mujer fue creada específicamente como ayudante, compañera y pareja adecuada para el hombre. A diferencia de cualquier otro ser creado, el hombre descubre a la mujer como su otro “yo”, como alguien que comparte su misma humanidad (ver CCC, 371).

“El hombre y la mujer fueron hechos ‘el uno para el otro’, no es que Dios los haya dejado a medias e incompletos: él los creó para que sean una comunión de personas, en donde cada uno puede ser ‘compañero’ del otro, ya que son iguales como personas (“hueso de mis huesos…”) y complementarios como masculino y femenino” (CCC, 372).

Debido a que son personas iguales en cuanto a su humanidad, pero complementarios debido a sus diferencias como masculino y femenino, el hombre y la mujer contribuyen al matrimonio con dones únicos, especialmente a causa de las diferencias físicas de sus cuerpos que permiten la transmisión de la vida humana. Solo a través de la diferencia sexual, un esposo y una esposa pueden darse completamente a sí mismos.

Por lo tanto, la verdadera unión marital no es posible sin la diferencia sexual; la diferencia sexual es esencial para el matrimonio. La diferencia sexual es el punto de partida necesario para comprender por qué no es arbitrario ni discriminatorio proteger y promover el matrimonio como la unión entre un hombre y una mujer. Más bien, es una cuestión de justicia, verdad, amor y libertad real. Solo un hombre y una mujer, en todos los niveles de su identidad: biológicos, fisiológicos, emocionales, sociales y espirituales, son capaces de hablar auténticamente el lenguaje del amor conyugal, es decir, el lenguaje de la entrega de sí mismos, abiertos al don del otro y al regalo de la vida.

Reflexión
Nuestra masculinidad o femineidad es esencial para nuestra identidad como personas. Nuestro género no se añade a nosotros como algo posterior, ni tampoco es una parte incidental de quienes somos. El hombre y la mujer son dos tipos diferentes de seres humanos, en cuerpo y alma. Cuando negamos nuestra identidad como seres sexualmente diferenciados, reducimos nuestra humanidad.

Una unión conyugal o matrimonial se produce solo a través de la diferencia sexual. Solo un esposo y una esposa tienen el espacio o la capacidad para recibir verdaderamente el don sexual distintivo del otro, y solo de esa manera un esposo y una esposa pueden regalarse el uno al otro el don de sí mismos. La belleza de la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre el matrimonio, basada en esta base antropológica, arroja luz sobre la responsabilidad del hombre y la mujer de colaborar con Dios en Su plan para la raza humana.

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿Por qué la razón y la fe no entran en conflicto cuando se trata del matrimonio? En otras palabras, ¿de qué manera el sacramento del matrimonio, que se realiza entre un hombre bautizado y una mujer bautizada, reafirma y no le resta valor a las verdades básicas y razonables esenciales de todo matrimonio?

(b) ¿Piensas que la diferencia sexual de hombre a mujer y de mujer a hombre se entiende y aprecia hoy? ¿Por qué sí o por qué no?

(c) Como pareja, ¿cómo pueden ayudar a otros a reflexionar sobre la importancia de la diferencia sexual y la complementariedad?

Día 4 – El matrimonio: hecho para toda la vida

Abriendo el tema
“Creó al varón y a la hembra. Los bendijo y les dijo: “Sean fructíferos y multiplíquense” (Gén. 1: 27-28).

El matrimonio es el contexto humano natural para concebir y recibir correctamente un hijo como el “regalo supremo del matrimonio” (GS, 50). Y con esta actitud de apertura y aceptación, destinada a marcar todos los aspectos del amor conyugal, un esposo y una esposa se acercan más entre sí. Entregar el don de sí mismo al otro como cónyuge y estar abierto a los hijos es a la vez elección y acción. Como el Papa Juan Pablo II enseñó: “Así, mientras los esposos se dan el uno al otro, no solo se están dando a sí mismos sino también a la realidad de los hijos que son un reflejo vivo de su amor, un signo permanente de unidad conyugal y una síntesis viviente e inseparable del hecho de ser padre y madre”. (FC, 14).

En otras palabras, en el matrimonio, el amor y la vida son inseparables. Esto es lo que quiere decir la Iglesia cuando enseña que el sentido de unión y procreación del amor conyugal son inseparables. Al abrazarse el uno al otro, el esposo y la esposa abrazan su capacidad de concebir un hijo y son llamados a no hacer nada deliberado para cerrar parte de sí mismos al don del otro.

Esto no significa que con cada acto de intimidad sexual tenga que concebirse un hijo. El matrimonio no es una fábrica mecánica de producción de niños en masa. La Iglesia enseña a las parejas, en su sinceridad con la vida, a practicar la paternidad responsable, discerniendo si tienen o no razones serias, de acuerdo con el plan de Dios para el matrimonio, para posponer el ser padres y madres en un momento determinado.

“La tarea fundamental de la familia es servir a la vida, hacer realidad a lo largo de la historia la bendición original del Creador de transmitir a través de la procreación la imagen divina, de persona a persona (…) Sin embargo, la fecundidad del amor conyugal – entendida incluso en su dimensión específicamente humana – no se limita únicamente a la procreación de los hijos, sino que se amplía y enriquece con todos aquellos frutos que el padre y la madre deben entregar a sus hijos y, a través de los hijos, a la Iglesia y al mundo”(FC, 28).

Reflexión
Cualquier consideración honesta del matrimonio debe incluir a los hijos, la esperanza de nuestro futuro. Durante milenios, personas de todas las generaciones y de todas las culturas han comprendido que el matrimonio de un hombre y una mujer es la principal institución social en pro de los hijos, y la roca de la familia natural. El matrimonio reúne a un hombre y a una mujer que se unen como marido y mujer para formar una relación única, dispuesta a recibir y cuidar de una nueva vida. Tratándose de la unión de marido y mujer, el matrimonio es una unión abierta desde dentro a la bendición de la fecundidad. Los hijos nacen “desde el mismo corazón” del matrimonio, a partir de la entrega mutua entre marido y mujer (CCC, no. 2366). Son el “regalo supremo” del matrimonio y su “máxima corona” (GS, n. 50, 48).

Así como las plantas necesitan los elementos adecuados no solo para comenzar a crecer sino también para florecer, los hijos también necesitan los elementos adecuados. Se necesita un hombre y una mujer, con la ayuda de Dios, para traer un hijo a la existencia. Tiene sentido que si la diferencia sexual es esencial para el comienzo de la vida, también es vital para el cuidado de esa vida. Las madres y los padres son importantes para la vida de un hijo.

El matrimonio es la institución destinada a garantizar que un hijo sea recibido como un regalo que debe ser nutrido y criado con el amor singularmente diferente que solo una madre y un padre pueden dar. Así como una semilla necesita la presencia de tierra, luz solar y agua para crecer y florecer, también un hijo necesita los cimientos naturales de la vida y el amor que solo proporcionan el matrimonio amoroso de un hombre y una mujer abiertos al regalo de un hijo.

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿Cómo se relacionan la apertura a la vida y la diferencia sexual? ¿Por qué es esto tan importante para entender el significado del matrimonio?

(b) ¿Cómo entiendes y acoges la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre la santidad de la vida humana, incluida la enseñanza de la Iglesia sobre el uso de la anticoncepción?

(c) ¿De qué manera puedes dar testimonio como pareja de la santidad y la dignidad de la vida humana, y de la importancia de las madres y los padres en la vida de sus hijos?

Día 5 – El matrimonio: hecho para la libertad

Abriendo el tema
“Jesús les respondió: ‘Amén, amén, les digo, todos los que cometen pecado son esclavos del pecado. Un esclavo no permanece en una casa para siempre, pero el hijo sí permanece. Así que si un hijo te libera, entonces serás realmente libre” (Jn. 8: 34-36).

El teólogo moral dominicano, Servais Pinckaers (1925-2008), identificó dos conceptos de libertad que contrastan entre sí: la libertad de indiferencia y la libertad por excelencia.

La “libertad de indiferencia” significa ver la libertad de manera abierta y neutral hacia todas las opciones disponibles. Toda elección, en la medida en que es una elección, es igualmente libre. Es la libertad de no ser forzado a hacer nada (“ausencia de coerción”). Si la libertad está realmente desconectada de cualquier otro aspecto de la persona o de la verdad objetiva, entonces elegir asesinar a otra persona es una decisión tan “libre” como comprarle una comida a una persona sin hogar. Por supuesto, cualquiera diría que la persona que ayuda a otra persona está “usando” su libertad mejor que el asesino, pero ¿es eso suficiente? ¿Es solo una cuestión de usar nuestra libertad bien o mal? La libertad de indiferencia dice que sí, esas dos personas son igualmente libres para elegir entre el bien y el mal.

En contraste, si entiendes la libertad como la “libertad por excelencia”, dirías que el asesino es en realidad menos libre que el donante caritativo. Al hacer algo que está mal, al actuar en contra del orden verdadero y objetivo de las cosas, la persona que elige el mal en realidad está disminuyendo o perdiendo su libertad. De hecho, es un abuso de la libertad. No le traerá la felicidad. Por lo tanto, no es una elección verdaderamente libre. La libertad por excelencia es la libertad de hacer el bien: la libertad de convertirse en lo que estás destinado a ser.

La verdadera libertad, entonces, es la capacidad de amar la verdad y de elegir el bien. Esto reafirma las palabras del Catecismo: “En la medida en que haces más el bien, más libre te haces”, y “la verdadera libertad” proviene “del servicio a lo que es bueno y justo” (CCC, 1733).

La libertad correctamente utilizada que sirve a la verdadera felicidad es el servicio a los demás. Esta libertad corresponde a lo que una persona está llamada a ser: una bendición para los demás.

Reflexión
El matrimonio entre un hombre y una mujer bautizados requiere del libre consentimiento de la voluntad. Los dos cónyuges consienten libremente en entregarse el don de sí mismos el uno al otro. El Catecismo aclara que para ser libre, el consentimiento “debe ser un acto voluntario de cada una de las partes contrayentes, libre de coerción o de temor grave externo” (CCC, 1628). Por medio del consentimiento, los cónyuges se entregan mutuamente y se convierten en “una sola carne”. El consentimiento de los cónyuges es recibido por el sacerdote (o diácono) en nombre de la Iglesia, seguido de la bendición de la Iglesia.

En muchos sentidos, el consentimiento para casarse es uno de los actos más profundos de la libertad humana. Es un acto de libertad por excelencia que abre nuevas posibilidades a mayor excelencia y felicidad. Cuando lo ejercen juntos, marido y mujer demuestran un esfuerzo conjunto para convertirse más verdaderamente en lo que son llamados a ser a partir de la sincera entrega de sí mismos.

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿De qué manera la libertad por excelencia corresponde más a una visión cristiana del ser humano que la libertad de indiferencia?

(b) ¿De qué formas se ha abusado de la libertad en nombre de una libertad falsa y cómo ha afectado esto al matrimonio?

(c) El matrimonio en la Iglesia requiere el libre consentimiento voluntario de ambos cónyuges. ¿Fue tu matrimonio una elección libre por excelencia: con la libertad de convertirte en lo que estabas destinado a ser?

Día 6 – El matrimonio: hecho para el bien común

Abriendo el tema
“Amar a alguien es desear el bien a esa persona y tomar las medidas efectivas para asegurarlo. Además del bien del individuo, hay un bien vinculado a vivir en sociedad: el bien común. Es el bien de ‘todos nosotros’, compuesto por individuos, familias y grupos intermedios que juntos constituyen la sociedad (CV, 7).

El bien común es responsabilidad de todos. Los esfuerzos que hacemos diariamente para estar atentos a las necesidades de los demás son una contribución al bien común. La familia es un componente esencial del bien común, arraigado en el matrimonio entre un hombre y una mujer.

Los matrimonios saludables son modelo de muchas virtudes y buenos hábitos que son vitales para la vida social. Por ejemplo, el amor gozoso y el amor sacrificial entre un hombre y una mujer en el matrimonio sirven de ejemplo a sus hijos de lo que significa amar a otras personas en general. El matrimonio promueve una “genuina ecología humana”, que incluye el respeto y la comprensión adecuada del cuerpo humano y la sexualidad. En un nivel fundamental y básico, un matrimonio intacto entre marido y mujer sigue siendo la fuente más fértil y el entorno mejor integrado para los nuevos miembros de la sociedad.

Los hijos que se crían en hogares con sus propios padres y madres casados disfrutan de la estabilidad que no ofrece ninguna otra estructura familiar. Si consideramos estos puntos, queda claro que el matrimonio es importante para el bien común de la sociedad: la alianza matrimonial, entendida correctamente como un hombre y una mujer unidos entre sí y con sus hijos, ayuda a que todos en la sociedad prosperen. Anima a los hombres y mujeres jóvenes a hacerse promesas el uno al otro si desean constituir “una pareja”; proporciona un reconocimiento social a tal promesa y la inversión de la comunidad para ayudar a la pareja a cumplirla, al tiempo que les da a los hijos los hogares estables que merecen.

Reflexión
“La familia fundada en el matrimonio es una institución natural insustituible y un elemento fundamental del bien común de todas las sociedades” (Papa Juan Pablo II, Discurso a los participantes en la asamblea plenaria del Consejo Pontificio de la Familia, 20 de noviembre de 2004).

El Catecismo enumera tres componentes esenciales del bien común: el respeto por la persona, el bienestar y desarrollo social, y la paz. (CCC, 1905-1917) En otras palabras, la sociedad debe ordenarse de tal manera que a las personas les resulte más fácil ser buenas, desarrollar sus dones y capacidades en paz, cumplir con sus deberes y responsabilidades sin tener que luchar contra la opresión o el miedo, y poder actuar según sus conciencias. El bien común está destinado a garantizar que las personas puedan vivir una “vida verdaderamente humana” (CCC, no. 1908).

Los matrimonios sólidos, aquellos matrimonios en los cuales un hombre y una mujer permanecen juntos durante toda su vida, son buenos tanto para la sociedad como para la pareja. Sirven como ejemplos para la comunidad de las virtudes del amor, la fidelidad y la perseverancia. Demuestran la capacidad del ser humano para cumplir sus promesas.

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿Cuáles son las tres características del matrimonio que lo hacen bueno para toda la sociedad?

(b) ¿De qué manera contribuye tu matrimonio a tu propio potencial y crecimiento como persona? ¿Cómo contribuye esto a su vez al beneficio de tu familia y sociedad?

Día 7 – El matrimonio: hecho para la eternidad

Abriendo el tema
El hombre ha sido creado para conocer, amar y servir a Dios en esta vida y disfrutar de Su presencia para la eternidad. La recompensa eterna es una bienaventuranza que supera toda comprensión humana. Es el don de la verdadera felicidad que proviene de buscar el amor de Dios por encima de todo lo demás. El camino hacia la santidad o la bienaventuranza está pavimentado con elecciones y consecuencias: rendir tributo a Dios o a la riqueza, servirse a sí mismo o al prójimo.

Todos los cristianos en toda situación o condición social están llamados a la santidad, o a la perfección de la caridad. “Para alcanzar esta perfección, los fieles deben usar la fuerza que les ha sido otorgada por el don de Cristo, de manera que. . . “haciendo la voluntad del Padre en todo, puedan dedicarse de todo corazón a la gloria de Dios y al servicio de su prójimo” (LG, 40). El camino de la perfección también pasa a través de la Cruz, que exige sacrificio, mortificación y la renuncia a uno mismo.

Reflexión
El matrimonio es una oportunidad para lograr la santidad. El día de su boda, los cónyuges se convierten en los principales compañeros el uno del otro para el viaje de la vida, hasta la muerte. El viaje hacia el cielo debe ser sostenido mutuamente por los cónyuges. Una vida sacramental y de oración compartida puede contribuir a que el uno ayude al otro a progresar en la santidad.

El camino de la vida matrimonial también es sostenido por las gracias proporcionadas en el sacramento del matrimonio que ayudan a los esposos en su vocación particular de amar y servir a los demás.

Para pensar
Elige una o más de las siguientes preguntas para reflexionar con tu cónyuge:

(a) ¿Cuáles son algunas de las maneras en las cuales experimentas cada día que las elecciones y consecuencias nos acercan o nos alejan de alcanzar la santidad?

(b) ¿De qué manera tu matrimonio te desafía para alcanzar la santidad?

Documentos de la Iglesia
CCC – Catecismo de la Iglesia Católica, Librería Editrice Vaticana, 1993, Vaticano, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM#fonte.

GS – Concilio Vaticano II, Constitución Pastoral sobre la iglesia en el mundo moderno Gaudium et Spes, 7 de diciembre de 1965, Vaticano, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et- spes_en.html.

FC – Papa Juan Pablo II, Exhortación Apostólica Familiaris Consortio, 22 de noviembre de 1981, Vaticano, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul- ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html

LG – Concilio Vaticano II, Constitución Dogmática sobre la Iglesia Lumen Gentium, 21 de noviembre de 1964, Vaticano, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html.

CV – Papa Benedicto XVI, Carta Encíclica Caritas in Veritate, 29 de junio de 2009, Vaticano,

http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html.

Marriage Retreat 2018: “Marriage: School of Life and Love”

Day One: Marriage is a School of Life

Breaking Open the Theme
For those called to the vocation of marriage, it is a school of life. Marriage teaches us about ourselves and others, how to make and maintain good relationships, how to develop character and virtue, and how to love those God gives us as family. The unique relationship between husband and wife is a privileged place for this journey of life where a couple learns how to become the man and woman they are called to be together in a union of life-giving love. Sanctified and fortified by the matrimonial covenant, husband and wife assist one another in “a partnership of the whole of life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1601). Marriage shows in a special way how men and women are made for each other.

In His divine design, God has established marriage as an “intimate community of life and love…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no.1603; see Amoris Laetitia, no. 67). As a community of persons, it reflects the shared life and love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The married couple, therefore, is invited to draw from the divine school of Trinitarian love to learn the lessons of life that pave the walk towards holiness.

Reflection
In our technological age, it can be difficult to put aside the cell phone and laptop to spend some quality time living side by side with those who are most precious to us. Marriages can become strained by the constant ringing and dinging of our devices, which increasingly demand our attention and life can quickly pass us by without noticing or being present to those around us.

Marriage demands a far greater commitment of life than an occasional glance in the direction of our loved one. In order for it to grow and deepen, it needs to be watered and nurtured, cared for and tended to like any delicate form of life. It requires our undivided attention and devotion. It deserves our love and respect. All married couples to some extent experience this learning curve in marriage. It takes time and repetition to learn the lessons that make marriage a school of life.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

What are a few lessons that you have learned at the school of marriage?
How could you improve your ability to learn from one another as a couple?
In what way can you and your spouse improve your “partnership of the whole of life”?

Holy Couples – Saints Louis and Zelie Martin

Prayer of Married Couples
Almighty and eternal God,
You blessed the union of husband and wife
so that we might reflect
the union of Christ with His Church:
look with kindness on us.
Renew our marriage covenant.
Increase your love in us,
and strengthen our bond of peace
so that, [with our children],
we may always rejoice in the gift of your blessing.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Day Two: Marriage Lasts for Life

Breaking Open the Theme

“The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble…” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1614). Marriage is a sacred covenant, a bond “established by God himself” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1640) that is permanent. From the beginning of time, God intended it to be this way, such that “when ‘a man shall leave his father and mother and is joined to his wife, so that the two become one flesh’, there remains in force the law which comes from God himself: ‘What therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder’ (Mt. 19:6)” (Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 12).

Following from the permanency of marriage is its faithfulness and exclusivity: “Married love is also faithful and exclusive of all other, and this until death. […] Though this fidelity of husband and wife sometimes presents difficulties, no one has the right to assert that it is impossible; it is, on the contrary, always honorable and meritorious. The example of countless married couples proves not only that fidelity is in accord with the nature of marriage, but also that it is the source of profound and enduring happiness” (Humanae Vitae, no. 9). “The lasting union expressed by the marriage vows is more than a formality or a traditional formula; it is rooted in the natural inclinations of the human person” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 123). Moreover, the sacramental grace received in marriage between the baptized is available to the husband and wife to assist and strengthen them at every moment—times of joy and times of pain, sadness, and need.

Reflection
Every couple will experience at some point in their marriage times of pain and dissatisfaction. It is to be expected that imperfect people lead to imperfect couples. Perfection and impeccability are not what make for good marriages. A good marriage is one in which husband and wife continue to try and try again. They don’t give up on themselves or on one another (or on God!). Marriage is a lasting commitment to be tenacious in this ongoing relationship to one another. The ability to forgive and start again is the most eloquent expression of faithful love.

In a “throw-away” culture of hook-ups, co-habitation, and pre-nuptial agreements, the commitment to anyone “until death do us part” can be perceived as irresponsible at best or terrifying at worst. Many people desire lasting commitment but at the same time fear it or fear rejection and failure. The Christian way of life challenges us to embrace the grace of God, which makes all things possible and satisfies the innermost desire of men and women for love that lasts.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

Name one or two examples of tension or difficulty in your marriage. How have you worked through these times or plan to?
In what ways, if any, is your fidelity to one another challenged? How can these challenges be met?
How does forgiveness play a part in your marriage? Are there areas that still need to be forgiven?

Holy Couples – Saints Gregory and Nonna

Day Three: Marriage Welcomes Life

Breaking Open the Theme
The Church teaches that there are two ends or purposes of marriage: the unitive – the intimate union of man and woman – and the procreative – the fruit of their union. Married love is life-giving, fruitful. “And if each of these essential qualities, the unitive and the procreative, is preserved, the use of marriage fully retains its sense of true mutual love and its ordination to the supreme responsibility of parenthood to which man is called” (Humanae Vitae, no. 12).

A child is the incomparable gift of marriage between a man and woman. Procreation is a wonderful and awe-inspiring participation in God’s creation. From the beginning of creation, God intended that man and woman partake in this transmission of life “to which marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordered: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it’ (Gen. 1:28)” (Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 6). The gift of human life is meant to arise from a mutual cooperation between God’s love and the love of the couple. Moreover, it is the fruit of the mutual self-giving of the spouses in marriage (see Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 18). This beautiful interplay of cooperation and mutual self-giving are vivid examples of how God continues to create life through those who welcome it.

Reflection
Every married couple forms a community of life around them, but not every couple will experience this through the gift of their own child. This can be a source of great pain and discouragement. Infertility is on the rise in the United States and many couples who dreamed of large families are faced with the unexpected inability to bear children. However, God still wants the couple to partake in His creative love. He desires that every marriage be fruitful. The fruitfulness of Christian marriages “expands and in countless ways makes God’s love present in society” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 184).

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) If you are a parent, how has your child (or children) been a blessing to you? How have you changed for the better since becoming a parent?
(2) If you do not have children, how do you demonstrate the mutual gift of self in other ways that serve as an example to your community? What other life-bearing fruit has God born through you?
(3) Do you know a couple experiencing infertility or miscarriage? How have you accompanied them in their pain?

Holy Couples – Saints Joachim and Anne

Day Four: Marriage is a School of Love

Breaking Open the Theme
“It is a love which is total—that very special form of personal friendship in which husband and wife generously share everything, allowing no unreasonable exceptions and not thinking solely of their own convenience. Whoever really loves his partner loves not only for what he receives, but loves that partner for the partner’s own sake, content to be able to enrich the other with the gift of himself” (Humanae Vitae, no. 9). To love another for his or her own sake requires selfless seeking of the other’s authentic good. This selfless form of friendship takes on new qualities and responsibilities in marriage when our own happiness also depends on it.

Marriage is a school of love because it demands the gift of love each and every day. The source of our love for one another lies beyond ourselves, it is rooted in the love of God: “The order of love belongs to the intimate life of God himself, the life of the Trinity […] Love, which is of God, communicates itself to creatures: ‘God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ (Rom 5:5)” (Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 29). When drawing from the love of God, we can transform our marriages into true friendships of authentic self-giving. Moreover, marriage is “an ‘affective union’, spiritual and sacrificial, which combines the warmth of friendship and erotic passion, and endures long after emotions and passion subside” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 120).

Reflection
Friendship can take many forms, between men and women, gals and pals, and brothers and sisters. The friendship that exists in marriage, however, is an unrepeatable form of friendship that combines both philos (friendship) and eros (attraction), allowing it to take on new dimensions of intimacy and involvement. It can sometimes be difficult to draw the line between what we share with our best friends and what we share with our spouse exclusively. It is important to define ‘friend boundaries’ as couples and recognize that however close we may be with others, there is always something unique to the friendship we cherish with our spouse.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) How do you and your spouse nurture your unique friendship?
(2) Are there any friends who get in the way of your own bonding time?
(3) How can friends of one or the other spouse become friends to both spouses and enrich rather than detract from your marriage?

Holy Couples – Saints Isidore the Farmer and Maria de la Cabeza

Day Five: Marriage Reflects God’s Love

Breaking Open the Theme
“God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is Himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1604). With these words, the Church reminds us that married couples are called to be living signs of God’s love to the world. Moreover, they represent the union of Christ and His Church: “The marriage of those who have been baptized is, in addition, invested with the dignity of a sacramental sign of grace, for it represents the union of Christ and His Church” (Humanae Vitae, no. 8; see Amoris Laetitia, no. 11).

These may seem like impossible expectations. How can married couples be living signs of God’s love and Christ’s love for the Church? It is actually easier than expected. God gives us examples of His love in the Old Testament using the analogy of a man’s love for a woman (see Is. 54:4-8, 10). Israel is His bride with whom He makes a covenant: “On the part of God, the Covenant is a lasting ‘commitment’; he remains faithful to his spousal love even if the bride often shows herself to be unfaithful” (Mulieris Dignitatem, no. 23). In a similar way, Christ nourishes, protects and loves His bride, the Church, composed of us men and women, with a tender love despite her shortcomings. Furthermore, “marriage and the family have been redeemed by Christ and restored in the image of the Holy Trinity, the mystery from which all true love flows” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 63). God does not expect us to love any differently than how He loves: with faithfulness and forgiveness.

Reflection
We all grow up with role models and people to whom we look up as examples of how we want to be. When we think of other married couples whom we admire, what is it about them that attracts us? What is it that we like about the way they carry themselves and interact with each other? What are some of their qualities that we would like to imitate? Do they somehow reflect the love of God? Married couples can be terrific role models, friends, and mentors. Why not reach out to couples who seem to have a ‘special-something’ and ask them their ‘secret’?

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) How do you and your spouse reflect the love of God to others around you and to one another?
(2) Is there a couple at church or in your community that you look up to?
(3) As a married couple, how can you better practice faithfulness and forgiveness?

Holy Couples – Saints Zachary and Elizabeth

Day Six: Marriage Lives by God’s Law of Love

Breaking Open the Theme
“Married love particularly reveals its true nature and nobility when we realize that it takes its origin from God […] Marriage, then, is far from being the effect of chance or the result of the blind evolution of natural forces. It is in reality the wise and provident institution of God the Creator, whose purpose was to effect in man His loving design” (Humanae Vitae, no. 8). If marriage is part of God’s loving design for man and woman, then there are specific laws that He has instituted to guide it. By “preserving intact the whole moral law of marriage, the Church is convinced that she is contributing to the creation of a truly human civilization” (Humanae Vitae, no.18).

The law of marriage is part of God’s law of love that protects human love from manipulation and inauthenticity. This law also governs and protects life, the fruit of love. For this reason, “to experience the gift of married love while respecting the laws of conception is to acknowledge that one is not the master of the sources of life but rather the minister of the design established by the Creator” (Humanae Vitae, no.13). Thus, “the Church’s teaching is meant to help couples to experience in a complete, harmonious and conscious way their communion as husband and wife, together with their responsibility for procreating life” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 82). Love and life, therefore, are designed and guided by God’s law, allowing for their natural flourishing and fulfillment.

Reflection
Some couples struggle with God’s law governing the sanctity of sexual intercourse, reserved for marriage, as a one-flesh union open to life. There is a natural, God-given means for the regulation of birth (commonly called Natural Family Planning), which allows couples to responsibly welcome life as their situations allow. There is no reason, therefore, to fear that God or the Church unreasonably expects more than a couple can give. If you or another couple is confused by the Church’s teaching on the natural regulation of births, talk to your priest or diocesan family life director. More information can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/marriage-and-family/natural-family-planning/index.cfm.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) Do I understand what the Church teaches about the regulation of births? Am I aware of a natural family planning alternative to contraception?
(2) How can I support or help educate another couple that struggles with this issue?
(3) What does following God’s law of love mean to my spouse and me? Does it impact the way we look at our marriage?

Holy Couples – Blessed Luigi and Maria Beltrame

Day Seven: Marriage as a Domestic Church

Breaking Open the Theme
“In humble obedience then to her voice, let Christian husbands and wives be mindful of their vocation to the Christian life, a vocation which, deriving from their Baptism, has been confirmed anew and made more explicit by the Sacrament of Matrimony. For by this sacrament they are strengthened and, one might almost say, consecrated to the faithful fulfillment of their duties. Thus will they realize to the full their calling and bear witness as becomes them, to Christ before the world. For the Lord has entrusted to them the task of making visible to men and women the holiness and joy of the law which united inseparably their love for one another and the cooperation they give to God’s love, God who is the Author of human life.” (Humanae Vitae, no. 25)

The early Church understood the Christian family as an ecclesia domestica or domestic church. The domestic Church rests on the foundation of a baptized husband and wife. They establish a communion of love into which children are welcomed. By creating a home where love, care, and growth in the faith flourish among family members, married couples reflect the life of the Church in the world.

By the power of the Holy Spirit working in the married couple, they “are consecrated and by means of a special grace build up the Body of Christ and form a domestic church, so that the Church, in order fully to understand her mystery, looks to the Christian family, which manifests her in a real way” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 67).

By their reception of the sacrament of marriage, Christian parents “become ministers of their children’s education. In educating them, they build up the Church, and in so doing, they accept a God-given vocation” (Amoris Laetitia, no. 85). In the family, parents teach their children how to pray, how to embrace God’s loving commandments, and how to grow in virtue and holiness.

Reflection
Family is the fundamental unit of society. Strong families lead to strong societies and nations. Without the family, our social, political, and cultural spheres would be deeply shaken to the core. Unfortunately, there are already signs of a weakened societal framework due to the breakdown of family structure. The Church also depends on the family, calling it to be a beacon, a reflection of God’s people. The family begins with the marriage between a man and a woman, united by God. Within their home, the couple nurtures the life of a domestic church by welcoming new life and fostering love in their midst. In this way, they give witness to Christ and build the Kingdom of God.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) List five ways your family or you and your spouse are striving to be a domestic church.
(2) How do you and your family live a sacramental life? Is that sacramental life reflected in your home? How could it be improved?
(3) Do you and your family give testimony to your faith by witnessing to friends and acquaintances?

Holy Couples – Saints Aquila and Priscilla

Marriage Retreat 2019 – Marriage: Made for a Reason

Also available as a printable PDF.

Day One – Marriage: Made by God

Breaking Open the Theme
Despite many variations throughout cultures, societies, and religions, marriage has always been regarded as a sacred bond that expresses a deep, committed form of mutual love. Marriage is not, however, purely a human institution: “the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws … God himself is the author of marriage” (GS, 48).

How is God the author of marriage?

First, “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them ” (Gen. 1:27). Since man and woman are created in the image of God, who is Love, man and woman carry an innate calling to love. Marriage responds to a fundamental desire and need to give and receive love.

Second, as male and female, God created man and woman with a physical complementarity that is uniquely able to collaborate in His work of creation. The very nature of man and woman is prepared for the possibility of marriage and the welcoming of new life.

Third, Holy Scripture affirms that it is good for a man and woman to belong to one another and form a bond of communion: “It is not good for the man to be alone” (Gen. 2:18) …. ” That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife, and the two of them become one body (Gen. 2:24). In the New Testament, Jesus invokes God’s original plan for mankind as an unbreakable union of two lives by recalling the plan of the Creator in the beginning: “So they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mt. 19:6).

In the divine plan, marriage is the exclusive, indissoluble communion of life and love entered by one man and one woman. Between two baptized Christians, this covenant is a sacrament.

Reflection
As Catholics, an understanding of God’s plan for marriage and family is an essential part of living the call to holiness. Catholic spouses are blessed with the certainty that the sacrament of marriage provides the graces necessary to become sanctified as husband and wife, father and mother. This grace endows the marriage covenant with strength and fortifies it in moments of difficulty. It also carries over into the domestic church, the home, where the family grows and becomes a witness to God’s love for others.

God’s plan for marriage is not restricted to Catholics, however. As explained above, it is rooted in the nature and identity of man and woman created in God’s image. The dignity of marriage with its specific purpose and characteristics is a good to uphold and defend to the benefit of all people.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

What makes marriage distinctive compared to other relationships? Why are love and commitment in marriage unique? What does it mean to say that God created marriage in the very same moment that he created the human person?
As a couple, how are we complementary in our needs, desires, and attributes? How does God endow us with different gifts, as man and woman, that contribute to the marriage?
How can we, as a couple, bear witness to the beauty and wisdom of God’s design for marriage?

Day Two – Marriage: Made for Love

Breaking Open the Theme
Marriage between one man and one woman responds to the deepest longing of the human heart for love and belonging. We yearn to be loved and to receive love. The same can be said of family life: in a family, children are received to be loved and to love in return.

Despite human shortcomings, the married couple and the family are reflections of God who is three divine persons in a communion of love. In marriage, the man and the woman become “one body” (Gen 2: 24), a communion of love that generates new life. In a similar way, the human family becomes a communion of love by the exchange of giving and receiving love between its members.

Marriage and family life are schools of love. They teach us how to reach a communion of love within the context of daily life: full of joys, sacrifices, trials, and hopes. In all of this, love is purified and perfected, made authentic and complete. As Christ’s sacrifice on the cross exemplified, love is laying down one’s life for another. Spouses and family members are called to do the same, each and every day.

Reflection
Despite our best efforts to love faithfully and unconditionally, marriage and family life can be difficult and challenge our ability to love continually. The marital love that is blessed by the sacrament of marriage is fortified and sustained, however, by a unique grace intended to “perfect the couple’s love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity” (CCC, 1641). By virtue of this grace, the couple helps one another to attain holiness.

The source of this grace is Christ. “Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony” (GS, 48). Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to “be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love” (CCC, 1642).

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

What makes the love of man and woman unique, especially within the marital relationship? What makes the love of family members a communion of persons?
How are our marriage and family schools of love? As a couple and family, do we demonstrate a communion of love that is self-giving, pure, and sacrificial?
As a couple, how do we rely on the grace of the sacrament of marriage to assist us in moments of challenge and difficulty?

Day Three – Marriage: Made for Each Other

Breaking Open the Theme
God created man and woman together and willed each for the other. “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suited to him” (Gen. 2:18). The woman that God ‘fashions’ from the man’s rib elicits from the man a cry of wonder, an exclamation of love and communion: “This one, at last, is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” (Gen. 2:23). This beautiful account from the book of Genesis of the creation of Eve from Adam’s side demonstrates how woman was created specifically as a helper, companion, and suitable partner for man. Unlike any other created being, man discovers woman as another ‘I’, as sharing the same humanity (see CCC, 371).

“Man and woman were made ‘for each other’ – not that God left them half-made and incomplete: he created them to be a communion of persons, in which each can be ‘helpmate’ to the other, for they are equal as persons (“bone of my bones…”) and complementary as masculine and feminine” (CCC, 372).

Because they are equal as persons in their humanity, but complementary in their differences as masculine and feminine, man and woman contribute unique gifts to the marriage, especially the physical differences of their bodies which allow for the transmission of human life. Only through sexual difference can a husband and a wife give themselves completely to one another.

True marital union, therefore, is not possible without sexual difference; for this reason, sexual difference is essential to marriage. Sexual difference is the necessary starting point for understanding why protecting and promoting marriage as the union of one man and one woman isn’t arbitrary or discriminatory. Rather, it’s a matter of justice, truth, love, and real freedom. Only a man and a woman—at every level of their identity: biological, physiological, emotional, social, spiritual—are capable of authentically speaking the language of married love, that is, the language of total self-gift, open to the gift of the other and the gift of life.

Reflection
Our maleness or femaleness is essential to our identity as persons. Our gender is not something that is pasted onto us as an after-thought, or that is an incidental part of who we are. Male and female are two different ways of being a human person, body and soul. When we deny our identity as sexually differentiated beings, we diminish our humanity.

A conjugal or marital union comes about only through sexual difference. Only a husband and a wife have the space or capacity to truly receive each other’s distinctive sexual gift, and only a husband and a wife can make a gift of their selves to the other in that way. The beauty of the Church’s teaching on marriage, grounded in this anthropological foundation, sheds light on the responsibility of man and woman to collaborate with God in His plan for the human race.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) How do reason and faith not conflict when it comes to marriage? In other words, how does the sacrament of marriage, which is between a baptized man and a baptized woman, build upon, and not detract from, the basic and reasonable truths at the heart of every marriage?
(2) Do you think sexual difference, man to woman and woman to man, is understood and appreciated today? Why or why not?
(3) As a couple, how can you help others reflect on the importance of sexual difference and complementarity?

Day Four – Marriage: Made for Life

Breaking Open the Theme
“Male and female he created them. God blessed and God said to them: ‘Be fertile and multiply’” (Gen. 1:27-28).

Marriage is the natural human context wherein a child is properly conceived and welcomed into life as the “supreme gift of marriage” (GS, 50). And in this stance of openness and welcoming, meant to mark every aspect of married love, a husband and a wife grow closer to each other. Making a gift of himself or herself to the other as spouses and being open to children is one and the same choice and act. As Pope John Paul II taught, “Thus the couple, while giving themselves to one another, give not just themselves but also the reality of children, who are a living reflection of their love, a permanent sign of conjugal unity and a living and inseparable synthesis of their being a father and a mother” (FC, 14).

In other words, in marriage, love and life are inseparable. This is what the Church means when she teaches that the unitive and procreative meanings of married love are inseparable. In embracing each other, husband and wife embrace their capacity to conceive a child and are called to do nothing deliberate to close part of themselves to the gift of the other.

This does not mean that a child will be conceived from every act of sexual intimacy. Marriage is not a mechanical factory for the mass production of children. The Church teaches couples in their openness to life to practice responsible parenthood by discerning whether or not they have serious reasons, in keeping with God’s plan for marriage, to postpone becoming a father and a mother here and now.

“The fundamental task of the family is to serve life, to actualize in history the original blessing of the Creator – that of transmitting by procreation the divine image from person to person. (…) However, the fruitfulness of conjugal love is not restricted solely to the procreation of children, even understood in its specifically human dimension: it is enlarged and enriched by all those fruits of moral, spiritual and supernatural life which the father and mother are called to hand on to their children, and through the children to the Church and to the world” (FC, 28).

Reflection
Any honest consideration of marriage must think about children, the hope of our future. For millennia, people of every generation and of every culture have understood that the marriage of a man and a woman is the central pro-child social institution and the rock of the natural family. Marriage brings together a man and a woman who unite as husband and wife to form a unique relationship open to welcoming and caring for new life. As the union of husband and wife, marriage is a union open from within to the blessing of fruitfulness. Children are born “from the very heart” of marriage, from the mutual self-giving between husband and wife (CCC, no. 2366). They are the “supreme gift” of marriage and its “ultimate crown” (GS, nos. 50, 48).

Just as plants need the proper elements not only to begin to grow but also to flourish, children need the proper elements as well. It takes a man and a woman, with God’s help, to bring a child into existence. It makes sense that if sexual difference is essential for the beginning of life, it is also vital for the caring of that life. Mothers and fathers matter for the duration of a child’s life.

Marriage is the institution meant to ensure that a child is welcomed as a gift to be nurtured and raised by the uniquely different love that only a mother and a father can give. Just as a seedling needs the presence of soil, sunlight, and water to grow and flourish, so too a child needs the natural foundation of life and love uniquely provided in the loving marriage of a man and a woman open to the gift of a child.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) How are openness to life and sexual difference related? Why is this important for understanding the meaning of marriage?
(2) How do you understand and embrace the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of human life, including the Church’s teaching on the use of contraception?
(3) In what way can you witness as a couple to the sanctity and dignity of human life and the importance of mothers and fathers in the lives of their children?

Day Five – Marriage: Made for Freedom

Breaking Open the Theme
“Jesus answered them, ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a household forever, but a son always remains. So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free’” (Jn. 8:34-36).The

Dominican moral theologian, Servais Pinckaers (1925-2008), identified two concepts of freedom that are in contrast to one another: freedom of indifference and freedom for excellence.

“Freedom of indifference” means seeing freedom as open and neutral toward all the available options. Every choice, in so far as it is a choice, is equally free. It is the freedom to not be forced to do anything (“freedom from coercion”). If freedom is really unconnected to any other aspect of the person or objective truth, then choosing to murder another person is just as “free” a decision as choosing to buy a meal for a homeless person. Of course, anyone would say that the person helping out another person is “using” their freedom better than the murderer, but is that saying enough? Is it just a question of using our freedom well or badly? Freedom of indifference says yes, those two people are equally free to choose good or evil.

In contrast, if you understand freedom as the “freedom for excellence”, you would say that the murderer is actually less free than the charitable giver. In doing something that is wrong, in acting against the true, objective order of things, the person choosing evil is actually diminishing or losing his (or her) freedom. It is in fact an abuse of freedom. It will not bring him (or her) happiness. Therefore, it is not a truly free choice. The freedom for excellence is the freedom to do good: the freedom to become who you are meant to be.

True freedom then is the capacity to love in truth and to choose the good. This echoes the words of the Catechism: “The more one does what is good, the freer one becomes,” and “true freedom” comes “in the service of what is good and just” (CCC, 1733).

Rightly ordered freedom, which serves true happiness, is service to others. This freedom corresponds to what a person is called to be: a gift for others.

Reflection
Marriage between a baptized man and woman requires the free consent of the will. The two spouses consent freely to make a gift of self to the other. The Catechism clarifies that to be free, the consent “must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear” (CCC, 1628). By means of the consent, the spouses mutually give themselves to each other and become ‘one body’. The consent of the spouses is received by the priest (or deacon) in the name of the Church, followed by the blessing of the Church.

In many ways, the consent to marry is one of the most profound acts of human freedom. It is an act of freedom for excellence which opens new possibilities of greater excellence and happiness. When exercised together, husband and wife demonstrate a joint effort to become more truly who they are called to be by their sincere gifts of self.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) How does freedom for excellence correspond better to a Christian vision of the human person than freedom of indifference?
(2) In what ways has freedom been abused in the name of a false freedom and how has this affected marriage?
(3) Marriage in the Church requires a free consent of the will by both spouses. How was your marriage a choice made freely for excellence: in the freedom to become who you are meant to be?

Day Six – Marriage: Made for the Common Good

Breaking Open the Theme
“To love someone is to desire that person’s good and to take effective steps to secure it. Besides the good of the individual, there is a good that is linked to living in society: the common good. It is the good of ‘all of us’, made up of individuals, families and intermediate groups who together constitute society (CV, 7).

The common good is everyone’s responsibility. The efforts we make on a daily basis to be attentive to the needs of others are a contribution to the common good. The family is an essential component of the common good, rooted in marriage between a man and woman.

Healthy marriages model many virtues and good habits that are vital for social life. For example, joyful and sacrificial love between a man and a woman in marriage serves as an example to their children of what it means to love other people in general. Marriage advances a “genuine human ecology,” which includes a respect for and proper understanding of the human body and sexuality. At a fundamental and basic level, an intact marriage between husband and wife remains the most fertile source and well-integrated environment for new members of society.

Children who are raised in homes with their own married mother and father enjoy stability that no other family structure offers. If we consider these points, it becomes clear that marriage is important to the common good of society – the institution of marriage, properly understood as a man and a woman, bound to one another and their children, helps everyone in the society to flourish. It encourages young men and women to make promises to one another if they want to be “a couple”; it gives a societal recognition of such a promise and the community’s investment in helping the couple to keep it; and it gives children the stable homes they deserve.

Reflection
“The family founded on marriage is an irreplaceable natural institution and a fundamental element of the common good of every society” (Pope John Paul II, Address to the participants in the plenary assembly of the Pontifical Council of the Family, November 20, 2004).

The Catechism lists three essential components of the common good: respect for the person, social well-being and development, and peace. (CCC, 1905-1917) In other words, society should be ordered in such a way that people will find it easier to be good, to develop their gifts and capacities in peace, carrying out their duties and responsibilities without having to struggle against oppression or fear, able to act according to their consciences. The common good is meant to ensure that people may live a “truly human life” (CCC, no. 1908).

Strong marriages – marriages in which a man and a woman stay together for their entire lives – are good for society as well as for the couple themselves. They serve as examples to the community of the virtues of love, fidelity, and perseverance. They demonstrate the capacity of the human being to live up to his or her promises.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) What are the three ways marriage is good for the entire society?
(2) How does your marriage contribute to your own capacity and growth as a person? How does this in turn contribute to the benefit of your family and society?
(3) In what ways do you recognize the benefit to the common good of a stable marriage between man and woman?

Day Seven – Marriage: Made for Eternity

Breaking Open the Theme
Man is created to know, to love, and to serve Him in this life and enjoy His presence for eternity. The eternal reward is a beatitude which surpasses all human understanding. It is the gift of true happiness that comes from seeking the love of God above all else. The path to holiness or beatitude is paved with choices and consequences; homage to God or wealth; service to self or neighbor.

All Christians in every state or walk of life are called to holiness, or the perfection of charity. “In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ’s gift, so that . . . doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor” (LG, 40). The way of perfection also passes by way of the Cross which calls for sacrifice, mortification, and dying to self.

Reflection
Marriage is an opportunity to become holy. On their wedding day, the spouses become each other’s primary companion for life’s journey until death. The journey towards heaven should be sustained by one’s spouse. A sacramental and prayerful life shared together can contribute to helping one another progress in holiness.

The journey of married life is also sustained by the graces provided in the sacrament of marriage which assist the spouses in their particular vocation to love and serve one another.

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

(1) What are some ways in which you experience daily the choices and consequences that bring us closer or farther from reaching holiness?
(2) In what ways does your marriage challenge you to become holy?
(3) Do you believe that you are each called to beatitude with God? How do you sustain one another in the walk towards holiness?

Church Documents
CCC – Catechism of the Catholic Church, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1993, Vatican, http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM#fonte.

GS – Vatican Council II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World Gaudium et Spes, December 7,1965, Vatican, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_cons_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html.

FC – Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Familiaris Consortio, November 22, 1981, Vatican, http://w2.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio.html.

LG – Vatican Council II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium, November 21,1964, Vatican, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html.

CV – Pope Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Caritas in Veritate, June 29, 2009, Vatican,
http://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_ben-xvi_enc_20090629_caritas-in-veritate.html.

For a version of this retreat with only one day per page, head over to our Virtual Retreat Homepage.

“School” Retreat Day Three: Marriage Welcomes Life

To Think About
(Choose one or more of the following questions to reflect on by yourself and/or with your spouse)

Holy Couples – Saints Joachim and Anne

Virtual Retreat Homepage

Celebrating Advent as a Family

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment… But we cannot pray ‘at all times’ if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it” (CCC 2697). We come before the Lord with a desire for ‘a new heart’ when we find time for prayer throughout our day. The Church invites us to pray in many different ways. We can recite the Rosary, pray the liturgy of the hours, learn about the lives of the saints, celebrate the liturgical year through feast days, lift up our hearts in song or silence, and above all participate in the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. If we take time to pray at ‘specific times’, our home will be filled with prayer at ‘all times’.

The season of Advent (from the Latin word “adventus”, meaning “coming”) is the time of preparation for the birth of Christ. It is a time of longing and waiting for his ‘coming’. It should be a time filled with joy when we ponder the gift of God’s love, open our hearts to receive and open our hands to give. Advent begins the liturgical year. It begins on the Sunday closest to the last day in November.

Advent traditions are numerous. We do not always know their exact origin, but they have been lived in the hearts of the faithful. If traditions are lived and understood, they can bring families closer to Christ and transform the hearts of those who participate in them. How can we introduce some Advent traditions into our families this Advent season?

Advent Wreath – The wreath is circular and made of evergreens symbolizing the eternity of God. Seeds and fruit we may place on the wreath represent life and resurrection. There are four candles on the wreath, each representing one week of Advent. The three purple candles stand for prayer and penance. The rose candle is lit on the third Sunday (the “Gaudete Sunday”) and it symbolizes joy – “gaudium” in Latin – as we draw closer to the birth of Christ. The light that the wreath brings symbolizes Christ Himself – our Light. Take a family walk on the first Sunday of Advent and collect everything you will need for the Advent wreath. Make it together as a family and talk with your children about the rich symbolism. Have the wreath blessed by a priest, or read a family blessing of the wreath at home. Place it in a visible spot where your family gathers often. Light it during your evening prayer or at meal times.

Nativity Scene – Saint Francis of Assisi began the custom of the nativity scenes when he celebrated Christmas with his brothers at Greccio in 1223 with a Bethlehem scene which included live animals. This tradition quickly spread and people began to construct their own nativity scenes in their homes. Children take a great joy in helping to set up a nativity scene. The crèche may be made from various materials. Simplicity and beauty go often hand in hand. You may set up your entire scene at the beginning of Advent, leaving the crib empty for the Christ Child to arrive on Christmas Eve. Or you may set up the scene slowly, day by day. We like to hide one figure (an animal, or a branch…) each day of Advent, have our children search for it, and then place it around the manger. Joseph and Mary arrive to Bethlehem last. On Christmas Eve, the youngest child finds a small golden package under the Christmas tree with the figure of the Baby Jesus. We place it together in our crèche. Mary and Joseph can also ‘travel’ to Bethlehem, as they move slowly across your room every day until they reach the cave.

Advent Carols – The tradition of caroling is owed to Saint Francis as well. Children especially enjoy the beauty and joy expressed in Christmas Carols. However, Christmas carols should be sung at Christmas. During Advent, we are still waiting. Our music should express this waiting and longing for the Messiah. There are many beautiful Advent Hymns. Learn one new hymn every week of Advent with your family. Your waiting will be rewarded with a profound joy at Christmas time. [Editor’s note: Advent hymns can be found in your parish hymnal. For an online list of popular and lesser-known Advent hymns, see The Cyber Hymnal or Hymns of Advent.]

Jesse Tree – Jesse Tree is an old tradition depicting the relationship of Jesus with Jesse and other biblical figures who were the ancestors of Jesus. Jesse was the father of King David. He is often looked upon as the first person in the genealogy of Jesus. For your own Jesse Tree, a branch can be placed into a pot or a large vase at the beginning of Advent and every day a new ornament can be hung onto it.

These ornaments represent the individual figures from the two Testaments. They can be made out of paper, felt, clay, wood, or other materials. As the children place the ornaments onto the branch, the father of the family can read an appropriate Scripture passage that talks about the given ancestor of Jesus. There are many passages that can be chosen and many symbols that can represent various figures. Each family can create their own list of figures and their symbols. [Editor’s note: this webpage shows one example of Jesse tree ornaments; this webpage provides suggested readings and symbols for each of the Jesse tree ornaments.]

The Crib for the Christ Child – A small wooden crib can be displayed somewhere in your home. This empty crib can be filled with a new piece of straw every day for acts of kindness and small sacrifices. Encourage your children to notice goodness in others, instead of focusing on their own deeds and accomplishments. By the end of Advent, the crib should be filled with straw. On Christmas Eve, children can place a small figure of Baby Jesus in his soft bed of hay.

Advent Angels – At the beginning of Advent each family member can blindly pick a name of another member of the family and become his or her Advent angel. Prayers, sacrifices and acts of kindness can be offered and exercised daily. During the Christmas season small homemade gifts can be exchanged between the ‘angels’. This prolongs the joy of Christmas, encourages creativity and teaches children (and adults) to discover unique talents they can share with others.

Preparing our homes – Our homes should reflect our readiness for Christ’s birth. Clean your home together, simplify, share. Children can help to prepare a box for the poor and the lonely. You can donate extra clothing and household items, bake cookies together and share them or save them for the joyous time of Christmas. Begin working on Christmas cards and gifts early in Advent so that you can ‘rest your heart’ during the final days of Advent.

Preparing our hearts – Just as we prepare our homes, we should prepare our hearts. This is the time for a frequent sacrament of reconciliation, for a longer family prayer, and for lots of Advent reading together. This is the time when family can draw closer to the mystery of Christ’s Incarnation.

Celebrating the saints’ feast days – There are many beautiful feast days during Advent to celebrate. I will mention just a few. You can honor Saint Nicholas (December 6) by learning about his life. Prepare a play about him, or learn a hymn in his honor. Recalling the legend of the three daughters, place your shoes by the fireplace on the eve of the feast and wait for the saint’s ‘visit’. (In many European countries, Saint Nicholas visits families in person. He joins them for family prayers, blesses the children and leaves oranges, nuts and golden coins for each one of them. Children write letters to the Christ Child and deliver them through Saint Nicholas. These letters are filled with the children’s thanks for the past year and with their hopes for the year to come). You can make candles on the feast of Saint Ambrose (December 7), the patron saint of candle makers. While remembering our Mother Mary, you can also prepare a small gift for an expectant mother you know on the feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8).

Decorate your house with lights on the Feast of Saint Lucy (December 13), whose name means ‘light’. According to an old Swedish custom, dress your oldest daughter in white and let her wake up the family with a candle-lit breakfast. Remember our Lady of Guadalupe with a Mexican meal, roses or poinsettias. Craft with your children, sing, celebrate, eat your meals together, find time… Prepare your homes and hearts for Christ!

An old German Advent Carol sings about the Christ Child carried under Mary’s heart as she wanders through the wood where nothing grew for seven years. As she walks through the forest, roses begin to bloom everywhere. May we carry Christ with Mary this Advent season. And may the roses bloom!

About the author
Maruška Healy, originally from the Czech Republic, is a graduate of the International Theological Institute in Gaming, Austria. She and her husband currently reside in Maryland where they homeschool their children.

The Blessing of “Unanswered Prayers”: An Adoption Story

I am still in awe of how abundantly my husband Tom and I have been blessed. Like country music star Garth Brooks states so well in one of his songs, “I thank God for unanswered prayers”. For years we prayed so hard to conceive a child. We could not even begin to have known how much more joy God’s plan for us would bring.

Early years of marriage: waiting for a child

Tom and I met during our freshmen year of college so we knew each other fairly well when we married a year after college. At the time of our marriage, we were aware that my medical history of severe endometriosis might make conception difficult. (Endometriosis is a common health problem in women in which the tissue that lines the uterus grows outside of the uterus and on other organs of the body.) We were lucky in that we had the opportunity to discuss this before marriage as well as the fact that adoption was an option that we were both comfortable exploring. But it didn’t make pregnancy announcements from friends and family any less difficult as we clung to the hope of conception for five years.

One of the most challenging part of those years of trying to conceive was attempting to navigate the world of fertility treatments and their moral implications. At that time we had only a vague sense that most fertility treatments were in opposition to the Church’s moral teachings. (We have only in recent years come to understand the richness and beauty of the Church’s wisdom on this. [1]) Nonetheless, we stayed true to Church teaching and began exploring adoption.

Beginning the adoption process

For at least a year, we attended multiple information sessions of state run adoption programs, private agency programs, and even met with an adoption consultant. Because we desired a newborn baby, we ruled out international programs and chose to pursue private domestic (within the US) adoption. Most children adopted from overseas are older than infancy.

I was in graduate school in Boston at the time and had a faculty member who had just adopted a baby. I set up a meeting with the same private agency that she used and we quickly compiled the vast ream of paperwork that the agency required. (By the end of this process, I think that the agency knew more about us than our own parents did!)

Our application was submitted in January 2000. We then began a series of home study meetings with the agency. Contrary to popular media’s portrayal of these meetings as involving a stern looking woman entering your home for a white-glove inspection, nothing could be further from the truth. The social workers that we met with were partially there to assess our motives and suitability to become adoptive parents. At the same time, their goal was also to try to help prepare us for the process, experiences, and possibly even challenges that adoption could bring to our lives.

Receiving the call

Although the matching process can vary by agency, these days, many private agencies give the birthparents the opportunity to select their baby’s adoptive parents. So we prepared a photo album that gave a sense of who we were and we wrote a letter to the birthparents to be included in the album. The agency then forwarded albums to the birthparents so they could choose an adoptive family for their child. I can only speculate, but I think that getting the call from an agency saying you’ve been selected by birthparents and the match has been made is somewhat synonymous to getting the much coveted call from the doctor’s office saying that your blood test was indeed positive for a pregnancy. From this point, the little girl whose birthmother had chosen us to adopt her child was, in our minds and hearts, fully our child. There is a saying that a biological child grows in the mother’s tummy but an adopted child grows in the parents’ hearts. Nothing could be more true.

In August 2000, our first child, Katie was born. Unlike many couples who are blessed with a more direct path to parenthood, we took nothing for granted with our blessing. We “fought” for our turn to change her diaper (weird, huh?), feed her, and hold her.

Adopting again

In May 2002, Tom had a new job and we were preparing to move to another part of the state. Katie and I were having breakfast with a friend who asked if we were planning to adopt again. It seemed like a crazy time to proceed since we were trying to sell one house and were in the middle of building a new one. Her questions seemed to light a fire in me though, and I became a woman on a mission. The details fell easily into place (despite the fact that we had to change adoption agencies) and by June 2002, we had submitted our second adoption application. Even though we had so much on our plates with a toddler, a move, and an impending adoption, I felt a profound peace from that day in May straight through to the day in January, 2003 when we were blessed with the birth of our second daughter, Meaghan. (I was even fortunate enough to be at the birth!) Meaghan was born in Georgia, which required a two week stay as we waited for the legalities of the adoption process to be finalized. Gratefully, we were blessed with mild Georgia weather while our home state was buried in snow and a record-breaking cold spell.

A boy and a girl!

In December 2004, we submitted our third application for adoption. The process was uneventful and much easier by the third time. Katie was four years old at this point and whenever we asked her if she thought this third child would be a boy or girl, she confidently replied “Both!” We would soon discover that she must have had a direct line to God. Our son, Andrew, was born in Ohio in September 2005. Once again, we remained in Ohio for a couple of weeks as we awaited the legal process.

The day after we returned home, I was sorting through a box of baby clothes (and putting away the pinks and purples), when I was moved with a profound longing for another little girl. Now, mind you, I was thrilled to have Andrew in our life. He was a sweet and easy little baby. So, I was befuddled why my heart felt this so keenly. One week later, I had my answer.

When Andrew was only three weeks old, the adoption agency that we worked with to adopt Katie called to inform us that Katie’s birthmother was pregnant again and wanted to know if we would be interested in adopting this child who was due in four months. I suddenly understood my strangely timed interior longing for another girl and chuckled as I reflected on Katie’s childlike prophesy of “a boy and a girl.” I knew, without a moment’s hesitation, scared as I was by the situation, that this was God’s plan for our family. Molly was born in January 2006, and once again I was blessed to be present at the birth.

Life as an adoptive family

Almost eight years after the birth of my fourth child, I rarely think about the fact that these are adopted children. I just know that they are “our children”. They know that they are adopted and it comes up periodically in conversations. They just started at a new school and were commenting on how people often don’t believe them when they say that they were adopted. Minimally, we reflect on it at that point each year around their birthdays when we send letters and photos to their birthparents (via the agency). Otherwise, at this point we have no direct contact with the birthparents. I have no doubt that at some point, some or maybe even all of our children will seek out a meeting with their birthparents. When that time comes, and they are of the appropriate age and maturity to do so, Tom and I will stand by them and support them in this process of self-understanding.

There are times when something like completing parental health history on their medical forms call to mind that they are adopted. There are also the occasional school projects about the students’ ethnicity that creep up. Otherwise, we chuckle on the many occasions when Tom or I have been told how much our children look just like us!

I would be misleading you if I told you that it was all easy. The adoption application process, at times, felt profoundly invasive. But if you talk with many new mothers, I think they might describe the birthing process as rather invasive. There are some challenges that are unique to adoptive mothers and fathers. It is difficult to explain to adopted children that just because they were “given up” for adoption, it does not mean that they were not “wanted”. (The term used more widely now is “placed for adoption,” which helps highlight the selfless generosity of birthparents in choosing an adoptive family for their child.) When we reflect on our children’s future weddings, we understand that there is a remote possibility that we might have to share the “parent pew” with their biological parents. Then we remember that these four little blessings were only given to us to “borrow” for a short period of time, but they don’t belong to us, or to their biological parents. They belong to God.

About the author
MaryPat and her husband Tom, shown above with their children, have been happily married for 20 years, regardless of the fact that they have very few common interests – except for God and family – proving that opposites really do attract! MaryPat worked in college admissions and as a high school guidance counselor until she became the full-time mother of four adopted and much beloved children. With all four children now enrolled in school, MaryPat has begun working with families as an Independent Educational Consultant through her new business, Compass College Advisors. Tom is employed in the banking industry and spends his time sharing his deep love of the Catholic faith with anyone willing to listen. They reside in the Archdiocese of Boston.

Notes
[1] See USCCB document about infertility and ethical reproductive treatments: “Life-Giving Love in an Age of Technology” (2009).

Fall Resolutions to Spark Your Marriage

Has your marriage fallen into a rut? Even good marriages go through the doldrums. The arrival of Fall, however, can bring new energy and purpose. Why not use this energy to reinvigorate your marriage? Here are four suggestions.

1. Read a book. Would you like to learn more about strengthening a new marriage, or dealing with the challenges of a long-established marriage? How about maximizing your time together, or raising faith-filled children? All these topics, and many more, have been the subject of our Book of the Month feature. Check out our reviews and find the perfect book to read and discuss together.

2. Try something new–together. Sign up for a class, anything from yoga to current affairs. Set aside one night each week to cook a new dish. Plan a day trip to a nearby town or historic site you haven’t yet seen.

3. Volunteer in the parish. Pope Saint John Paul II reminded married couples that their witness to love and life should extend beyond the immediate family. In focus groups with married couples, many participants said that volunteering in their parish helped to strengthen their marriage. Opportunities abound: teaching in the religious education program; serving as lectors or extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion; sponsoring a candidate in RCIA; or helping to organize the parish’s fall festival.

4. How about a Date Night? Don’t wait for the New Year; make a Fall Resolution to have a regular Date Night. Take turns planning your date, or compile a list of things you’d like to do on your date and work through it. We’ve put together some ideas for no cost, low cost, outdoors and at-home dates.

Resolving Differences

The Situation

We have only been married a short time, and things are going pretty well between us, but something that concerns me is that we don’t really solve problems. One of us raises an issue, we talk about it a little, and then we let it drop. For instance, I think he watches too much TV. When I complain he says “sorry” and then just goes back to watching sports every night. He thinks I spend too much money on unnecessary things, so I just don’t show him the things I buy any more.

What worries me is that eventually, when we have a real problem we can’t avoid, we won’t know how to deal with it. Are there any strategies for a couple like us to use?

A Response

Your situation is not an uncommon one in early marriage, but you are smart to want to learn some conflict resolution techniques before you have a major dilemma on your hands. There’s no reason to assume that solving conflicts would come naturally. It’s a skill you learn and then practice, so that you develop “muscle memory,” a response that will come more easily when you are in a conflictual situation.

The first step in bringing up a problem is to start with an appreciation for the other person. In the situation above, you might begin by saying, “I appreciate how hard you work. You really make me feel like our future is secure because you have such a good work ethic.” This is the person you love and chose to marry so surely there is something in the situation that you appreciate or admire. Then move on to your view of the current situation. “I know when you come in you want to relax, but when you watch sports all evening I feel like there’s no time for us.”

The next step is for the other person to make sure they have heard their partner’s concern correctly. In this example your husband might say, “So you feel like I’m watching too much TV?”

This may or may not be what you were saying. You might be objecting to watching too much TV, or you might be saying TV is okay, but let’s watch something other than sports. It’s important for both people to know that they are addressing the same concern.

If he doesn’t have it right, then tell him. Say, “No, that’s not it. I just don’t know much about football or hockey, so I can’t share with you when that’s what you’re watching. We could watch a game show together, or a mystery, or a movie at least some of the time. I like all those things.”

Once he understands what your concern is, then you can work to find a compromise. One night, your husband might watch the game; the next, the two of you can watch a movie of your choosing.

The same approach would work with a spouse who spends too much. He expresses his appreciation (“I appreciate that you want our home to look attractive”) and raises his concern about the family budget. She lets him know she’s heard his concern. Finally, they reach a compromise. There are many different solutions. The right one is the one that feels fair and comfortable to the two of you.

Sometimes, though, the conflict is about something one person did that is wrong; it’s not just a difference of opinion. If she ran up the credit card debt, if he got a speeding ticket and had his license suspended–those situations would be harder to deal with.

That kind of conflict requires one person to apologize, which is another habit worth cultivating. Apologizing is not the casual “sorry” that doesn’t have any real contrition behind it. A real apology is an admission that something has happened to offend the other person. It means taking responsibility for one’s action and making a plan to see that it will not happen again. Apologizing comes as a result of a conversation that allows the injured party to express how hurtful the incident was. These are not easy conversations, but they do allow the air to be cleared.

The other side of apologizing is forgiving. When an honest conversation has taken place, and one person has truly apologized, the onus is on the other person to offer forgiveness. Saying “I forgive you” and meaning it is every bit as important as saying “I’m sorry” and meaning it. Marriage Encounter has an expression, “No Museum Keeping,” which means that if an offense has been forgiven, it is wiped off the record and cannot be brought up again. That doesn’t mean that if a similar issue comes up it can’t be addressed again. It just means that the prior offense cannot be revisited.

Big conflicts don’t come along frequently in most marriages. Small ones happen all the time, so these new skills can be practiced on the little differences that might otherwise get swept under the rug. Then when the best tools are needed, they will be clean, sharpened, and ready for use.

About the author
Kathy Beirne is the editor of Foundations Newsletter for Newly Married Couples. She lives in Portland, ME and has a master’s degree in Child and Family Development.

View more Marriage Rx prescriptions here.

Hope for Families with a Child with Autism: Advice for Parents

A recent study identified 1 in 68 children (1 in 42 boys and 1 in 189 girls) as having autism spectrum disorder. (1) In the United States, most individuals are familiar with the disorder because of the high likelihood that they know someone with autism. The stress of any special needs diagnosis is difficult for a family, and those with autism have unique struggles. In order to identify resources available within our Catholic Church when faced with a diagnosis of autism, we can look to the words of our Holy Father Pope Francis:

When there is no human hope, there is that hope that carries us forward, humble, simple—but it gives a joy, at times a great joy, at times only of peace, but the security that hope does not disappoint: hope doesn’t disappoint (Morning Meditation, 3.17.16, emphasis added).

When I was told that my son was diagnosed with autism, I was the only adult in the room besides the doctor; my son and his two older sisters, ages 5 and 7, were there too. Our son was age three at the time, and his father was traveling out of town on business. I will never forget the whirlwind of thoughts, feelings, and sense of fear that day as I stood in the doctor’s office.

Now, twelve years later, I can look back at those days with the benefit of hindsight and more importantly, grace. Despite the many challenges, and at times heartbreaking pain, I cannot imagine life without my Joey. That fear has been replaced by hope.

I have learned several lessons since that day, and each day brings a new lesson in how to help him grow. Each day also brings new insight for me as a parent, including where I need my own personal and spiritual growth.

The wisdom in our communion of saints is a resource that every Catholic can rely on when working with a child who has special needs. Three themes from our Holy Father’s ministry, which he emphasizes in homilies and in his writing, suggest a three-pronged approach for families with a child on the autism spectrum. Let’s look at each one:

Progress Forward

Many times with a child with autism, it can seem like one step forward, two steps back. The challenge is to have a long-term perspective, recognizing that the small steps you are taking now to provide early intervention will have a future payoff. Because autism often accompanies co-morbidities like anxiety, it can be difficult to manage your own natural worry as a parent, as well as that of your child. Make sure that every so often you take time to review the progress your child has made, and to express your appreciation for all of his or her hard work. It is also important to pat yourself on the back from time to time, because being a parent of a child with autism can be difficult and lonely. It can help to find local support groups in your area so you can share resources and support.

Humility

Frequently, mothers think that they are the only one who can meet their child’s needs. While it is important to recognize the mother’s role, both father and mother have to acknowledge that they cannot meet their child’s needs alone. Humility shows us that we have to rely on others, whether that be hiring in-home therapists, seeking private grant funding or finding other ways to get the support that you need as a family to successfully support your child with his or her diagnosis.

Simplicity

Pope Francis is noted for his simplicity as well as his humility. Sometimes, when a child with autism has an IEP (Individualized Education Program), a treatment plan with multiple medications, therapies both inside and outside the home, as well as the need for structural home modifications, the needs are so great that it can be hard for families to prioritize what is most important. Simplicity means focusing on the most important needs of the child right now, in this moment, and enjoying the many wonderful moments of joy that the child brings. I have chronicled the many funny things that my son has said to me over the years, which have not only made me laugh out loud in the moment but are something I treasure years later as I re-read them.

For families who have a child on the autism spectrum, don’t give up! There is hope, and lessons learned over time and from others can make the journey easier.

(1) https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism/prevalence

About the author
Ann O’Keeffe Rodgers is a wife, mother and advocate for those with autism. She lives in Jacksonville, Florida, and is CEO of Hope Springs Florida, a vacation respite home designed for working-class families with a child with autism. Ann can be reached at rodgers_2244@hotmail.com.

When Can We Use NFP?

What the Church teaches on the moral spacing and limiting of births by spouses
Catholic spouses who strive to live Church teaching on responsible parenthood are sometimes confused by what the Church means by “serious” or “grave” reasons for the use of Natural Family Planning (NFP). This article will address that issue.

NFP enables spouses to space births according to the naturally occurring phases of fertility and infertility in the menstrual cycle. The Church has accepted this innovation of the 20th century as a morally acceptable means of spacing and limiting births in married life. The contemporary Church document, Humanae vitae, which articulated the reasons why NFP is acceptable, uses the words “serious” and “grave” to indicate the distinctions which spouses need to consider as they seek to plan their families according to God’s will. Catholic couples need to understand the meaning behind these words.

Historical Overview
The Church has always recognized the legitimacy of abstaining from sexual intercourse when both spouses consent for a limited time and for religious reasons (cf. 1 Cor. 7:5). When Pius XI condemned contraception in his encyclical on marriage, Casti connubii (Dec 31, 1930), he did not address the licitness of the Rhythm method which had only recently been discovered but did allow married couples the use of their conjugal rights “in the proper manner” when new life could not be brought forth either because of timing or defects of nature (no. 59). It was not until Pius XII that explicit pronouncements were made. By that time the Basal Body Temperature method (BBT) was becoming increasingly known and used among Catholics.

Pius XII, in an address to Italian midwives in October 1951, declared licit the use of the sterile period for serious reasons, but if the couple was confining intercourse to those days exclusively, their conduct needed to be examined. In that case it was not enough to be ready to accept a pregnancy if one should occur. For the practice to be moral there must be serious reasons independent of the couple’s good will. Otherwise to do so “would be a sin against the very meaning of conjugal life.” At the same time, Pius XII advised midwives to obtain a thorough knowledge of the biological and technical aspects of the theory.

Among the serious reasons for use even for an indefinite period, Pius XII cited “medical, eugenic, economic and social implication.” [1] Only one month later in another address, the pope affirmed “the legitimacy and, at the same time, the limits–in truth very wide–of a regulation of offspring, which unlike so-called ‘birth control,’ is compatible with the law of God,” and he hoped that science would provide a more secure basis for the method. [2]

The advent of the anovulant pill in the 1960’s and pressure from within the Church itself to change its teaching on contraception in the name of enhancing the unitive dimension of marriage led to lively debates in Vatican Council II. While Pope Paul VI reserved the question of whether the anovulant pill was a contraceptive until after the Council, the pastoral constitution on the Church in the modern world, Gaudium et Spes, reaffirmed that “marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordered to the procreation and education of children” (no. 48), and that the aim and meaning of conjugal life is to cooperate with the Creator in enlarging God’s family. As cooperators with the Creator they are “interpreters of his love” (no. 50).

Spouses will thoughtfully take into account both their own welfare and that of their children, those already born and those which may be foreseen. For this accounting they will reckon with both the material and spiritual conditions of the times as well as of their state of life. Finally they will consult the interests of the family group, of temporal society and of the Church herself (See GS, no.50).

Grave and Serious
Paul VI in his encyclical Humanae vitae (1968), while condemning the use of all contraceptive methods for even grave (gravia) reasons, declared licit the recourse to the infertile periods if the spouses have good (just and seria) reasons to postpone even indefinitely another pregnancy (HV, no.16 &10; the language here is similar to Gaudium et Spes, no.10). But first those spouses are commended who, with prudent deliberation and generosity, choose to accept a large family. The spouses are to consider their responsibilities towards God, themselves, the family, and human society. Each of these factors may be taken into account in right order in determining “serious and just reasons.”

In other words, the spouses are to discern together first, what is God’s plan for their family here and now, then their own physical and emotional resources for accepting another child, the needs of other family members, and lastly the good of the human society in which they live. The pope gives special encouragement to scientists to perfect the natural methods (HV, no.24), declaring that the discipline of chastity exercised in periodic continence enhances married life provided the spouses value the true blessings of family (HV, no.21).

John Paul II
John Paul II is faithful to the guidelines of Humanae vitae. In the Apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris consortio, he calls the fundamental task of the family “to serve life, to actualize in history the original blessing of the Creator–of transmitting by procreation the divine image from person to person” (FC, no.28). The Holy Father praises large families [3]; however, he also states,

. . . the fruitfulness of conjugal love is not restricted solely to the procreation of children…it is enlarged and enriched by all those fruits of moral, spiritual and supernatural life which the father and mother are called to hand on to their children, and through the children to the Church and to the world. (FC, no.28)

John Paul II takes every opportunity to encourage the development of NFP as a way of spacing births. [4] “When,” he says “by means of recourse to the periods of infertility, the couple respect the inseparable connection between the unitive and procreative meanings of human sexuality, they are acting as ‘ministers’ of God’s plan” (FC, no.32). John Paul II is at pains to counter those who would interpret too narrowly the Church’s teaching on the licitness of natural methods, adopting a form of providentialism, citing both Gaudium et spes no. 50 and Humanae vitae no.10: God the Creator invites the spouses not to be passive operators, but rather ‘cooperators or almost interpreters’ of His plan. [5]

The spouses are to exercise the virtue of prudence in a considered assessment of the well-being of the whole family. Reason and will are not to be abandoned in favor of a passive submission to physiological processes. Husband and wife are called to stewardship of all their gifts, especially fertility, which concerns the birth of a new human person made in the image of God and destined to union with Him for all eternity.

NFP proponent Rev. Anthony Zimmerman likens the spouses’ co-creation to God’s creation of the world in Genesis (1:1 to 2:3). After each new creation, God “saw that it was good” and paused before a new act of creation. After making man and women on the sixth day, he declared everything “very good” and rested from further creation. In the same way, NFP parents pause between each birth and when their family is complete according to God’s plan for them (which is likely to vary with each family), rest from any further work of co-creation. [6]

More than his predecessors, John Paul II saw the benefits of natural methods to the couple and family. He appreciates the way they offer spouses the possibility not only to space children but also to identify the most opportune time to conceive a child. In addition they call for dialogue and mutual sensitivity to one another. “Thus,” he says, “periodic continence…requires a profound understanding of the person and love.”

The way of living which follows from the exercise of periodic continence leads the couple to deepen their knowledge of each other and achieve a harmony of body, mind and spirit which strengthens and encourages them on their journey together through life. It is marked by a constant dialogue and enriched by the tenderness of affection which constitutes the heart of human sexuality. [7]

A Final Word
In summary, all the papal documents addressing the issue of marriage and procreation in the 20th century affirm that marriage and conjugal love are ordered to the procreation and education of children. While contraception cannot be used even in grave circumstances, natural methods of fertility regulation are licit when the couple have serious reasons. Children are a gift to be joyfully received as the crowning glory of family life (GS, no. 48). All modern popes have endorsed the development and use of natural methods of family planning as an aid to living responsible parenthood. John Paul II especially sees them as enabling the spouses to become a total gift to one another.

Notes
[1] Pius XII, Moral Questions Affecting Married Life: Addresses given October 29, 1951 to the Italian Catholic Union of midwives and November 26, 1951 to the National Congress of the Family Front and the Association of Large Families, National Catholic Welfare Conference, Washington, DC.

[2] Ibid

[3] John Paul II, “Homily at Capitol Mall, Oct 7, 1979,” in Pilgrim of Peace: Homilies and Addresses of his Holiness, Pope John Paul II on the Occasion of his Visit to the United States, USCC, 1979: 175-179.

[4] See, for example, “Pope to Two International Groups of Researchers,” L’Osservatore Romano (Weekly Edition) Dec. 3, 1979, and “To Study Group on Natural Regulation of Fertility: The Church is Grateful for the help you offer married couples,” L’Osservatore Romano, July 12, 1982.

[5] “Papal audience to participants of NFP course in Rome, December 14, 1990,” L’Osservatore Romano (weekly edition) Dec. 17, 1990.

[6] Rev. Anthony Zimmerman, “Newlyweds and NFP,” Homiletic and Pastoral Review, October 1986, 21-31.

[7] Address to “The Natural Regulation of Fertility: The Authentic Alternative,” conference, Rome, Dec. 9-11, 1992.

Copyright © 1999, Diocesan Development Program for Natural Family Planning, National Conference of Catholic Bishops (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops). Used with permission on dev19.foryourmarriage.org.

Día 1 – El matrimonio: hecho por Dios

Día 2 – El matrimonio: hecho para el amor

Día 3 – El matrimonio: hechos el uno para el otro

Día 4 – El matrimonio: hecho para toda la vida

Día 5 – El matrimonio: hecho para la libertad

Día 6 – El matrimonio: hecho para el bien común

Día 7 – El matrimonio: hecho para la eternidad

Day One: Marriage is a School of Life

Day Two: Marriage Lasts for Life

Day Three: Marriage Welcomes Life

Day Four: Marriage is a School of Love

Day Five: Marriage Reflects God’s Love

Day Six: Marriage Lives by God’s Law of Love

Day Seven: Marriage as a Domestic Church

Day One – Marriage: Made by God

Day Two – Marriage: Made for Love

Day Three – Marriage: Made for Each Other

Day Four – Marriage: Made for Life

Day Five – Marriage: Made for Freedom

Day Six – Marriage: Made for the Common Good

Day Seven – Marriage: Made for Eternity

SPONSORED BY

AFFILIATED SITES

DISCLAIMER