Tag Archives: Pope Francis

Reading Laudato Si in Light of Sexuality, Marriage, and Family Life

On Thursday, June 18, 2015, Pope Francis released his second encyclical, Laudato Si, “On care for our common home.” The encyclical addresses humanity’s responsibility to protect and conscientiously cultivate the earth. Ultimately, the Holy Father advocates an integral ecology as the best response to the environmental crisis. This response, illuminated by the Christian faith, is integral because it addresses not only the environmental issues of today, but also various economic, social, cultural and moral ones. In fact, three major themes emerge in the encyclical that relate to human sexuality, marriage, and family life, which are the main topics of the Pope Francis Corner: human ecology, the objectification of creation, and today’s “throwaway culture.”

Human Ecology

Drawing on the teachings of the two previous popes, Benedict XVI and St. John Paul II, Pope Francis uses the concept of “human ecology” to denote the interconnectedness of the natural environment and human culture [i]. For example, when humanity respects itself, the earth rejoices, but when humanity degrades itself, the earth suffers, too. The Holy Father uses the biblical story of Cain and Abel to illustrate this point. After Cain kills his brother Abel, God cries, “What have you done! Listen: Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil! Therefore you shall be banned from the soil…If you till the soil, it shall no longer give you its produce” (Gen 4:10-12a). Pope Francis says, “Disregard for the duty to cultivate and maintain a proper relationship with my neighbor, for whose care and custody I am responsible, ruins my relationship with my own self, with others, with God, and with the earth” (LS, 70). Because the “book of nature is one and indivisible,” including men and women, all creatures on the earth and the earth itself, “[t]here can be no renewal of our relationship with nature without a renewal of humanity itself” (LS 6, 118). An authentic human ecology recognizes that human beings are an integral part of the environment which we are trying to protect and promote. We need to respect “our unique place as human beings in this world and our relationship to our surroundings” (LS, 15).

Another aspect of human ecology is basic Christian anthropology: humans are moral creatures, created in the image of God with inherent meaning and purpose inscribed in their very bodies. Pope Francis quotes St. John Paul II on this point: “Not only has God given the earth to man, who must use it with respect for the original good purpose for which it was given, but, man too is God’s gift to man. He must therefore respect the natural and moral structure with which he has been endowed” (LS, 115, emphasis added). Part of this natural and moral structure is the sexual difference between women and men, which God has created in us, and indeed, in many other creatures. Pope Francis writes, “Learning to accept our body, to care for it and to respect its fullest meaning, is an essential element of any genuine human ecology. Also, valuing one’s own body in its femininity or masculinity is necessary if I am going to be able to recognize myself in an encounter with someone who is different” (LS, 155). Sexual difference allows men and women to enter into fulfilling, self-giving relationships, particularly marriage, which is rooted in our human nature as men and women (Catechism, no. 1603). Respecting and protecting the environment, then, includes respecting and protecting ourselves as a part of creation, and specifically our unique gender differences and all they entail: marriage between a man and a woman, fertility, the need for fathers and mothers, etc. The Pope maintains that seeking to eliminate gender difference is “not a healthy attitude” because it rejects the God-given gift of our sexuality (LS, 155).

The Objectification of Creation

Another theme in Laudato Si is the objectification of creation, which Pope Francis treats as a grave issue. He notes that creatures are not “merely…potential ‘resources’ to be exploited…they have value in themselves” (33). In other words, creation is not just an object to be used. The objectification of creation leads to mass consumerism on the part of humanity, damaging the earth and her resources as well as doing harm to the poor and to future generations. Consumerism is a result of “no longer speak[ing] the language of fraternity and beauty in our relationship with the world,” of ceasing to relate to the world as a subject and instead choosing to manipulate and possess it as an object (LS, 11).

Objectification and consumerism can also take place in the human realm. There can be a consumeristic approach to persons when we stop relating to each other with love and respect, and instead seek to possess each other. This is particularly an issue when sexuality is involved, as we see in the story of the Fall of Adam and Eve. In his reflections on the theology of the body, St. John Paul II wrote that after sin enters the world, man dominates woman and their previous relationship of unity and mutual self-gift “is replaced by a different mutual relationship, namely by a relationship of possession of the other as an object of one’s desire” (TOB 31:3). Possession and domination of a person mirrors the possession and domination of the earth that Pope Francis seeks to challenge in this encyclical.

At its root, the sin of possession– and indeed all sin – results from humanity’s assuming the place and actions of God. The Pope writes that “our presuming to take the place of God and refusing to acknowledge our creaturely limitations…distorted our mandate to ‘have dominion’ over the earth (cf. Gen 1:28), to ‘till it and keep it’ (Gen 2:15)” (LS, 66). Pope Francis calls for us instead to relate to the earth in a brotherly and sisterly way. He includes the text of St. Francis of Assisi’s hymn, which speaks of “Brother Sun” and “Sister Moon.” Our fellow human beings, especially our spouses, are truly our brothers and sisters of one Father; we should accompany them through life, relate to them as fellow children of God, and refuse to treat them in a consumeristic way, as objects.

The “Throwaway Culture”

Lastly, Pope Francis criticizes the “throwaway culture,” which is fueled by a vicious cycle of using and trashing precious environmental resources (LS, 16, 20-22, 43). His criticism also extends to a culture that throws away people. He notes that “it is clearly inconsistent to combat trafficking in endangered species while remaining completely indifferent to human trafficking, unconcerned about the poor, or undertaking to destroy another human being deemed unwanted” (LS, 91). And in his first apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, the Pope described a “throwaway” culture as one wherein “human beings are themselves considered consumer goods to be used and then discarded” (EG, 53).

There are many victims of the “throwaway” mentality – the unborn, the elderly, the poor, the disabled, the lonely, and the orphan. Abandoned spouses and children also suffer from the effects of a culture where divorce and separation are prevalent. Francis’ plea to reduce waste should resound also as a plea to reduce the harms incurred by divorce and by treating marriage as a temporary arrangement, a theme the Pope has addressed before. The Pope has also previously spoken strongly about protecting children, whom he considers the “first victims” of the harms of divorce and separation. And he has affirmed that children’s lives are never mistakes and thus can never be thrown away; “every marginalized, abandoned child…is a cry that goes up to God.” A renewed respect for marriage as an inviolable sacrament, and a commitment to caring for separated and divorced couples and their children, can help reverse the discarding of people.

In conclusion, Laudato Si addresses more than environmental concerns; it also informs how human beings can most naturally and healthily relate to one another. The frequent mentions of “human ecology” in the encyclical reveal Francis’ concern that men and women not forget that they are an important part of the natural world, and that they too have inherent meaning and purpose. Laudato Si’s warning against objectifying creation encourages us to consider whether we are “possessors” or “relators” to the loved ones in our lives. Finally, the criticism of the “throwaway” culture extends not only to the trashing of natural resources, but also to the discarding of people. One of the spiritual messages of the encyclical is to cultivate a profound sense of humility before the wonder of God and his creation. If we remember our limitations as created beings, we find that we cannot “substitute an irreplaceable and irretrievable beauty with something which we have created ourselves” (LS, 34). The earth and the relationships that are formed with it and on it are sources of great beauty that deserve protection.

About the author
Juliana Vossenberg is the Summer 2015 intern for the Secretariat of Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

[i] See Centesimus Annus (St. John Paul II, 1991), Evangelium Vitae (St. John Paul II, 1995), Caritas in Veritate (Pope Benedict XVI, 2009), If You Want to Cultivate Peace, Protect Creation (Pope Benedict XVI, 2010)

Pope Francis Meets Newlyweds from the Diocese of Brooklyn

On Valentine’s Day 2014, as an engaged couple, we were lucky enough to travel to Vatican City to listen to Pope Francis’s address to engaged couples. Not only was our trip amazing, but the experience of being there and listening to His Holiness speak about marriage and how to prepare not just for our wedding but for our call to service through marriage was inspiring. This year, now as man and wife, we returned to The Eternal City, again to listen to the Holy Father, again because of our wedding, but this time with the privilege to not only meet him, but receive a blessing from him.

Our ability to meet Pope Francis in Saint Peter’s Square was through a program called Sposi Novelli (“newlyweds”). This was an easy process and we would recommend it to anyone who is thinking of attending. What is Sposi Novelli? It is an encounter for newlyweds to meet and be blessed by the Pope. The website for the Pontifical North American College says:

“To qualify as a newlywed couple (sposi novelli), couples must be married within 2 months of the audience they wish to attend, carrying with them a copy of the Sacramental Marriage Certificate signed by their priest, and wearing their wedding attire.

“The Holy Father will bless them for a happy wedded life when he gives his general blessing at the conclusion of the Papal audience.”

On February 18, 2015, at 6:30 a.m., in full wedding attire, we walked from our hotel just outside the Vatican walls to St. Peter’s Square, where we would meet Pope Francis. After walking through the square, we were brought to a special seating area for all the newlywed couples. We were seated with approximately twenty other couples, most of whom were fellow Americans, and together we listened to the Pope’s general audience.

The past few weeks, Pope Francis has used his general audiences to address the important topic of the family. On this day he discussed siblings and their importance to society and the family make-up. He advised us to look at those in our society as brothers and sisters and to regard them with respect.

Before the general audience concluded, Pope Francis had these kinds words for the newlywed couples: “Lent is a favorable time to intensify your spiritual life: may the practice of fasting be of help to you, dear young people, to acquire mastery over yourselves… lastly, may works of mercy help you, dear newlyweds, to live your marital life by opening it to the needs of your brothers and sisters”. The call to the vocation of marriage is most certainly a special one. The Holy Father’s words call us to serve not just one another but also our brothers and sisters in our community. We must approach this call seriously to bring about the Gospel.

After his message, we waited in a line with the other sposi novelli couples to be greeted; we were half way down the line. Then, Pope Francis came to us. We introduced each other to His Holiness. He greeted us with a huge smile. Alison said in Spanish, “Holy Father, we love you in the Diocese of Brooklyn.” His smile grew. We then offered him a white zucchetto. There is a long standing tradition that if one offers the Pontiff a new white zucchetto, he will trade you the one he is wearing for the one being given to him. Pope Francis laughed, took ours and said, “Looks like it fits,” then gave us the one he was wearing. After we thanked him, he put a hand on each of our shoulders and asked us to pray for him. There is something very humbling being asked by the leader of the Catholic Church to pray for him.

When we were finished, we walked off the line and proceeded back to our hotel (which was no easy task for Ali in her heels on the cobble stone streets of Vatican City). The sposi novella blessing was not only a wonderful way to begin our marriage, but a moment we will cherish for the rest of our lives.

For more information about the newlyweds’ blessing in Rome, and to request tickets, please visit the website of the Pontifical North American College: http://www.pnac.org/visitorsoffice/audiences/#sposinovelli.

See also: “A Vatican Valentine’s Experience,” by Paul Morisi and Alison Laird

About the author
Paul Morisi is the Coordinator for Adolescent and Young Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Brooklyn, and Alison Morisi is a second grade teacher at St. Saviour Catholic Academy in Park Slope, Brooklyn.

The Song: A Call to Unquenchable Love

“Even the wisest of men was a fool for love.”

Coming to theaters September 26, 2014, the music-driven film The Song tells a story of love, courtship, marriage, betrayal and redemption that will ring true to all viewers who have learned firsthand what Pope Francis told twenty brides and grooms on their wedding day: the path of marriage “is not always a smooth one … It is a demanding journey, at times difficult, and at times turbulent, but such is life!”

The Song 1

The drama of The Song centers on aspiring folk singer-songwriter Jed King, whom we meet as he struggles to make a name for himself and escape the shadow of his famous musician father, David. Jed reluctantly agrees to a gig at a local vineyard, where he meets the vineyard owner’s daughter, Rose. A romance quickly blossoms, and Jed and Rose are married. In the joy of the dawn after his wedding night, Jed writes “The Song” for his beloved new bride.

This tender love song becomes a surprising breakout hit, and Jed is thrust into the blinding lights of stardom. Temptation is quick on his heels in the form of his attractive touring partner, violinist Shelby Bale, who stokes his ego and challenges his old-fashioned devotion to his wife. As Jed’s popularity grows, his marriage and family life begin a slow, agonizing tailspin of unmet needs, blame, and mistrust, leading finally to a rock-bottom questioning of everything he once believed in: his wife, his faith, and the possibility of lifelong love.

The Song 3

For the viewer well-versed in Scripture, it will come as no surprise that The Song finds its inspiration in “the” song of Scripture, namely the Song of Songs attributed to Solomon. The ancient poetry of the Song of Songs takes on new life in Jed and Rose’s innocent courtship and joyful early marriage:

My lover speaks; he says to me, “Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come! For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come. … Arise, my beloved, my beautiful one, and come!” (Song of Songs, 2:10-13)

You have ravished my heart, my sister, my bride; you have ravished my heart with one glance of your eyes … How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride, how much more delightful is your love than wine! (Song of Songs, 4:9-10)

In fact, the film echoes not only the Song of Songs, but also Ecclesiastes, also attributed to Solomon. The Song treats Ecclesiastes as autobiographical, tracing Solomon’s later years of searching after meaning in a world filled with pleasure but bereft of true satisfaction. Indeed, as the stresses and tension of Jed’s fame and both spouses’ needs threaten to suffocate the joy of their married life, their malaise is aptly described in the words of Ecclesiastes: “Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!” (Ecc. 1:2)

And as Jed seeks to fill his aching heart with popularity, novelty, women and wine, the words of Solomon ring bitingly true:

Nothing that my eyes desired did I deny them, nor did I deprive myself of any joy. … But when I turned to all the works that my hands had wrought, and to the toil at which I had taken such pains, behold! all was vanity and a chasing after wind. (Ecc. 2:10-11)

Such sentiments could easily be put on the lips of so many men and women today. The Song’s strength comes from focusing a fierce, unflinching eye on the suffering experienced by a husband and wife who lose the first joy of marriage, both by subtly “drifting apart” and by more forceful jolts of betrayal and infidelity. Undoubtedly many families will see themselves on the screen in the bewildering undertow of hurt caused by those closest to us, and a seeming inability to recover lost love.

The Song 4

But there is hope! Spoiler alert: The Song has a happy ending. (After all, it is a Christian film!) But the happy ending does not happen in a flip-a-switch-and-everything-is-better sort of way. It’s clear that even after escaping severe trials with their marriage intact, Rose and Jed have some major healing to do. The film is honest in this way too. The wounds inflicted by one’s spouse are not healed instantly, and trust needs to be slowly and resolutely rebuilt. But renewal is possible. The Song gives a realistic message of hope to struggling marriages: Hang in there! Rediscovering your beloved and your “first love” is possible, and it’s worth it!

In this too, The Song echoes Pope Francis’ encouragement to married couples:

To spouses who ‘have become impatient on the way’ and who succumb to the dangerous temptation of discouragement, infidelity, weakness, abandonment… To them too, God the Father gives his Son Jesus, not to condemn them, but to save them: if they entrust themselves to him, he will bring them healing by the merciful love which pours forth from the Cross.

The Song is cinematically impressive, musically enjoyable, and connects to the age-old longing of the human heart for true love and communion. It leaves another line from the Song of Songs in its wake, verses that remind husbands and wives of the rock-solid foundation of their married love:

For stern as death is love,
Relentless as the nether world is devotion;
Deep waters cannot quench love,
Nor floods sweep it away.
(Song of Songs, 8:6-7)

For more information about THE SONG visit The Song website.

Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of making public Pope Francis’ theme for next year’s World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia: Love is our mission: the family fully alive. The theme was inspired by the words of the early Church Father, St. Irenaeus, who said that “the glory of God is man fully alive.” In like manner, the glory of men and women is their capacity to love as God loves. And rarely can that love be lived out more intimately and fruitfully than in the family.

wmof logo w fontsAs we begin the “heavy lifting” to prepare for the World Meeting of Families and a possible papal visit, it’s a good moment to pause and reflect.

Every moment of every day, a mother and father are teaching and guiding each other and their children, while witnessing about their love to the world beyond their home. The structure of marriage — if lived faithfully — naturally points a man and woman outward toward the world, as well as inward toward one another and their children. As Augustine once said: “To be faithful in little things is a big thing.”

Simply by living their vocation, a husband and wife become the most important living cell of society. Marriage is the foundation and guarantee of the family. And the family is the foundation and guarantee of society.

It’s within the intimate community of the family that a son knows he is loved and has value. In observing her parents, a daughter first learns basic values like loyalty, honesty and selfless concern for others, which build up the character of the wider society. Truth is always most persuasive, not when we read about it in a book or hear about it in a classroom, but when we see it incarnated in the actions of our parents.

Marriage and family safeguard our most basic sense of community, because within the family, the child grows up in a web of tightly connected rights and responsibilities to other people. It also protects our individual identity, because it surrounds the child with a mantle of privacy and personal devotion. Most of the laws concerning marriage in our culture were originally developed precisely to protect family members from the selfishness and lack of love so common in wider society.

The family is the human person’s single most important sanctuary from mistaken models of love, misguided notions of sexual relationships and destructive ideas about self‑fulfillment. All these painful things, unchecked, can be a centrifugal force pulling families apart.

Love is a counter-force. Love is the glue both for family and society. This is why love is the fundamental mission of the family. It’s why the family must be a sanctuary of love. We most easily understand love when we, ourselves, are the fruit of our parents’ tenderness. We most easily believe in fidelity when we see it modeled by our father and mother.

Love lived generously is the unanswerable argument for God — and also for the dignity of the human heart. And marriage is transformed and fulfilled when spouses cooperate with God in the creation of new life. A husband and wife are completed by sharing in God’s procreative gift of life to their children, who are new and unique images of God.

In my years as a priest and bishop, I’ve seen again and again that the human heart is made for truth. People are hungry for the truth; and they’ll choose it, if it’s presented clearly and with conviction. Therein lies the need for every Christian marriage to be engaged in preaching by example. A husband and wife who model a love for Jesus Christ within their family — who pray and worship together with their children and read the Scriptures — become a beacon for other couples. They also more easily acquire an outward-looking zeal for consciously spreading the Gospel to others, teaching the faith and doing good apostolic works.

Our God is the God of life, abundance, deliverance and joy. And we’re his missionaries by nature and by mandate. In a developed world increasingly indifferent or hostile to God, no Catholic family can afford to be lukewarm about the Church. No culture is so traditionally “Christian” that it’s heard enough about Jesus Christ, or safe from the unbelief and disregard for human dignity which mark our age.

Catholic families have a key role in God’s healing of a broken world. So let’s pray for each other — beginning right now — that the World Meeting of Families 2015 will become for each of us and all of Philadelphia a new Pentecost; a new birth of the Church in each of our hearts … for our own salvation, the salvation of our families and the redemption of the world.

Source: Originally posted in Archbishop Chaput’s column on CatholicPhilly.com on May 15th, 2014.

A Vatican Valentine’s Experience

On New Year’s Eve we traveled with friends to celebrate the ringing in of 2014 in Philadelphia. It was here that around 8:30 p.m., under the Ben Franklin Bridge, after ten years of friendship and three years of courtship, we got engaged. It was tremendously exciting. For us, this was something we had both been looking for, and we finally found it in each other. We got on our respective cell phones to call our families and inform them of the good news.

Upon our return to the Diocese of Brooklyn, the Coordinator for Marriage Ministry, Mrs. Ana Puente, informed us that Pope Francis was gathering engaged couples in Rome for a conference of sorts. The event would take place on the upcoming Valentine’s Day and was entitled “The Joy of Yes, Forever.” This would be a chance for us to gather with about 15,000 engaged couples and we would have the rare chance to receive advice for our own marriage and catechesis on the sacrament from Pope Francis himself!

We had a lot of questions: How could we take off from work? How could we afford it? Would the travel be too difficult? In many ways, I believe these were very similar questions that Joseph and Mary must have had as they began their lives together and ultimately made their journey to Bethlehem. We had faith. Not to say it was easy, but we made it work. A few weeks later, we were flying Al Italia and on our way to meet with the Pontiff.

The weather had been brutal back in the Diocese of Brooklyn, but in Rome it was like a beautiful spring day. On Valentine’s Day at 8:00 a.m., together with couples from all over the globe, we made our way through Vatican security and found seats in the third row, maybe one hundred feet from where the Holy Father would sit and address us.

Once we were seated, we noticed that in our excitement to get in and get seats that we missed receiving a packet from the attendants at the entrances. The packets were a gift, a gift from Pope Francis. All the couples in attendance were given a special pillow to use for their wedding bands on the day of their wedding, a gift from the Holy Father. Thankfully we were able to get a pillow too. This token is something very special that we will keep with us not only for our wedding day, but as a reminder that our faith will always play a large part in our marriage.

This wasn’t a conference where the Holy Father got up, gave a keynote for 45 minutes, took questions and walked out. There were a few people who got up and reflected on marriage, one of whom was a famous Italian comedian! Not something we were expecting. They also had a wonderful choir who sang songs in Italian, Spanish and English.

Once Pope Francis arrived, three lucky engaged couples from different parts of Europe were given the opportunity to present one question each to His Holiness about a Catholic engagement, wedding, and marriage. Pope Francis said A LOT, but here are a few topics that spoke to us and we wanted to share:

1. Marriage is more than saying “Yes.” Of course when we got engaged, we chose to say “yes” to one another. But, we also chose to say “no.” As we prepare for marriage, we have to understand that we say “no” to ourselves. No longer are we individuals, we are two who have become one. We say “no” to a life of selfishness and welcome a shared life, one that gives to each other. Sometimes this will be harder than others, but it is something that is important if we are to understand our vocation as a Catholic married couple.

2. Marriage is about more than just a wedding. Of course the planning of the wedding day can be a lot of fun and excitement (okay, and admittedly some headaches!). We’ve enjoyed planning the liturgy, picking a venue, and Paul’s favorite part, the food sampling, but it’s about more than that. It’s about preparing for a marriage. Learning to say “I am sorry” and learning to accept apologies, learning to compromise, learning to accept each other as we are. This is why the work of Marriage Ministry is so important. The Pre-Cana program for the Diocese of Brooklyn works to prepare couples, like ourselves, for this sacrament and how to live out our vocation as a married Catholic couple.

3. Marriage is about making each other better. The Holy Father reminded us that we are called to bring out the best of each other. Of course we want to make ourselves a better man/husband and woman/wife, but more so to bring us each closer to Christ. The Holy Father said that we should bring the best out of each other. Life isn’t always easy, as Mark Hart (of Life Teen fame) humorously put it, “Jesus invited us to the feast, but He never said it would be a picnic.” We need to be there for each other in those times of need.

Being with 30,000 people in St. Peter’s Square with the Holy Father, learning about our new vocation was spectacular. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that we are both grateful for. Please, keep us in your prayers as we prepare for our marriage as we will keep you all in ours.

About the authors
Paul Morisi is the Coordinator for Adolescent and Young Adult Faith Formation for the Diocese of Brooklyn and Alison Laird is a Kindergarten Teacher at Saint Savior Catholic Academy in Park Slope, Brooklyn. The couple met in a parish youth program 10 years ago this June and were married on February 15, 2015 at Saint Mary Gate of Heaven Church in Ozone Park, NY.

The Vocation of Marriage

When the Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a Christian vocation it is saying that the couple’s relationship is more than simply their choice to enter a union which is a social and legal institution. In addition to these things, marriage involves a call from God and a response from two people who promise to build, with the help of divine grace, a lifelong, intimate and sacramental partnership of love and life. In Amoris Laetitia, Pope Francis writes:

Marriage is a vocation, inasmuch as it is a response to a specific call to experience conjugal love as an imperfect sign of the love between Christ and the Church. Consequently, the decision to marry and to have a family ought to be the fruit of a process of vocational discernment (no. 72).

The Second Vatican Council teaches that “all Christians in whatever state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (Constitution on the Church, n. 40). The call to marriage is a particular way of living the universal call to holiness given to every Christian in the Sacrament of Baptism. The calls to priesthood or to the vowed religious life are other Christian vocations (see St. John Paul II, Familiaris Consortio, no. 11). Along with marriage, all of them equally though in different ways, are a response to the Lord who says, “Follow me.”

The call to love is “the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being.” In the vocation of marriage – something which “is written in the very nature of man and woman,” we see that “the love of husband and wife becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1603 and 1604).

A vocation is a personal call. It is offered freely and must be accepted freely. Attraction to a certain way of life or to a specific person can be a good sign of being called. Most often a person comes to recognize and accept a vocation gradually. This process, sometimes called discernment, is an opportunity for growth. It can be helped by prayer and guidance from trusted mentors, friends and family.

However, what begins as attraction must deepen into conviction and commitment. Those who are called to the married life should be ready to learn what their vocation means and to acquire the virtues and skills needed for a happy and holy marriage.

The vocation to marriage is a call to a life of holiness and service within the couple’s own relationship and in their family. As a particular way of following the Lord, this vocation also challenges a couple to live their marriage in a way that expresses God’s truth and love in the world.