Reflections on Marriage, Family and Procreation...

“As teachers of the faith, we invite our faithful Catholics to carefully form their consciences.  We do that by drawing on the revelation of Scripture, the wisdom of Tradition, the experience and insights of holy men and woman, as well as on what can be known by reason alone.”

The Church teaches us that marriage is both a sacrament and a vocation.  It reminds us that marriage is meant to form a family, and that children are the precious gift that results from marriage.

♦ Marriage Is a Sacrament

“A sacrament is an efficacious sign of grace instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, by which divine life is dispensed to us.   Celebration in a visible rite signifies and makes present the graces proper to each sacrament.  (No. 1131-1134)

“There are seven sacraments of the Church: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Penance and Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. (No. 1210)

♦ Marriage Is a Vocation

In the Catholic Tradition, a vocation consists of two internal elements:

• A good intention and a firm will to make use of the means necessary to pursue that intention, and
• The qualities and capabilities needed to pursue that intention as well as a lack of obstacles or impediments to achieving it.

♦ Marriage Forms Family

“A man and a woman united in marriage, together with their children, form a family. This institution is prior to any recognition by public authority, which has an obligation to recognize it. It should be considered the normal reference point by which the different forms of family relationship are to be evaluated. (No. 2202)

♦ Children - The Precious Gift

"By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory." (Gaudium et Spes 48 # 1; 50.)

"According to the plan of God, marriage is the foundation of the wider community of the family, since the very institution of marriage and conjugal love is ordained to the procreation and education of children, in whom they find their crowning.

Pastoral Statements by U.S. Bishops

In November 2009, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) released their statement, Marriage: Love and Life in the Divine Plan—which capped a number of messages, letters and statements on Marriage and Family the American Bishops have written over the last 30 years.

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The U.S. Bishops' National Pastoral Initiative on Marriage

In the National Pastoral Initiative for Marriage (NPIM) the U.S. Catholic bishops call attention to the meaning and value of married life for the Church and for society.

California Theologians Offer Insights on Church Teaching

Three moral theologians, Monsignor Jeremiah McCarthy, Father Richard Benson, C.M. and Father Gerald Coleman, S.S., offer their insights, interpretations and commentary on Church teachings about marriage, human sexuality and procreation in light of modern culture.