Marriage as a Sign of Self-Giving Love
The Church has long taught that marriage between a man and a woman is meant to be an image of God’s own self-giving love — total, faithful, and open to life. That “proper use” of human sexuality was never meant as a restriction for its own sake; it was meant to safeguard something good: a bond strong enough to found a family and, in turn, a healthy society.
Pope St. Paul VI’s 1968 encyclical Humanae Vitae warned that separating the unitive and procreative dimensions of marital love — treating them as two things that could be pulled apart at will — would have consequences reaching well beyond the individual couple. Many of the cultural shifts he anticipated around commitment, fidelity, and the value placed on children are still debated today.
Strength from the Eucharist
Whatever the cultural moment asks of us, Catholics turn in their need to the Holy Eucharist — Christ among us, who gives us strength and sustains us. Pope Francis eagerly calls upon us to have hope, and never fear.
So we look at the times with eyes wide open, and open our hearts to the Bread of Heaven, the food of salvation, the sacrament of unity and love. Authentic marriage between a man and a woman mirrors the exchange of persons within the Holy Trinity — a total self-giving, a culture of love that gives life — and it is the Holy Eucharist that gives spouses the grace to live that self-gift day by day.
Hold fast. Pray, hope, and don’t worry.