Catechism index

1641 IV. The Effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony "By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God." 145 This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony …
1642 IV. The Effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony Christ is the source of this grace. "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 …
1643 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love "Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of …
1644 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their entire life: "so they are no longer two, but …
1645 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and unreserved affection." 153 Polygamy …
1646 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks to be …
1647 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this …
1648 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves us with …
1649 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living …
1650 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ - "Whoever divorces his wife …
1651 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community must manifest an …
1652 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love "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." …
1653 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the principal and first educators …
1654 V. The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of …
1655 VI. The Domestic Church Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph and Mary. the Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From the beginning, …
1656 VI. The Domestic Church In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second Vatican …
1657 VI. The Domestic Church It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of …
1658 VI. The Domestic Church We must also remember the great number of single persons who, because of the particular circumstances in which they have to live - often not of their choosing - are especially close …
1659 IN BRIEF St. Paul said: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.... This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church" (Eph 5:25, 32).
1660 IN BRIEF The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by …