“Christian marriage,
as a reflection of the union between
Christ and his Church, is fully realized
in the union between a man and
a woman who give themselves
to each other in a free, faithful
and exclusive love, who belong to
each other until death and are open to
the transmission of life, and are
consecrated by the sacrament, which
grants them the grace to become
a domestic church and a leaven
of new life for society.”
~ Pope Francis
In Gaudium et Spes, the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council call marriage a “community of life and love” and tell us that “God himself is the author of marriage.” Thus a man and a woman, when they marry, enter into a covenant with eachother and with God; giving thier lives to eachother in order to form this community.
Pope Paul VI then goes on to say that the purpose of this community is the generation and education of children. The Catholic home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason, the family home is rightly called “the domestic church,” a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.
For Your Marriage, a website sponsored by the USCCB, has information on marriage preparation, caring for your marriage, and about Catholic marriage.
Couple-to-Couple League is an organization that offers online, remote and live classes in natural family planning. The art of natural family planning is based on an awareness of a woman’s fertility. It is easy to understand, medically safe, 99% effective, affordable, is marriage building, and is morally acceptable. For more information, contact the Diocesan Coordinators of NFP at (707) 542-3635.
Office of Marriage and Family Life
Family Life Office
(707) 566-3305
“The welfare fo the family is decisive for the future of the world and that of the Church.” ~ Amoris Laetitia, 31