By: Julie Maria

Phrases which seem not only clear but convincing, have become throughout history the occasion for fierce debates when treated from the point of view of morality.

The reality that passion, unguided by reason, generally results in sexual sin, has as its sad consequence the separation of two realities that are in fact intrinsically united, God and sex; sex in general (masculine/feminine); sex as a conjugal act and sex as an integral part of the life of everyone who is human.

As with all that is human, it can be asked of sexuality what is the intention and final end of the Creator, to create man and woman as such, with the power to participate in the generation of new life. One could analyze various aspects of the problem of sexual morality, but what is the question that lies at the root of the majority of dilemmas of sexual morality, raised by the modern world?

One way of thinking about this is that, through the separation of sexuality from God, it loses its direction, becoming basically used as a means of satisfaction through pleasure. We know the opinion the public has of the doctrine of the Catholic Church is that “pleasure is bad” and that therefore every form of the sexual act must have some trace of sin. This idea, which takes its roots from the Manichean heresy, is even predominant in some circles, but was refuted long ago by the Angelic Doctor: “it is nature itself which has put pleasure into the operations necessary for human life. Therefore, the natural order requires that man enjoy those pleasure in the measure in which they are necessary for his well-being, whether it be for the conservation of the individual or the species 1.” But if pleasure is not “bad,” where do we find the problem?

All the doctrine of the Church treats the relation of Christ with the Church as the measure and model of the relation of women to men. Man, being finite, is not sufficient by himself; he needs to the recognize the loving will of the Father, his Creator, and needs others to be human, both for his own survival and to learn how to love.

But what is the relation of Christ and the Church? What does it mean that Saint Paul affirms that the Church is the Bride of Christ? What level of self-giving did Christ have for her? If we deepen our discovery of the richness of this relationship – Christ and His Bride – perhaps it will become easier to find insights regarding these questions of sexual morality. Adultery, pre-marital sexual relations, contraception, abortion, infidelity, adultery... all these, when we consider the love with which Christ loves the Church, appear to be a deviation of love. It would be simply inconceivable to think that Christ would do something like that to his Spouse.

As the Pope Pius XI said: the marriage of Christians recalls that most perfect union which exists between Christ and the Church: " ‘Sacramentum hoc magnum est, ego autem dico, in Christo et in ecclesia;’ which union, as long as Christ shall live and the Church through Him, can never be dissolved by any separation 2.”

The qualities of conjugal love – totality, faithfulness, exclusivity, fecundity – are not theological abstractions of the Church but essential characteristics of the love with which she first was loved by Christ. This relation of love takes itself as the model for every relationship of love that exists between humans. To say that it is impossible to live with faithfulness or fecundity would be the same as to affirm that Christ was not faithful or was not fecund in his love for the Church.

“He first loved us”, we are told by Pope Benedict in his Encyclical, and the Church is the first that can affirm: “Christ first loved me.” Without this love she would not exist. Without this love, human love would be a caricature, transforming the vocation to love into slavery to the passions, where one man would not serve ‘the other,’ but rather use him as an object.

Therefore, John Paul II, while still a cardinal, wrote in his book Love and Responsibility: “Sometimes, what is called ‘love’, if subjected to searching critical examination turns out to be, contrary all appearances, only a form of ‘ utilization of the person 3”.

We note therefore the plan of God – that “the entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church 4,” and also the reality described by Tertullian: “Satan seeks to counter God’s plan by plagiarizing the sacraments 5.” In the heart of man, dominated by passions, the divine plan can become reality if man opens himself to divine grace and the redeeming love of Jesus Christ.

1 St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Part II-II, Question 142
2 Pius XI, Encyclical Casti Connubii, 36
3 Karol Wojtyla, Love and Responsibility, p. 150
4 CCC, 1617
5 Tertullian, cited by Christopher West, Created and Redeemed study guide, 2004, p. 3

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