TH 131 LONG TEST REVIEWER

PEOPLE OF GOD
The single greatest argument against the existence of God is the existence of evil.

Innocent suffering
But if there were no God, that will make our situation all the more desperate and hopeless.
(Aquinas)
Religion in its most basic sense is the human attempt to find answers to lifes ultimate questions.
Religion comes from an attempt to make sense of suffering and other mysteries (creation, life,
love, death, afterlife, etc.)
Religion finds the answers to lifes key questions in the reality of one who is perceived as the origin,
ground and goal of all reality.
Institutionalized religion is the structured expression of our faith in God.

Elements:

Rituals of worship
sacrament -> liturgy -> worship

Following the commandments and morals

Religious doctrines
THESIS 1: THEOLOGY
General Sense

LOGOS about THEOS

word about God, not word of God

Who/What is God?

What does the concept of God represent?

creator

love

all-powerful being

friend

Father

origin, ground, destiny of all created reality

Specific Sense

Systematic effort of any religion to interpret its core beliefs in the changing times
Specific Catholic Sense
1

Fides quaerens intellectum - faith seeking understanding

The process of understanding our faith in God

What is faith?
It is response to revelation

Popular ideas and misconceptions about faith

belief in the absence of power

taking things on faith

leap in the dark

blind faith

religious piety and devotion

being prayerful; being churchy

Manang-istic
Faith as objective reality

Helps provide the answers to lifes ultimate questions

Faith as subjective, personal act

A personal choice

A conscious, deliberate act of human freedom

Our faith is specifically Christian.

To encounter God through Christ who preached He was sent by the Father whose spirit is
upon Him

Our faith is trinitarian

To have faith is to have these three elements:
1) Conviction (believing) - paniniwala
2) Commitment (doing) - paggawa
3) Trust (entrusting) - pagtitiwala
Parang pakikipagkaibigan (CFC)

Pagkilala, pagmamalasakit
Faith is not mere believing nor mere praying.
None of those who cry out Lord, Lord will enter the Kingdom of God, but only the one who does
the will of the Father. (Mt 7:21)
Faith is doing.

Faith translates our believing and worship into a commitment of love

Faith is commitment.

How does one love?

How often should you love?

2

What does one give when one loves?

The Marital Vows

A commitment of my entire being - of mind, heart, soul and body

Theology, therefore, is the process by which we bring our faith in God (knowledge and
understanding, commitment, trust and hope) to the level of reflection and expression.
Theology is the articulation, in a more or less systematic manner, of our God-experience in light of
Gods revelation in the sacred scripture, Church teachings and human experiences.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) What is the purpose of religion?
To find the meaning of life.
2) What is the Judaeo-Christian explanation for the meaning of life?
The answer to ultimate questions are found in an infinite Creator-God who broke into
human history and into the consciousness of mankind in a process called Revelation.
3) How does Christ explain the meaning of life?
The Christian challenge is to be an initiator of love, to love the unlovable. Life comes through
death. To find the richness and fullness of life we must die to self and risk ourselves in loving others.
4) Why is there a need for a Church? liturgy? Sacraments?
With the Church, knowledge and resources could be pooled, plans developed, the public
educated, converts made, enthusiasm stirred for the purpose of dramatizing love. It is a formal the
visible, formal group tasked with this challenge. <- The what?
The role of the liturgy is to continually form the community by steeping it in the vision of
love, by representing the story of the God-man who loved so much that He made a free decision to
die in order to prove his love. Its purpose is to tell us who we are, a community of love in Christ.
The sacraments are symbolic meeting points, encounters with Gods loving presence. They
are special ritual moments wherein we can open ourselves to His always available love. They are
not only signs of divine love, they also cause change and growth because they lead the mind and
emotions of the believer to be more deeply and fully immersed in the Gospel mystery.
5) What is the place of theology in any religion?
Systematic effort of any religion to interpret its core beliefs in the changing times.
6) What is the place of theology in the Catholic Church?
The process of understanding our faith in God.
7) What is theology?
Theology is the articulation, in a more or less systematic manner, of the human experience
of God in light of Gods revelation in Sacred Scripture and the teachings of the Church.
8) What is faith?
3
Faith is response to revelation.
THESIS 2: GOD
Images of God:
1) Ghu-to

God is ultimate power

The one we call in the face of horrendous suffering (mother)

Object of fear and terror

Mysterium tremendum
2) The Sacred/The Holy

Totally apart; totally other

3) Infinite Worth

Object of fascination, devotion and love

Mysterium fascinosum
4) Mystery

Ano nga ba ang anyo at itsura ng Diyos?

Ano nga ba ang itsura at anyo ng karagatan?

The image of no image

A reality so deep it cannot be comprehended in purely human terms; there is always

something more to discover
Filipino images of God/Christ: Sto. Nio, Black Nazarene
We look for God in order to find Him, and to find Him in order to seek Him again. God will be found
to be found again. -Ernst Black
Hence, in the face of mystery, one can only be silent. -The Little Prince
Mysterium tremendum et fascinosum

A mystery at one both terrifying and fascinating

Kulog at kidlat (nakakatakot, makapangyarihan) vs. ilaw at liwanag (nakakaakit,

mapagmahal)
Tanong: Sino ang Diyos sa akin?
The Christian God

Who really is God? What do we truly know about Him?

only what He has revealed

Scripture insistently tell us: God is love

Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has
been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God
4
is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the
world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved
us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us,
we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 Jn 4: 7-12)

Incarnation - an exercise of divine love

The essence of God is love in relationship.

Love is the will to extend ones own self and to nurture ones own or anothers growth.
*God is only God when He loves us.
Who is God? What is His name?

YHWH

tetragrammation

group of Hebrew words that cannot be uttered

I am who am

Yahweh/Yehowah
God is:

Father, Son and Spirit

Father is a relational term

a father is a father in relation to his child

God is not some mathematical puzzle

A community of relationships, of love

God as creator, redeemer

You have created us for Yourself, O God. And our hearts are restless until they rest in You.
-St. Augustine
Our peace lies in God because He saves us from guilt and fear.
What causes our sense of guilt?

The burden caused by sin

a sense of being impure

inaction

With guilt we become prisoners of the past

God liberates us from guilt

Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.

Gods compassion and love frees us from the burden of being a prisoner of the past
Objects of our fear

Uncertain future, suffering, losing control, rejection, failure

Ultimately death
5
With fear, we become prisoners of the future.

God liberates us from our fears

Be not afraid...weep no more, she is not dead. (Lk 8: 49-56)

Your brother will rise.

What is most real is not what was or what will be, but what is.

Now is the most real because that is where we are.

And yet, when is now now?

Now is not part of time because now does not end.

Is it possible that now can go on even beyond death?

God frees us from guilt over the past and fear of the uncertain future so that we can do the work of
love now.
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) What are the popular images of God?
Ghu-to, The Sacred/The Holy, Infinite Worth, Mystery
2) What are the popular Filipino images of God?
Sto. Nino, Black Nazarene
3) What is the Christian image of God according to classical theology?
God is the deepest truth of human existence (intimior intimo meo) that empowers
us to be truly ourselves: to be free from sin and to be free for love by liberating us from guilt,
meaninglessness and the fear of death.
4) What is the Christian image of God according to Christian scripture?
God is love.
5) What does the Christian scriptural image of God say about the nature and purpose of human
existence?
Created in Gods image as love, human persons find their meaning and fulfillment in
relationships. The human face as image of oneself for others, human language, male-female
complementarity.
THESIS 3: THE HUMAN PERSON
Human beings are created in relationship.

The face - for others, not for us

Language - to communicate with each other

Man/Woman - differences in gender to reproduce

I am one person but relationally infinite.
There is no self waiting to be discovered.
6
What makes an onion an onion? The layers itself. <- so what about the layers? ano ngayon?

Identity is formed in community.

It will always take a village to raise a child.

We are social creatures.

I have a body

This body is mine just as anything I have is mine.

But do I have a body the same way I have anything? No.

When I throw this body, I throw myself away.

Because I am my body.

And therefore I am more than a body.

I/My spirit becomes real - to others (myself - through my body)

I am an embodied spirit - not merely a body, but an incarnated spirit.

While not pure spirit to be worshipped, not pure body to be exploited either.

My body is by & of itself value because without it I (my spirit) am nothing.

I am not a commodity, an object nor an instrument. My body is me. Respect me. Do

not violate me.
Ultimately, however, we are more than our bodies.

It is only with the heart that we can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.
(Antoine de Saint-Exupry)

Most important: friendship, family, virtue/character, laughter, tampo, hope, justice,

affection, love

While these are obviously physical experiences, they certainly promise more human
fulfillment than material things can ever provide.

Our propensity for selling things right

Our experience of hope that defies the odds, even death.

Our sense of outrage at what is thoroughly evil

The triumph of virtue over compromise

Our ability to laugh

ability to recognize the imperfections of the world

There is more to life than meets the eye.

Person - an inexhaustible sort of existence
- mystery
- a community
- a commitment ( layer after layer of compromise) & injured by hurts; NEVERTHELESS
As embodied spirits, our bodies are neither objects of exploitation nor objects of worship.
Faith is confident assurance of things hoped for and conviction of things we do not see. (Hebrew
11)
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
7
1) How is our social/relational nature manifested by certain aspects of our physical structure and
existence (the face, language, the sex act)?
The face is there for others to look at; language is there for others to understand us; need
the opposite sex to reproduce.
2) Our existence is embodied and physical. In relation to this, explain the following: a) I have a body;
b) I am my body; c) I am more than my body.
See notes
THESIS 4: THE SACRAMENTAL PRINCIPLE
The Sacramental/Incarnational Principle

Root word: Sacrum (sacred)

Grace = Gods gift of his presence

Full of grace
full of Gods presence; grace-full
Mary: God-bearer (figuratively & literally)

Needs an outward sign

Spiritual reality

Feelings; virtues, ideals and truth, imagination, and soul/spirit

What is the most common sacrament?

The body

expresses itself

both expression and limitation; a gift and a curse

The Incarnation - mystery of faith that grounds the sacramental principle
In Christ, God became visible to man.

Not only did Christ point to God, he communicated Gods presence real
*signs - point to somebody
**symbols - make the sign real by embodying things signs point to
In His people, the church, Christ remains visible in history.
Christ is the primordial sacrament.

Prime and order

Sacrament of the First Order

The Church is the fundamental sacrament.

The fundamental way to Christ

8

The fount and source of the other sacraments

The Church is especially visible through the 7 sacraments

Through the sacraments, we are put in touch with Christ.

The Sacraments

Ritual encounters with Christ during the profoundly significant stages of life

Rituals celebrated with food and drink

sustenance of life
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) What does the sacramental principle mean?
The sacramental principle asserts that Gods revelation and our response to it is expressed
through signs and symbols, given our nature as embodied spirits.
2) Why is there no other principle more central to Catholic identity than the sacramental principle?
Because it is only through signs and symbols that God can communicate with human beings.
(?)
3) What is the root word/term/concept in the sacramental principle?
The root word is Sacrum which means sacred
4) What is the most basic/familiar "sacrament" to human beings?
The human body
5) How is Christ a sacrament?
Because Christ pointed to God and communicated Gods real presence.
6) How is the Church a sacrament?
It is the fundamental way to Christ and the fount and source of the other sacraments.
7) Why do the 7 ritual sacraments take place during the significant stages of human life and
development? Why is the sacrament of matrimony the natural sacrament of God's love for the
world?
From time immemorial men have given the high points of existence a dramatic and
significant (sign carrying) form birth, death, the banquet, coming of age, marriage, and priestly
service. These key events are signaled by celebration. Christ named the sacraments based on
these key points so that in addition to their earthly meanings they would tell us about the deepest
meaning of reality - that life is about loving ,that we become fully human only through the challenge
and inspiration of divine love presence.
THESIS 7: LOVE
The Law of Love
9

Crucial to being human in the world because we are not only physical beings, but also
spiritual creatures (embodied spirits)
Love should be unconditional.

Not given because we are worthy of love but simply because we need love.
The love of Jesus demonstrates the following:

Love is not a feeling.

it may involve loving feelings, but they are no guarantee of genuine love

Love is a choice to do what is best for others and oneself.

love exists so long as one chooses - one does - what is objectively good for the other
and self

whether there are warm feelings involved or not

it is not always pleasant to do what is always objectively good

sometimes, we sacrifice our feelings, convenience to achieve a goal

In romantic relationships, we go through a recurring cycle of three stages: romance, disillusionment,
true love.
Falling in Love

No other human experience characteristic of stage 1

Media influence

The merging of 2 personalities

Falling in love: not two but one

A Completely Spontaneous Experience

Nobody decides to fall into

One can be awed and overwhelmed

For the madly in love, the illusion of omnipotence

We are enough for each other.
You and me against the world

To lose yourself in someone

Swept off and moonstruck

Bewitched, bothered and bewildered

What the experts say:

Collapse of ego boundaries

Opportunity for self-expansion and affirmation

An onrush of energy and exhilaration, the result of connecting with someone on a

deeper love

Falling in love can be very addicting

When one falls in love only the beginnings are delightful. That is why [some people]
keep beginning again, falling in love all over again. -Anatole France

Reality check:

But like any drug, the effect quickly wears off (depression)

An instinctual component of mating behavior that traps us into marriage

To ensure the survival of the human species

10
Love conquers us

For the most part, a childhood regression - irrational, infantile, self-centered

The inevitable first stage of any romantic relationship

In Sum: Symptoms of the Romantic Stage

A completely spontaneous experience of profound interconnectedness

Disillusionment

The Honeymoon Always Ends

the tagalog term for courtship: panliligaw

The individual self will reassert itself

ego boundaries snap back into place

A sense of separation and mutual alienation

idiosyncrasies are not cute anymore

I Have Fallen Out of Love

in the privacy of their hearts, they come to the inevitable conclusion - loving you is
not exciting anymore

hence, we are not really destined for one another

We are not meant to be.

they have fallen out of love

2 options: separation or let true love work

In Sum: Symptoms of Disillusionment

Loss of enthusiasm, excitement

The option to stay or to go

True Love

When the satisfaction, security and development of your partner become as significant as
your own, love exists.

Love is the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing ones own and anothers
spiritual growth.

Disillusionment is good

The romantic stage is illusion - it is not real!

It is easy to love and illusion because it is perfect

not wise to marry in this first stage

But one can only love a real person (with both good and bad qualities)

Romantic and self-centered love must evolve, metamorphose into mature, other-centered
love

By consistently deciding to love truly, the self truly expands and evolves and grow not with
the unpredictability of strong emotions, but with constancy of a truly loving presence
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) Why is it important to know the nature of true love?
The law of love is crucial to being human in the world because we are not only physical
beings but also spiritual creatures, or embodied spirits.
11
2) What are the counterfeit forms (misconceptions) of love?
Falling in love, romantic love, dependency, distorted sense of self sacrifice
3) What are the three stages of love?
Romance, Disillusionment, True Love
4) What experience is most characteristic of the first stage?
Falling in love
5) How does M. Scott Peck explain the experience of falling in love? How can it be an illusion?
It is a misconception to think that falling in love is a genuine manifestation of love because
falling in love is subjectively experienced in a very powerful fashion as an experience of love.
Two problems:
1. Experience of falling in love is especially a sex-linked erotic experience. We fall in love only when
we are consciously or unconsciously sexually motivated.
2. The experience of falling in love is invariably temporary.
6) Why does disillusionment eventually happen in a romantic relationship?
Because the honeymoon always ends and ego boundaries snap back into place. The couple
realizes that they are not one; they have differences.
7) Why is disillusionment good?
Yes because it allows for true love to develop.
8) What are the characteristics of true love?
see notes
9) Why are the following not examples of true love: a) the feeling of love b) dependency? c)
cathexis?
a) Love is an action, an activity. The feeling of love accompanies the experiences of
cathecting. But we may decathect something almost as soon as we have cathected it. Genuine love
on the other hand implies commitment and the exercise of wisdom.
b) Love is the free exercise of choice. Two people love each other only when they are quite
capable of living without each other but choose to live with each other. Dependence is parasitism
not love. It seeks to receive rather than give.
c) The only true end of love is spiritual growth or human evolution. If a hobby becomes an
end in itself, it becomes a substitute for rather than a means to self-development. We can love only
human beings.
10) What does M. Scott Peck mean by saying true love is not "self-sacrifice"?
Love is an extension of the self rather than a sacrifice of the self. Love is a self-replenishing
activity. In a real sense love is as selfish as nonlove.
12
THESES 8-11: FREEDOM, SIN, CONSCIOUSNESS AND MORAL EVALUATION OF HUMAN ACTS
Morality

What is it?: to do the good, to be good

We become the choices we make by responding to what were called to do and become the
persons were supposed to be

What are we called to do?

to respond to Gods general call to holiness through love

How? through specific choices, vocations

there are no special vocations
Freedom

A gift that shapes us to love well

the capacity to realize our deepest truth and well-being by making the right choices
Authentic Freedom (Freedom from vs. freedom for)

What am I free from? vs. What am I free for?

Not to choose anything at all, but to make the right choices that make us more human

Understanding and interviewing the spirit of a rule, a law, a moral norm, a virtue vs. legalism

Choose wisely - through rightly ordered feeling (not all pleasurable things are good), thinking
(correct judgement), doing (judicial giving and withholding)

Virtue (habitual disposition toward the good) vs. vice

Sin

Always the misuse and abuse of human freedom

Since true freedom is for love, and not simply freedom from restrictions on free choice, sin is
the rejection of love

The rejection of love = rejection of God

Evil - physical unnecessary suffering and death, moral evil/sin (by choice)

any condition that is:

against human well-being
against Gods will

traditionally, any situation that is evil/wrong is also considered sinful

mali, masama magsinungaling, pumatay, magnakaw - kasalanan
but sin is evil by choice

what is masama (objectively wrong/evil) is not necessarily kasalanan (personal,

moral evil)
Masamang pumatay, subalit lagi bang kasalanan ang pumatay?
Sin in Popular Tradition
1) Fact

Not something we do, but subject to do

Something we discover, experience and encounter

Original sin: a situation, a reality, a curse under which we all stand from the beginning

Individual sin and social sin

13
2) Act

Something we do

Both influenced by and contributes to the sinful order we are all born into

The sinful situation is partly our fault too

The story of Eden is in fact our story

3) Direction

The direction my life takes as a result of my sinful choices

The state of my life that is formed by my sinful life direction

Where will I point my life?

But sinful acts/choices do not simply contribute to a sinful life direction

Genovesi: individual sins are rooted in a fundamental orientation/attitude of sinfulness

We should not be judged on individual sins along apart from the larger context of our lives
Objective Sin

Inherently harmful and destructive action

Subjective Sin

We do an objective sin with personal knowledge and consent

Conscience

Ones best judgement as to what is the morally right thing to do

Can ones best judgement be a wrong judgement?

one can err by virtue of invincible ignorance or involuntary ignorance

Three levels:

Habit of conscience: general sense of the good based on universal moral norms

Conscience as moral reasoning/discernment: obligation to educate our conscience

Judgement/decision of conscience: decision based on universal objective moral

norms
Determining Sin

Traditional (Moral Absolutism)

Objective

Subjective
Criteria: full knowledge, full consent
Gravity: mortal/grave/venial

Revisionist (Proportionalism)

Moral evil/sin
sufficient knowledge, full consent

Objective wrong
not necessarily sinful, internal impediments

Ontic evil
not sinful, external impediments
14
not clear if subjectively sinful/objectively wrong
Elements that constitute a moral act:
1) Nature
2) Intention
3) Circumstances
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1) What is morality?
Morality is to do the good and be good. It is to experience the fullness of life in God through
Christ the Spirit.
2) What is freedom? What is fundamental option?
True freedom is not freedom from any restrictions on free choice, but freedom to be to love
for love.
Fundamental option: The individual sins are rooted in a fundamental orientation/attitude/
mindset of sinfulness. The fundamental orientation of sinfulness reinforces sinfulness.
3) What is sin? What are the three traditional ways of understanding sin?
Sin is the abuse of human freedom, it is to reject God who is love.
The three ways of understanding sin are: as a fact (objective reality), as an act (a choice), and
as a state (an orientation).
4) Whats the difference between subjective sin and objective sin?
Objective sin is an inherently harmful and destructive action.
Subjective sin is when we do an objective sin with personal knowledge and consent.
5) Whats the difference between moral evil, objective wrong, and ontic evil?
6) What is conscience?
Conscience is the inner conviction that something is right or wrong
7) What are the three elements in evaluating a moral act?
Nature, intention, circumstances
THESES 12-14: GNOSTICISM, SEXUALITY AND CHASTITY
Context

A highly sexualized society

Todays social pressures on marriage and the family

economics, socio-political (ABC, abortion), media and internet

Sex as taboo

Double-standard of morality

Misguided feminism
15
Historical Notes

Gnosticism

ultimate principles behind creation:

good and evil
in the beginning, human beings were meant to be pure spirits
the body is a curse
material existence is the source of suffering and death
sexual relations must be rejected because they generate new life

sexual attitudes:
repression
promiscuity (so long as new life is avoided)

Augustine

one of the two greatest theologians

gnostic

inclination to do what shouldnt be done (concupiscence)

sex is ONLY for procreation, even for married couples

man is gifted with reason and will, and must act on it

sex in movies: irrational, animal-like behavior
therefore, sex is not an act of a rational being

Aquinas
Purposes of sex:
1) Procreative
2) Unitive
Objective meaning of sex: unreserved giving of one to another

Nakedness: ultimate expression of trust

Unite and enter one another = connection

Love > sex, especially in the end

Marriage is a choice, not a feeling.
GUIDE QUESTIONS/QUIZ 5:
1) What is the Gnostic view of life and sexuality?
Anything material is evil, including marriage and procreation because they added to material
creation.
2) What is Augustines view of sex and marriage?
The good of marriage consists in its preservation of society and the human race. Marriage,
however, involves the sexual act which, when done not for procreation but for pleasure, can easily
pass over into uncontrolled sexual passion, which could indicate lust and concupiscencedisordered
desires that incline us to sin. Sexual ecstasy contradicts the rational nature of human beings, who
must always act subject to their reason and will. (NOTE: This is no longer officially taught by the
Church today.)
16
3) What are the two purposes of sexuality?
The twofold purpose of sexuality (the sex act, in particular) is the procreative (to bring
human life into the world) and the unitive (to unite two persons in love). There is no distinction
between primary and secondary purposes. Both are equally important.
4) What are the two aspects/dimensions of sexuality?
The two dimensions of sexuality are the affective (the need for warmth, intimacy and
affection) and the genital (the need for genital fulfillment).
5) What are the two criteria by which we evaluate sexual conduct?
The two criteria for evaluating sexual behavior are (a) sexual expressions must be genuinely
loving, and (b) sexual expressions must be socially responsible or appropriate.
6) What is the objective meaning of the sexual act?
Sexual intercourse is a sign of the total, unreserved giving of self to one's partner.
7) According to Genovesi, what should the relationship be between sexual union and personal
union?
Sexual union should represent a real personal union between two partners. If a man and
a woman have not merged their lives together in all aspects of their relationship (intellectual,
emotional, spiritual), sex is reduced to a mere physical union, and does not signify a complete self-
giving to the other. Sexual expressions must always correspond to the degree of relationship that
actually exists between the persons concerned.
REPORTS
MASTURBATION
1) Why has Church tradition consistently taught that masturbation is a serious sin?
Misinterpretation of Onans behaviour in the Old Testament (Genesis 38:8-10) led to the
condemnation of masturbation by religious authority, and it became the subject of many myths,
being blamed for causing disabilities such as weakness, impotence, and insanity. This attitude
persists today, and several orthodox religions continue to regard masturbation as a sin.
2) How can masturbation be explained from a psychological and sociological perspective?
Donald Georgen is one among many who believe that except in extreme cases, masturbation
is normal and healthy: If there are any psychological problems associated with masturbation, they
do not arise from the masturbatory activity but from the individuals attitude towards it.
Masturbation becomes abnormal when it is the only type of sexual activity performed in
adulthood: when it is done with such frequency as to indicate a compulsion or sexual dysfunction,
or when it is consistently preferred to sex with a partner. Furthermore, it becomes a problem only
when it has become a compulsion wherein an individual masturbates for several times a day for long
periods of time that it is no longer pleasurable which also prevents the very individual from carrying
on regular everyday tasks such as keeping a stable job or having interpersonal relationships.
17
Genovesi believes that the masturbation may be expressive of a persons efforts to
understand and integrate the various elements of his or her self-identity as a sexual being so that
there can be further movement in the direction of mature interpersonal relationships. But he also
warns that the act may be detrimental, especially when the person contents himself only with sexual
self-gratification so he cannot pass through the further stage of being able to share himself, which
is essential to his complete growth.
Donald Georgen agrees with Genovesi in this, saying that masturbation will always have its
risks, not the least of it is the psychological danger that the person may come to value human
sexuality as a solitary experience than a shared one [However], it is false to say that masturbation
is always wrong as it is to say that it is never wrong. Genovesi, upon evaluation of Georgens
statement, says that what can be safely maintained from it is that masturbation points to the
unfinishedness of a persons sexual and spiritual integration as a human being.
Freud suggests that masturbation should be seen as an action that expresses or reflects
some internal psychosexual state.
3) What are the four moral evaluations of masturbation summarized by Norbert C. Brockman in
Genovesis chapter on masturbation?
(1) TRADITIONAL VIEW
Largely reflected in the official teaching of the Catholic Church: masturbation is objectively
sinful, as well as it is subjectively sinful (except in very rare cases).
(2) DIMINISHED FREEDOM
Masturbation shall always be considered objectively sinful; however, since it is not simply
a sexual sin but also part of a complex process of maturation, it cannot be considered a
serious sin.
(3) FUNDAMENTAL OPTION
Suggests that for the average person, masturbation as an act should not be considered as
a serious sin, for as long as the fundamental choice and orientation of the person is still
directed towards God and his will.
(4) NEUTRAL ATTITUDE
Views the act as a normal part of growing up and that the only serious evil that can be
attached to it arises from the unfortunate guilt feelings that come from training and the
negative attitudes towards sexuality.
4) What among the four moral evaluations apply to the group reports material?
Diminished freedom for the documentary: I cant stop masturbating (2007)
5) What is the CCCs statement on masturbation (CCC 2352)? What among the four moral
evaluations is consistent with the CCC position? Why is this a good, balanced approach to the issue?
2352 By masturbation is to be understood the deliberate stimulation of the genital organs
in order to derive sexual pleasure. "Both the Magisterium of the Church, in the course of a constant
tradition, and the moral sense of the faithful have been in no doubt and have firmly maintained that
masturbation is an intrinsically and gravely disordered action."

"The deliberate use of the sexual
faculty, for whatever reason, outside of marriage is essentially contrary to its purpose." For here
sexual pleasure is sought outside of "the sexual relationship which is demanded by the moral order
and in which the total meaning of mutual self-giving and human procreation in the context of true
love is achieved.
Fundamental option.
18
6) What among the four moral evaluations is consistent with the CFC position (CFC 1112)? What
does the CFC mean when it says that we should not focus on the mechanics of the act when judging
the moral guilt of persons engaged in the act of masturbation? What should we focus on then?
FUNDAMENTAL OPTION - They believe that masturbation is only the result of a much deeper
problem and that this evil can be rooted somewhere else instead. We must focus on the heart of the
matter rather than the act itself.
7) According to revisionist theology, what circumstances would be judge cases of masturbation to be
a moral evil? An objective wrong? An ontic evil?
moral evil - a person who masturbates for the sake of the pleasure brought about by masturbation
objective wrong - a person who lacks the knowledge or full consent and masturbates, people with
psychological disorders also fall here
ontic evil - when masturbating results to pain or suffering
PROSTITUTION
1) Is prostitution primarily a problem in sexual morality according to CFC 1115?
It is also a problem caused by poverty and destitution, a social problem.
2) Even if prostitution is usually poverty-driven, still what makes it an objective sin?
It is offense against the value of chastity and the use of our God-given body. It goes against
the creative and unitive purpose of the sexual act.
1115. Finally, the virtue of chastity and purity of heart stand in direct opposition to
prostitution and pornography (cf. CCC 2354-55). In the Philippine context, both present extreme
cases of exploitation and injustice, foisted on the poor by the affluent. Rather than primarily
a problem in sexual morality, both are too often simply the consequences of dire poverty and
destitution. Yet, both constitute a dehumanizing, self-centered and immoral use of our God-given
sexuality. A prostitute is robbed of his/her dignity as a person by being reduced to a mere means for
the selfish pleasure of the buyer. There is absolutely no commitment, no love, no service of life.
3) Even if prostitution is a gravely sinful act (CCC 2355), how can the imputability of the sin be
attenuated by destitution?
When the person involved does not have any other option to have a decent means of living,
relegating it to an ontic instead of moral evil.
2355 Prostitution does injury to the dignity of the person who engages in it, reducing the person to an
instrument of sexual pleasure. The one who pays sins gravely against himself: he violates the chastity to which
his Baptism pledged him and defiles his body, the temple of the Holy Spirit. Prostitution is a social scourge. It
usually involves women, but also men, children, and adolescents (The latter two cases involve the added sin
of scandal.). While it is always gravely sinful to engage in prostitution, the imputability of the offense can be
attenuated by destitution, blackmail, or social pressure.
4) What kind of sin or evil does a child prostitute commit?
19
Objective evil due to invincible or involuntary ignorance. There is an internal impediment to
the childs knowledge about prostitution.
5) What kind of sin or evil does an adult prostitute in extreme poverty commit?
Ontic Evil (caused by outside forces/impediments)
PREMARITAL SEX
1) What specific material will you review relative to the questions below?
Sex is Zero 2
2) Cite recent studies demonstrating popular attitudes of the youth toward PMS today.
3) What explains these popular attitudes such as sexual promiscuity, scepticism toward Church
teaching on sexual morality, live-in arrangements?
4) What is the meaning & purpose of sexual intercourse in itself?
The unreserved giving of self
5) What exactly would make it right to engage in sex?
If the couple is in a permanent, committed relationship (i.e. married couples).
6) What is the argument of Aquinas against sex outside marriage?
It is opposed to the natural purpose of sexual intercourse, which is the generation and
education of a child. (Aquinas)Both he and Augustine only focused on the procreative purpose of
sex, leaving out the unitive purpose.
7) How does Genovesi and CFC explain chastity?
CFC 1093: Chastity here refers to the wholesome integration of ones
sexuality within ones person.
Genovesi: Living as a chaste person requires that the physical and external expressions of our
sexuality be "under the control of love, with tenderness and full awareness of the other." John A. T.
Robinson has made the suggestion that chastity is honesty in sex, that is, chastity implies that we
have "physical relationships that truly express the degree of personal commitment" that is shared
with the other....
Chastity, then, is for all people and not just for those who are single. . .
Far from being in any way opposed to sexuality, chastity accepts a person's striving for pleasure
and "attempts to put that striving at the service of other human and Christian values."
8) Is chastity the same as virginity? Merely refraining from sex? Can one be unchaste and virgin?
Relate this to pecking & necking short of intercourse
Virginity concerns the sexual history, chastity is a virtue of sexual responsibility.
A person refraining from sex but only short of intercourse is not chaste.
20
e.g. Momol buddies not having sex.
A virgin who lusts with another person and only short of intercourse is unchaste.
9) Cite biblical passages about sexual integrity
1 Corinthians 6:18
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually
immoral person sins against his own body.
1 Corinthians 10:13
No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you
be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that
you may be able to endure it.
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5
For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one
of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the
Gentiles who do not know God;
10) What circumstances would judge PMS acts to be moral evil? Objective wrong? Ontic evil?
Objective Wrong: When a person is not conscious of the act.
Ontic Evil: When a person is raped or forced by the other.
Moral Evil: When the couple really decided to have premarital sex
CONTRACEPTION
1) What specific material will you review relative to the questions below?
Good Luck Chuck
2) What is the position of the government/church regarding the population problem?
The Philippine government expresses its concern on the population crisis because the
it believes that overpopulation can impede on growth and development. Many lawmakers and
politicians have rallied for legislature that can hopefully address this issue of overpopulation, as
evidenced by the controversial passing of the Reproductive Health Law. In opposition to this, the
Roman Catholic Church maintains that the population crisis does not exist, but acknowledges
the presence of population problems that may pose difficulties for economic growth. The
Church primarily emphasizes that the fundamental cause of poverty is injustice in society, not
overpopulation, and it doesnt deny the effect of the increase in population.
3) What are some of the more common forms of ABC? NFP methods? Whats the essential
difference between the two?
Artificial Birth Control (ABC) methods may involve the use of drugs that can alter the
menstrual cycle, barrier devices which prohibit the sperm from entering the uterus, or surgeries
that can damage a bodily function or process, therefore preventing fertilization. These methods
alter the persons capability to procreate through human initiative. Examples of these are condoms,
spermicides, oral contraceptives, and intrauterine devices. On the other hand, natural family
planning (NFP) refers to a cluster of methods used by couples to either postpone or achieve
21
pregnancy without the use of drugs, barrier devices, and surgical procedures. The calendar method
is the most common form of NFP, as well as abstinence. According to HV 16, The similarity between
ABC and NFP is that in both instances, the married couple may have the intention of not having
children, but the difference is that in ABC, they obstruct the natural development of the generative
process, while in NFP, the couple use a faculty provided by nature and subsequently by God. It
must also be understood that the couple uses the infertile period to express their mutual love and
safeguard their fidelity towards one another.
4) Explain the traditional Church position as articulated by Humanae Vitae (Read Bishop Bacanis
Church & Birth Control for clear explanation of HV). Why must the procreative & unitive meanings of
the conjugal act not be separated by human initiative?
According to the Roman Catholic Church, contraception is wrong because each and every
marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life (Humanae Vitae, no. 11). This is based
on the natural law which Pope John Paul II sees as the inseparable connection, willed by God and
unable to be broken by man on his own initiative, between the two meanings of the conjugal act:
the unitive and the procreative meaning. The inseparability of these two meanings essentially
means that a couple engages in the conjugal act with the purpose of union and procreation, even
though these two concepts are distinct in nature. However, the Pope has mentioned that while
conjugal acts may not necessarily result in the procreation of new life, the procreative potential of a
person must not be altered through human initiative. Therefore, females who cannot bear children
are still allowed to engage in the sexual act.
5) What is the ultimate theological argument against contraception (ABC) according to Bacani?
That the contraceptive act is the rebellion against God; it is a non-recognition of God and
an attempt to build a world where God is completely extraneous through ABC. We have to keep
in mind that man is given dominion over all things in the world but we still do not have complete
dominion over every function of our body. Procreation occurs not only through the marital act but
also through Gods will.
6) Explain the dissenting opinions to HV, especially the ones mentioned by Genovesi.
In Humanae Vitae, procreative and unitive purposes of sex are inseparable. One of the
theologians named McCormick pointed out that at there are points of separations between
procreative and unitive purpose of this conjugal act. For one, theres a point during womens natural
menstrual cycle that they are infertile. But Adrian Hasting points out that there are two types of
intercourse. One is open to the creation of new lives or babies which is the conceptive type. The
other will be the non-conceptive type but still caters in making the babies lives stable being an
avenue for the proper upbringing of the babies.
With these, the church explains its openness to the periodic abstinence and natural family
planning. Natural Family Planning makes the couples engage in sex during certain times when
theres no fertility. This is different from using contraceptives especially barrier methods because
these are directed to the prevention of contraception which is anti-procreative in nature.
7) Why is NFP morally acceptable to the Church? What extraordinary circumstances could justify the
use of NFP? What mindset/attitude does it develop among married couples? What is unnatural
about NFP methods according to revisionist theologians?
22
The Church holds that the NFP is the only acceptable means of family planning, if one is
to take into consideration the morality of the means, and not just mere effectiveness. A common
characteristic of NFP methods is the abstention of the couple from sexual intercourse during a
womans fertile period. Examples of these methods are the Rhythm Method, Billings Ovulation
Method, Sympto-thermal method, and breast-feeding, in which can be justified when a married
couple is deemed fertile. As mentioned it makes use of a natural faculty provided by God and
because it is in the teaching of the Catholic Church the obligation and responsibility of the married
couple towards fidelity and fecundity.
8) What is the so-called contraceptive mentality? Do contraceptives really encourage this attitude?
How do the 14 professors supporting the RH bill argue their case for the use of ABC in extraordinary
circumstances? What are these extraordinary situations? or are they proposing the use of ABC under
any & all circumstances? Can NFP users ever be guilty of the contraceptive mentality?
The contraceptive mentality refers to the mindset of a couple to avoid having children
simply because they do not want the responsibility attached to having children. The bishops say that
even if a couple uses NFP methods, but with this kind of mentality, they are committing sin because
they are selfish enough to take the accept responsibility of having children. To understand the
point of view of the professors who lobbied for the RH Bill, the group has interviewed one of these
teachers. Being a program director of one of the courses in Ateneo, he has expressed <blah blah>
9) How would the Church give a moral evaluation of couples using ABC? The Church can give a moral
evaluation of the couples who use ABC methods by simply looking at three elements: the intention/
motivation of the act, the circumstances of it, and the object of the act itself.
According to Genovesi: the spouses should agree that contraception is a moral option
given their circumstances, the method decided upon should be mutually acceptable, and they must
remain honest and open to avoid the contraceptive mentality
10) According to revisionist theologians, what circumstances would you justify ABC? What would
make individual cases of contraception a moral evil? An objective wrong? An ontic evil?
Contraception isnt a moral evil there might be the will in using these devices but behind
these are externalities that can push them from using such contraceptive techniques therefore t is
an ontic evil. Philip S. Keane, S.J. point out that contraception might hinder the possibility of creating
new lives but if a couple face serious medical, psychological or economic problems [which warrant
avoidance of procreation], their need for the moral justification to their use of birth control devices.
(footnote - sexual Morality: A Catholic Perspective (New York: Paulist, 1977) 124.
For inhibiting the procreative purpose of sex, the use of contraception is objectively wrong
regardless the impairment to knowledge or intentions.
*Read Genovesi.
**Notes from Bacani:
- 3 major documents: The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,
Humanae Vitae, and Familiaris Consortio
- Church rejects 3 things: go to p. 12 of Bacanis book
23
SEX IN MEDIA
1) How does media today generally portray sex and sexuality?
2) Evaluate the particular material according to certain theories of sexuality mentioned by Genovesi
(pp. 123-124). [Philip Keane, Sexual Morality: A Catholic Perspective (New York: Paulist Press, 1977),
3-19.]
3) How is Hugh Hefners Playboy Philosophy operative in the material? How is this philosophy
critiqued in Genovesis book?
4) What important Church documents can you cite that discuss the responsible use of media
regarding sexuality?
5) What biblical passages may be cited that speak about sexual integrity? The proper treatment of
women? The inherent dignity of the human person, especially women, and the human body?
6) Is there a correlation between media shaping our perception (e.g. women projected as sex
objects) and actual male attitudes toward, and treatment of women (e.g. certain crimes of violence
against women)? What do the latest psychological/sociological studies suggest?
HOMOSEXUALITY
1) Whats the difference between homosexual orientation and homosexual acts?
The Homosexual Orientation is the inclination of an individual to do homogenital acts.
According to Genovesi, an individual discovers his/her attraction towards the same sex, similar in the
way he/she discovers discovers his/her attraction to the same sex in psychosexual development.
Homogenital Acts involve sexual deeds involving members of the same sex.
2) How does the Bible interpret homosexuality? Is there a distinction between homosexual
orientation and acts in the Bible?
In our report, we said OT was much more judgemental and NT was more forgiving. But sir
said there really wasnt.
3) What does the Church mean when it calls homosexuality as an objective disorder?
The homosexual orientation is looked upon as an objective disorder because the
homosexual orientation goes against the natural order for which sexuality was created or
designed for: the unitive and procreative purpose.
4) What are the classical biblical arguments against homosexual acts?
1 COR 6:9-11
Romans 1:6-7
Genesis (creation of man and woman)
5) What is the natural law argument against homosexual acts?
24
Natural Law argument, which states that homogenital acts frustrates the two-
fold purpose of sexuality, which is procreative and unitive. Being a homosexual, a person
disallows himself from engaging in coitus with the opposite sex by having a preference for
the same sex preventing the individual from procreating. Additionally, the homosexual
individuals are seen to have frustration in forming commitments due to a lack in interest
in affection and union and failed to see the true dimension of marriage based on Paul K.
Thomas studies on homosexuals (Genovesi, 1996)
6) What is the human frustration argument against homosexual relations? How does this argument
support the Churchs position that homosexuality is an objective disorder? (Use Livio Melinas
explanation in his article Homosexual Inclination as an Objective Disorder (Nos. 3 & 4) in the
textbook.)
Homogenital activity is wrong because it brings about harm to the whole person because
it needs to nurture both parties, homogenital acts are seen as a kind neurosis that should not be
fostered. Homogenital intimacy impedes and violates healthy growth and thus is incongruent
with authentic love.
7) According to some revisionist theologians, what conditions must exist that would justify
homosexual genital activity?
2 Things: Homosexual couple is stable and committed & they are truly homosexuals (not in
the testing phase)
8) According to revisionist theology, what circumstances would judge individual cases of
homogenital activity to be a moral evil? An objective wrong? An ontic evil?
According to Revisionist View, there are no Morally wrong homogenital activity. All
homogenital activities are objectively wrong. It becomes an Ontic Evil if the couple is stable and
committed & they are truly homosexuals.
9) Based on Christs treatment of sexual frailty (e.g. the adulterous woman), how would he have
responded to someone with a homosexual orientation?
He would have showed he showed him/her compassion, forgiveness, and most of
all acceptance. Thats why we are called to treat homosexual persons with respect and
compassion (CCC 2538).
PORNOGRAPHY
h. WHAT ARE THE DESTRUCTIVE EFFECTS (PSYCHOLOGICAL, EMOTIONAL) OF PORN ADDICTION
TO INDIVIDUAL PERSONS OR MARRIED COUPLES (E.G.,HUSBANDS ADDICTED TO PORN MAKE
UNREASONABLE DEMANDS ON THEIR SPOUSES IN THE AREA OF SEX)?
Through Porn, both male and female have the illusion of what is a real man and woman
(the macho, always erect man, and the voluptuous and sexy and always-ready woman), and rejects
anything short of these semblance. It also promotes sexual violence, and degrades the actors and
actresses involved. viewing pornographic materials also inculcates the habit of it.
25
i. HOW DOES THE CCC GIVE A MORAL EVALUATION OF PORNOGRAPHY?
2354 Pornography consists in removing real or simulated sexual acts from the intimacy of
the partners, in order to display them deliberately to third parties. It offends against chastity
because it perverts the conjugal act, the intimate giving of spouses to each other. It does grave
injury to the dignity of its participants (actors, vendors, the public), since each one becomes an
object of base pleasure and illicit profit for others. It immerses all who are involved in the illusion of
a fantasy world. It is a grave offense. Civil authorities should prevent the production and distribution
of pornographic materials
j. WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES WOULD JUDGE PORNOGRAPHY TO BE A MORAL EVIL? AN OBJECTIVE
WRONG? AN ONTIC EVIL?
Moral evil when we deliberately view or search it, with full knowledge and consent, in
order to be aroused or masturbate. Or when you enter the pornography business with full consent
and knowledge.
Objective wrong Internal impediments; perhaps viewing pornography because youre
young and curious
Ontic Perhaps because of poverty that you decided to enter the pornography industry
(which is most of the time, for many actors and actresses in the said industry); external impediments
k. HOW DOES A THEOLOGY OF THE BODY (POPE JOHN PAUL II) PROVIDE A BALANCED AND PROPER
WAY OF LOOKING AT THE HUMAN BODY? WHAT TWO OPPOSING EXTREME ATTITUDES MUST BE
AVOIDED IN RELATION TO THE NAKED HUMAN BODY?
l. LOOK FOR THE CHURCH DOCUMENT THAT ADDRESSES THE ISSUES OF VIOLENCE & SEX
(PORNOGRAPHY) IN MEDIA. (SEE THE E-RESERVE LIBRARY, THE RESERVE LIBRARY UNDER TH 131, DR.
ASIS, OR THE PROFESSOR FOR POSSIBLE REFERENCES.)
What the document basically says is that communication or media is a double-edged sword;
through it, more people are now more knowledgeable about their own rights and dignity, but at the
same time, media can be used in improper and degrading ways (like porn, for instance).
Pornography is a violation to the right to privacy of the human body, and presents further confusion
and sway to the already morally-confused society. please check what I uploaded in the group for the
document. The whole things there.
CELIBACY
1) Whats the difference between celibacy and chastity?
Celibacy is a state or choice to abstain from sexual relations or activity.
Chastity is a virtue often used in connection to celibacy. The Church defines chastity as the
successful integration of sexuality within the person and thus the inner unity of man in his
bodily and spiritual being. Put simply, it is the proper use of ones sexuality in order to form
meaningful relationships that allow all parties to grow in all aspects.
2) Is chastity associated only with one particular state of life? Vocation?
No. Chastity is the proper use of ones sexuality in order to form meaningful relationships
that allow all parties to grow in all aspects. Although usually affiliated with those who are celibate
for religious vows, chastity is also expected and can be found in singles, couples, and even married
couples.
26
3) Was it an original requirement for the priesthood? Why was it eventually imposed?
4) How did Christ talk about celibacy?
(Not really part of our report but...) In the bible, Jesus actually exalts celibacy over marriage.
5) Is it the root cause of all this widespread sexual misconduct involving our clergy? Why or why not?
6) What are some of the important psychological considerations to be made before making celibacy
a permanent life commitment/vocation?
Humans naturally need moral and physical intimacy especially in the case of the raging
hormones of teenagers. The sexual activity that is avoided in celibacy is often misconstrued as the
only form of intimacy. Psychologically speaking, there are other forms--- intellectual, sharing activity,
and emotional intimacy; all of which are important to form meaningful relationships with other
people.
Moreover, in order to fully attain a happy celibate life or period, Dr. Brown identifies other
relationships that should be nurtured apart from the sexual relationship, these include: self-love;
the unconditional love of a mother; a student-teacher relationship, also the celibate
passion in romantic love, the Platonic love with friend, and spiritual love.
7) Why is celibacy also required for single people on the path to marriage?
First, the bible says so [:)]. Second, the church says so. Why? Because, thirdly, it is only in the
context of marriage that sexual act fulfills its purpose, attains its meaning, and ideally the better set-
up to happiness.
8) How do young people view celibacy/virginity today?
The liberalization of the modern era accompanied by the influence of Western media has
largely affected the Filipino youths view on celibacy. This is accompanied by the condom mentality
which has become the leeway for many to pre-marital sex because they would not have to face the
possibility of pregnancy. Although still a relatively conservative society, Filipino youths have started
to open up to the idea of pre-marital sex. This is evident in teenage trends such as fuck buddies/
friends with benefits, MOMOL, etc.

9) What is its relevance in todays Filipino Church and society? Does celibacy offer something more
in terms of a mindset, an attitude, a value, which our youth today badly need?
Celibacy involves a multi-faceted approach of understanding of values, firm mindset, social
support and many others applicable to oneself. First, Celibacy largely involves the understanding of
the values of sex and marriage. What is sex? Why wait until marriage? There is also the matter of
placing importance to non-sexual relationships that one can be intimate with. Also, it involves living
out the value of chastity.

10) What does celibacy witness to?
11) How does the CFC (1938-1940) talk about celibacy? How does priestly celibacy presuppose
and confirm the married vocation and vice versa? What can married couples learn from religious
celibates and vice versa?
27
12) How does Pope John Paul II talk about the value of celibacy especially in relation to the sacrifices
of many OFWs from the Philippines?
FAMILY ISSUES
[No questions from Sir]
A GENERAL INTRODUCTION TO THE CHURCH LAW ON MARRIAGE
By: Fr. Dacanay
Code of Canon Law

Provisions govern the discipline of the sacrament of marriage

Marriage of Catholics (even if only one of the couples is Catholic) is governed not only by
divine law but also by canon law
I. Introductory Concepts and General Norms
Canonical definition of marriage

A covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of

their whole life

Ordered to (1) the well-being of the spouses, and (2) the procreation and upbringing of the
children

Code of 1917: a contract by which a man and a woman exchanged between themselves [...]
for the procreation of children (jus in corpus)

New code: marriage as an intimate partnership of the whole life (consortium totius
vitae)

No hierarchical order between procreative and unitive

Consent

C.1057.1 A marriage is brought into being by the lawfully manifested consent of persons
who are legally capable. This consent cannot be supplied by any human power.

Catholic doctrine: lawfully manifested consent is the efficient cause constitutive of marriage
(natural law)

Unless this is present, marriage cannot be established

supplied by the parties (bride and groom) themselves and no one else

An act of the will where a man and a woman (anatomically and physiologically), through an
irrevocable covenant, give and accept one another for the purpose of establishing marriage

irrevocable: once the consent is given, it cannot be withdrawn anymore

Marriage as two realities

Purely human and natural reality

marriage considered as a human and natural institution prescinding from faith and
revelation

see Canonical definition

28

C1055.1 - The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between
themselves a partnership of their whole life, and which of its own very nature is
ordered to the well-being of the spouses and to the procreation and upbringing of
children, has, between the baptised, been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of
a sacrament.

possesses the essential properties of unity and indissolubility

even when considered merely as a human institution (C1056 - The essential
properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility; in christian marriage
they acquire a distinctive firmness by reason of the sacrament.)

Sacramental reality

The human and natural institution is intrinsically transformed and elevated into a
sacrament by our Lord.

Does not arise from ones state of grace, or from ones living faith, or personal
sanctity

The basis of the sacramentality of marriage is the sacrament of baptism effected in

man, the sacramental character.
The whole man and his entire life and all his activities are now irrevocably
and decisively taken up into the economy of salvation, and so is his
marriage.
The marriages of non-catholic Christians who are validly baptized and
provided their marriage is naturally valid, are also sacramental.
If two non-baptized persons marry and they subsequently receive the
sacrament of baptism, this marriage is considered by the Catholic Church
to have become sacramental ipso facto by the baptism of the parties,
notwithstanding the fact that the parties may have separated before their
conversion to Christian faith.

Meaning of Sacramental
Mackin - an act of the Church, salvific, and revelatory
Canon Law - stable and more difficult to dissolve
Indissolubility of Marriage

C1056: the essential properties of marriage are unity and indissolubility; in christian
marriage they acquire a distinctive firmness by reason of the sacrament

The couples themselves cannot decide to terminate their marriage or dissolve the bond that
was created upon the exchange of their consent.

Degrees of Stability

1st degree: all marriages

2nd degree: indissolubility - sacramental marriages which are not yet consummated
the Church can dissolve such a bond before the union is consummated.

3rd degree: absolute indissolubility - sacramental marriages which have been

consummated
cannot be dissolved by any human power and only the death of one or the
other spouse can dissolve such a bond
created by the exchange of consent, ratified and confirmed by the baptism
of the parties
29
rendered absolutely indissoluble by the fact that it has been consummated
the perfect and complete sign of the indissoluble union of Christ with the
Church
Consummation and Its Effects

Consummation - the completed sexual intercourse between husband and wife

Three formal elements:

Theological
Unless both parties are baptized, the marriage cannot be said to
have been consummated in the juridical sense.
If only one party is baptized, the marriage cannot be said to be
consummated and the juridical effects attributed to the act can
not be considered to have arisen, even if the material element of
intercourse has in fact been posited.
If a couple, married as non-baptized, receive baptism after they
separate, the law of the Church would say that they are still married
to each other. But this marriage is not yet consummated since they,
as baptized persons, have not performed between themselves a
completed sexual intercourse.
Psychological
The marital act must be done in a human manner. It must be done
with full awareness and advertence, complete knowledge and free
will, considering the seriousness of the juridical effects to which it
gives rise.
It must be done without physical force or violence.
The marital act must be done in a marital spirit. The consent to the
act must be directed not only to the sexual act simply but to the
sexual act as marital.
Physiological
Sustained erection

Intended to exclude premature ejaculation

Penetration

At least partial

Copula appositiva, where the sexual organs border on or

flank each other in heavy petting but without penetration,
would not consummate the marriage.
Ejaculation inside the vagina

Coitus interruptus, when the male suffers from the

pathological condition of hypospadia, in this case,
ejaculation inside the vagine would not be possible.

When is marriage considered to have been consummated and, therefore, absolutely

indissoluble

The doctrine of the Church is that marriage is considered to have been juridically
consummated by the first completed act of sexual intercourse with the requisite
elements as described supra.
30

The consummation of marriage should not be considered simply and exclusively

from the point of view of the physical consummation, even when all the
abovementioned requisite elements have been verified to be present.

A distinction between existential consummation on the one hand and juridical

consummation on the other.

Conjugal love and marriage is consummated gradually and progressively by the acts
proper to marriage. In this existential dimension, marriage is never consummated
perfectly.

Effects:

Theologically
the consummated marriage is understood to have become the complete
and integral sign of the indissoluble union between Christ and the Church
a sacramental marriage which has not yet been consummated is not yet a
full and integral sign until it is consummated

Juridically
only a consummated union is a sign in a full sense
the fact that a consummated union has become a full sign of the sacred
reality is translated into a juridical norm: such a marriage cannot be
dissolved
Various concepts that must also be clarified:

Declaration of nullity

The declaration will say that even if there was an external form of marriage, the
substance of marriage was not really there.
ex.: a transvestite was substituted for the bride

The act of an ecclesiastical court is merely declaratory and descriptive: there was no
marriage from the beginning.

It is not as though there was a marriage and that marriage is being invalidated in
virtue of the decision of a church court.

Divorce or dissolution of the bond

Divorce or dissolution of the bond presupposes that there is a bond; the assumption
that there is a valid marriage.

Divorce - the action of a civil court

Dissolution - the act of the Church

There are three mechanisms in the Church to dissolve an existing marriage bond.

Invalid and non-existing marriages

An invalid marriage is one which was celebrated in some kind of a public ceremony
and the formal solemnities required for marriage must have been observed; there is
an appearance of marriage.
The law of the Church requires that there should be at least five people
present: the bride and the groom, the duly authorized minister of the
Church and two witnesses.

An inexistent marriage, on the other hand, means that there was no public
celebration. There was no appearance or external form of marriage.
ex.: live-in partners
31
Some General Principles

Marriage is a natural right; therefore the Church recognizes the validity of marriages outside
the Catholic Church by non-Catholics. Divorce, however, is not a natural right and therefore
the Church does not recognize dissolutions and annulments except those that she herself
grants.

Canonical doctrine makes a distinction between a law that is merely ecclesiastical and one
that is of divine origin.

Merely ecclesiastical laws apply only to Catholics and they can be dispensed.

Divine law applies to everyone and it cannot be dispensed.

The general principle is that a law is invalidating only if it explicitly asserts to be invalidating;
otherwise the law is merely proscriptive.
II. Declaration of Nullity by a Church Tribunal
Three general grounds on which the validity of marriage may be challenged:
1) Consent was given by persons who are not legally capable because of the presence of an
impediment

Impediment - a condition defined by law to which the law attributes an invalidating effect

The consent originating from such an afflicted person does not produce the marriage bond
that it is supposed to produce
a) Impediments arising from personal capacity to give consent

Age

man: cannot validly give consent until his 16th year

woman: cannot validly give consent until her 14th year

Impotence

inability to consummate the marriage

requirements for consummation: sustained erection, penetration
and ejaculation inside the vagina

must be distinguished from sterility (inability to procreate) or from common

and popular meaning of impotence (inability to have or to sustain an
erection)

Previous bond

arises from any validly contracted marriage, whether sacramental or merely

natural

even a civilly contracted marriage by those who are not bound to observe
the canonical form would give rise to this impediment

civilly contracted marriage (protestants) - not only valid but is also

sacramental
b) Impediments arising from crime
c) Impediments arising from relationship

Consanguinity

physical generation
32

exists between ascendant and descendant (direct line) in any degree and
is never dispensed

ex.: x cannot marry his mother, grandmother, daughter, etc.

also exists in the collateral line (descended from a common ancestor)

persons who are related up to and including the fourth degree
collateral

Affinity

valid marriage and it exists between the husband and the blood relatives of
the wife, and vice versa
does not exist between the blood relatives of the husband and the
blood relatives of the wife

Public propriety

arises only after common life has been established

ex.: xs wife dies; x cannot marry his wifes mother or daughter (by a
different father), but can marry her grandmother/granddaughter

Legal relationship

arises from the act of legal adoption by which a person receives as his/her
own child one who is not so by nature

exists in the direct line in any degree and in the collateral line in the second
degree
2) The consent is defective or completely lacking
a) Intellectual or cognitive

While consent is an act of the will, it is a consent that is based on and informed by
knowledge

a person gives his consent on the basis of his understanding

Consent may be invalid if it is based on erroneous knowledge

error about the identity of the person

error about the quality of a person (not invalidating unless those qualities
were directly intended)

when a person is deliberately deceived

deception is perpetrated precisely in order to obtain consent
because the consent would not be given if the truth were known
b) The volitive and the freedom

Consent must be posited freely and be directed towards a proper object

Consent is defective and invalid when withheld (simulation) or given under force or
duress (vis et metus in the legal jargon, pikot or shotgun marriage)

under force/duress: threats are serious (e.g. imprisonment, physical harm,

loss of substantial income, irreparable loss of reputation)
special kind: consent given when under pressure from parents or
superiors (reverential fear)
c) Psychosomatic

Inability to elicit a morally valid and responsible act

Should not be confused with an impediment

Lack of due reason

33

do not have the full use of their rational faculties due to a psychological
disorder, or by transitory or more permanent conditions (e.g. toxic/
hypnotic states, drunkenness, somnambulism, drug addiction, addiction or
dependence in alcohol, schizophrenia, mental retardation)

Lack of due discretion

if there is a serious inability to evaluate critically the decision to marry, in

light of the consequent obligations and responsibilities

immature personality

e.g. teenage marriages especially when the girl is pregnant (with or without
parental pressure), or a person escaping an undesirable situation at home

causes: the parties are young, identity or personality disorder of at

least a moderate degree, premarital pregnancy, unhappy/burdensome
circumstances in the parental home with the desire to escape it, fear,
embarrassment

result: person is deprived as a result of a combination of extrinsic and

intrinsic pressure

Lack of due competence

defective because he is afflicted with some kind of psychic difficulty that he

could not make good what he consented to in marriage
he cannot deliver the goods that he agreed to deliver by virtue of
the exchange of consent

some psycho-sexual disorders and other disorders of the personality can

be the psychic cause of this inability to render what is due to the other by
virtue of the contract: fidelity, community of life and love, rendering of
mutual help

formal object of consent to which the spouses commit themselves: more

than jus in corpus
right to a community of a whole life (consortium totius vitae)
exceeds the mere external fact of cohabitation
requires the ability to develop a lifelong personal relationship
capacity for marriage involves the capacity for a mature
interpersonal relationship (ability to accept each other as a distinct
person and relate to each other in a manner specific to marriage)
3) The consent was not manifested in a legitimate manner

Canonical form of marriage - formalities or juridical solemnities required in the expression of

consent

if the form is defective or absent altogether, the validity of the juridical act is
affected

C. 1108: valid marriages contracted in the presence of:

local ordinary or parish priest (territorial)

priest or deacon delegated by either of them

two witnesses

contracting parties manifesting their consent accepted in the name of the Church

Ecclesiastical law; binding only on Catholics

34

Invalid if (1) there is only one witness, or (2) the priest who officiated at the wedding did not
have the required faculty or delegation to perform that marriage

Rooted in the desire of the Church to protect the parties

III. Dissolution of the Bond
Natural Marriage

Dissoluble by virtue of the Pauline privilege

Dissolved when one of the parties converts to the Christianity, and the party that remained
pagan refuses cohabitation with the converted party

When the converted party contracts a second marriage, the first bond is dissolved ipso facto
(contracting the second marriage)

Dissolution has no civil effects

Sacramental Marriage (not consummated)

Can be dissolved by the Roman Pontiff

dissolution super rato in canonical jargon

Dissolution has no civil effects

IV. Special Kinds of Marriages
1) Mixed Marriage

Marriage with a non-catholic Christian

May not be contracted without the permission of the local ordinary

Conditions:

the Catholic party must declare that he/she is prepared to remove dangers of falling
away from the faith
sincere promise to do everything to have all the children baptized and
brought up in the Catholic Church

the other party is to be informed at an appropriate time of these promises with the
Catholic party has to make
the other is aware of the obligation and promise of the Catholic party

both parties are to be instructed of the essential ends and properties of marriage
which are not to be excluded by either party

The Catholic is bound to observe the canonical form of marriage

It is forbidden to have another religious celebration of the same marriage to express or

renew matrimonial consent before or after the canonical celebration

Invalid: Catholic party + non-Catholic party in a non-Catholic ceremony without obtaining

first the proper permissions and dispensation
2) Disparity of Cult Marriage

Marriage with a non-baptized person is allowed if the conditions required in mixed

marriages are fulfilled
35

The non-Catholic is being allowed to contract a non-sacramental marriage

not absolutely indissoluble

If the marriage were to be celebrated in a non-Catholic ceremony, the Catholic party will
need the following dispensations:

from the impediment of disparity of cult

from his obligation to observe the canonical form

THESIS 20: A THEOLOGY OF CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE
Love is the will to extend oneself and the well-being of another.
Jesus own attitude toward marriage and family

Finding in the temple (Lk 2: 41-52)

Who are my mother and brothers? (Lk 8: 19-21)
Cana (Jn 2: 1-11)

rather negative

No marrying in heaven

marriage here is the approximation of heaven; not needed when there is complete
happiness in heaven

Apocalyptic discourse (Mt 10)

Jesus single-hearted commitment to the Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God is absolute; everything else is relative (temptation in the desert)

His rejection of spiritual merit based on family/kinship ties

His absolute rejection of divorce (Mt 5: 31-32; 19: 3-12) based on radical morality (Sermon
on the Mount) of uncompromising moral perfection
St. Paul

First Christian who substantially wrote about marriage

1 Cor 7: 8-9: to the unmarried and the widows, I say it is well for them to remain
unmarried. But if they cannot exercise self-control they should marry. For it is better to
marry than to burn with passion.

Augustine quotes this

Exegesis - to be able to interpret the bible accurately

W. 29-31: What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on, those
who have wives should live as if they do not; those who mourn, as if they did not; those
who are happy, as if they were not; those who buy something, as if it were not theirs to
keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its
present form is passing away.

2nd coming of Jesus

W. 32-35: An unmarried man is concerned about the Lords affairs - how can he please the
world.
36

the reason for this ambivalence (marriage is at one holy and to be avoided if
possible) - the sense of imminence of the KOG

Pauls exhortation - instead of making any medical changes in ones life, prepare for
the Lords return

but the Kingdom did not come as Paul anticipated

and so Paul gave a more positive estimation of marriage

Ephesians 5: 21-33: Submit to one another as reverence to Christ.
THESIS 21: AUGUSTINE AND THE THREE GOODS OF MARRIAGE
The limitations of Augustines thought re: sexuality

Sexs only legitimate purpose is procreation

Concupiscence - disordered desires in the heart

Marital sexual pleasure as a sin (venial sin)

His defense of marriage

As an institution nevertheless

marital right and Duty of spouses to procreate

His enemies: those who rejected marriage and sex

Gnostics: they(marriage and sex) added to material and thereby contribute to evil (suffering
and death) in the world
Three goods of marriage

Children - counterbalance the need for sex

Marital love - effectively avoided infidelity

Marriage as sacrament of divine love

- sign of Gods love in the world

why the Church does not believe in divorce

THESIS 22: CONJUGAL LOVE AS REDEMPTIVE
conjugal love as redemptive
- From concupiscence to implicit desire for union with God; how sex can be an experience of
grace and heal human sinfulness
Sexual passion: an experience of sin or an experience of grace?

Passion as Eros

the desire for perfection

the desire for complete and lasting happiness in the experience of goodness and
beauty

virtue is a reward in itself

the emotional energy behind great art and ardent love

as desire for perfection, an implicit desire for God

37
Sex as total self-giving in marriage

Sex can heal

sinfulness
a sense of isolation
the fear of intimacy, of being deeply personal and truly human

Sex can heal sinfulness as self-absorption

it can heal feelings of isolation and worthlessness

How can one be alone and worthless if one can give great pleasure?

it can heal the fear of being untrusted and unable to trust

nakedness: vulnerability and trust

it can heal the fear of being sterile in life

abandonment of self to the other in trust leads to self-affirmation and not the quiet
assurance that one has not risked foolishly and lost in the effort to love

when sexual passion can heal the fear of intimacy, it can be a life-giving experience

healing our fears - of isolation, loneliness, vulnerability, to hurt - is always a life-

giving experience

The glory of God is man fully alive.

to experience wholeness and well-being through anothers unconditional love and

complete acceptance is to experience Gods healing and reconciling presence

Sex can redeem (The Zacchaeus Syndrome)

unconditional love initiates self-acceptance

acceptance generates healthy love of self

genuine self-love empowers love of others

Authentic self-love leads to love of others

realizing my value as a person prevents self-exploitation and exploitation of others

unless I see my own worth, others will not see what is lovable in me

not seeing my value, I have nothing to give except unfulfilled expectations

Sex is a way of reaching the eternal

There is a longing for oneness and union in each one of us

The sexual act and mutual orgasm as a metaphor for oneness and union with God

The experience of eternity and timelessness

Abandonment of self to the other for the other is not an act of lust, but an act of love

Experiencing the ecstasy of Gods indescribable presence through loving sexual passion that
heals and completes us

Oh God!
THESIS 23: MODERNIZATIONS IMPACT ON THE FAMILY
Old vs. New Marriage Family Structure
Before Today
38
Traditional family functions: education and
work
State takes over education and work
Social duty Individual right
In compliance with parents wishes For personal love
Love happens after wedding: I love you
because youre my wife
Love precedes wedding: Youre my wife
because I love you
Accessible family support system Family support system not readily available
Traditional moral values intact: virginity and
marital fidelity
Premarital sex and extramarital affairs
commonplace
Hierarchical, patriarchal More democratic, but children more uncertain
of the future

Modernization gave marriage the opportunity to recover its intimate, inner life characterized
by greater personal freedom and intimacy, as originally intended by God.

This development is an enormous opportunity for grace - experiencing Gods love in a more
personal way.

Genesis 2: 24: For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cling to his
wife and the two shall become one.
THESIS 24: FAMILY
God is love.

That love is life-giving.

Nowhere is this more evident in the world than in marriage (love) and family (life).

Gods love becomes real through our relationships.

Family

School of love - faith, rituals

Personal growth and self-becoming

Warmth, security, self-actualization

Christs seeming rejection of family: rejection of spiritual merit and salvation based on family/kinship
ties
Jesus family is more inclusive.

The family includes the wider community, society, the world

especially societys outcasts - hungry, least, lost

The Church is a sign and instrument of the Kingdom, and exists not for itself but for the
Kingdom

Church - light and salt not in and for itself, but in and for the world
39
Jesus Family

The family is a domestic, local, small church

A member of a larger body

A part of a greater whole

internal, external

Service to the wider community: nurtures, strengthens, and deepens the familys inner life

More fully human, more fully alive

Dalai Lama: Our material wealth cannot do so much when were heart-broken...but those who are
strong within, those who have God in their lives survive all the time.
Nothing is more practical than finding God, that is, than falling in love in a quite absolute way.
THESIS 25: MARRIAGE AS A SACRAMENT
Sacrament - sign/symbol and a channel of Gods gracious presence
What could marriage be a sign and channel of in particular?

Gods life (procreative) and love (unitive)

Marriage is the natural paradigm of human relationships

Complete giving of self to the other - mind, body, spirit, feeling

Love that gives life

The primordial form of human relationality is the partnership of a man and a woman in
marriage

The intimacy at the heart of this union can symbolize Gods love

But only through our personal involvement and participation

- anything can be potentially an encounter but we have to believe
What do you need to make a sacrament effective, not just valid?

Faith

Gods grace in a sacrament is what God objectively does

Faith, accepting and living (our choice)

Faith

believing, accepting, living

personal involvement

ultimately means to choose

I am because we are.

If you want meaning, you have to create it.

Happiness is always your choice.

If you want love, you have to decide to love.

We are the choices we make.

No self waiting to be discovered---only created

Experiencing Gods love and acquiring meaning and love in our lives require nothing less.
40
QUIZZES

November 12, 2013
Religions primary task is
a. To worship God
b. To find the meaning of life
c. To raise the ultimate questions
d. To transform society

November 28, 2013
1) The judgment scene (Mt. 25) suggest that the ultimate measure of salvation is
a. Care for the least
b. Faith
c. Good works
d. Belief
2) Faith as a personal act means that
a. Faith is a personal choice
b. Faith is an objective fact
c. Faith is subjective
d. ?
3) The largely ignored element of faith is
a. Commitment
b. Belief
c. Trust
d. ?
4) God as mysterium fascinosum is consistent with this image of God
a. Infinite worth
b. Ultimate power
c. Sacred
d. Mystery

December 5, 2013
1) Which of the following is a distinctively Christian image of God?
a. Ultimate power
b. Love in relationship
c. Infinite worth
d. Mystery
2) God as trinity suggests that
a. God is father
b. God is a community of love
c. God is a pure spirit
d. God is mystery
3) Being created in Gods image as love in turn implies that the human person is
a. Essentially one
41
b. Relationally infinite
c. 3 persons in one
d. Body and Soul
4) God saves us from guilt and fear for the following reason
a. To prepare us for eternal life
b. To make us focus on living now
c. To forgive us of our trespasses
d. To forgive our sins in view of heaven

December 10, 2013
Identify the particular myth of love referred to in each item.
a) Looking for ones soul mate
Myth of romantic love
b) Parasitism
Dependency
c) The process by which someone becomes important to me
Cathexis
d) The collapse of ego boundaries
Falling in love

January 16, 2014
1) Gnosticism rejected sex for this specific reason
a. The impurity of the sex act indicates concupiscence
b. The generation of life through sex perpetuates suffering
c. The ultimate principle of good rejects all things created
d. The ultimate principle of good rejects all things material
2) Augustines objections to sex may be explained by the following reason
a. Sex apart from love degenerates into concupiscence
b. Sexual ecstasy contradicts our nature as relational creatures
c. Sex apart from creation degenerates into concupiscence
d. Sexual ecstasy contradicts our nature as sentient beings
3) The only appropriate context for sex is within a permanent, committed relationship since the
objective meaning of sex is
a. Emotional union
b. Physical union
c. Unreserved self-giving
d. Procreation
4) For sexual expression to be faithful, it must reflect
a. A real physical union
b. A truly personal union
c. The affective dimension
d. An openness to procreation
5) This statement reflects church teachings on family planning among married couples
a. Couples should intend to procreate in each conjugal act
b. Couples can avoid procreation for any reason using natural means
42
c. Birth regulation for a proportionate reason is allowed using natural means
d. Birth regulation for a proportionate reason is allowed using even artificial means
6) According to Church teaching, couples may regulate childbirth using NFP method
a. For any reason at all so long as contraceptives are avoided
b. If there is serious, compelling reason
c. So long as they have the patience to do so
d. As a first option than contraceptives

February 6, 2014
1) Homosexual acts must be avoided since they perpetuate a condition of arrested psychosexual
development. This is consistent with this argument:
a. Natural law argument
b. Human frustration argument
c. Biblical argument
d. The revisionist argument
2) While the church (CCC 2355) officially teaches that the personal guilt of one engaged in
prostitution may be lessened by certain factors, prostitution remains:
a. A socio-economic problem
b. A sexual morality issue
c. A gravely sinful act
d. An objectively wrong act
3) According to revisionist theology, a child involved in prostitution commits no moral evil but an
objectively wrong act nevertheless by virtue of:
a. An internal impediment to knowledge
b. An internal impediment to consent
c. An external impediment to knowledge
d. An external impediment to consent
4) The three general grounds on which the validity of a marriage may be challenged are:
a. The presence of an impediment, defective consent, defective form
b. Lack of due reason, lack of due discretion, lack of due competence
c. Mixed marriage, disparity of faith, disparity of cult
d. Declaration of nullity, dissolution of the bond, non-existing marriage
5) A particular marriage is absolutely indissoluble when
a. A priest officiates the ceremony
b. It is sacramental and consummated
c. The wedding takes place in a church
d. Consent is given freely and irrevocably
6) Homosexuality is an objective disorder according to Church teaching for the following reason:
a. It is a psychological, but not a mental disorder
b. It is not naturally ordered towards marriage
c. It is a form of arrested psychosexual development
d. It is both a psychological and mental disorder

February 27, 2014
43
1) Pauls emphasis on virginity in 1 Corinthians 7 is due in large part to the widespread New
Testament conviction that
a. Marriage involves the potential for moral evil in the form of sexual desire
b. Celibacy is the most superior vocation that guarantees total devotion to God
c. Everything must be set aside in view of the Lords second coming
d. Only those who have renounced marriage will enter Gods kingdom
2) Christs seeming ambivalence toward the idea of family may be explained by
a. His belief in the imminence of the kingdom
b. His single-minded commitment to the kingdom
c. His relative rejection of wealth, fame and power
d. His absolute rejection of wealth, fame and power
March 4, 2014
1) The disintegration of the old family structure has led to this ultimate positive development
a. The breakdown of traditional family moral values
b. The functional loss of the family as an objective social institution
c. Having the personal freedom to choose our spouses
d. A recovery of the personal and intimate aspects of married life
2) At the heart of human sinfulness that sexual marital love can heal consists in this
a. The damage caused by destructive sexual moral behavior
b. The sense of isolation driven by the fear of being drawn out of oneself
c. The selfish pursuit of pleasure inherent in any act of concupiscence
d. The deliberate harm to human well-being inflicted by objectively destructive choices
3) The family is our primary school of faith and love for the following reason
a. It prepares us for our chosen vocation and careers in the future.
b. It provides for our growth and continued self-becoming in faith and relationships
c. It prepares us for our future faith calling and helps deepen our love relationships
d. It complements our education by teaching the life skills necessary for social integration
4) Sexual intimacy in marriage is potentially redemptive since
a. The unconditional acceptance it offers can help overcome self-preoccupation and move
one toward other-centeredness
b. The conjugal act is potentially a profound religious encounter not only with ones
spouse, but also with God
c. The sexual act of love brings the joyful anticipation of conceiving a child - a genuine
sign of Gods presence in the marriage
d. The marital act guarantees mutual self-affirmation between the partners that is
necessary for psychological fulfillment.
44