United States Catholic Catechism for Adults

414 • Part III. Christian Morality: The Faith Lived

FOR DISCUSSION l. How can we best show respect for human sexuality in the light of a culture that demeans it? What are the ways of reversing the degrada tion of sexuality? 2. Why is marital fidelity so important for the stability of the family and society? What spiritual means does the Church offer to strength en marriages or rebuild troubled marriages? 3. How does St. John Paul II’s theology of the body help you to appre ciate the beauty of the gift of sexuality and its integration into your life? DOCTRINAL STATEMENTS • God is the author of marriage and the family. The Sacrament of Marriage, along with the Fourth, Sixth and Ninth Commandments, illustrate the principal ways in which God’s plan for marriage and the family is to be lived. • The Sixth Commandment summons the spouses to practice perma nent and exclusive fidelity to one another. God established marriage as a reflection of his fidelity to us. • The Sixth Commandment forbids adultery, which is sexual relations between a married person and someone other than one’s spouse. • Chastity integrates bodily sexuality within the broader human real ity. It approaches sexuality as related to our spiritual natures so that sexuality is seen as more than a physical act. Sexuality affects the whole person because of the unity of body and soul. Jesus is the model of chastity. Every person is called to chastity according to one’s state in life. • “Among the sins gravely contrary to chastity are masturbation, forni cation, pornography, and homosexual practices” (CCC, no. 2396). • God calls married couples to grow continually in unitive love and fidelity so that they are no longer two but one flesh. Their mutual self giving is strengthened and blessed by Jesus Christ in the Sacrament