Life Giving Love Marriage Preparation Workshop – May 26, 2012 Tony & Ellen Castellano Part 2

There is a God, and There is Such a Thing as Truth What we are discussing is not just a nice thing to think about and see if it ‘works for you’. It reflects the truth of who we all are as people, human beings, God’s creation. Truth: “in accordance with fact or reality” This notion can be a challenge in our relativistic world.

What do you think?

There is a God and He is Truth Itself Either there is a God or there isn’t. And either He has revealed Himself in and through His Son, or He hasn’t. And His truth, divinely revealed by His Son, resides in His one church that His Son founded; The one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. Either Jesus was telling us the truth, or He was a fraud, and therefore the greatest con artist of all time! The fact is, God loves us and wants to know us, His creatures, personally. One who prays is never alone.(See handout - ‘PERSONAL PRAYER GUIDE’) Agree? or Disagree? This is a binary decision. Either you do, or you don’t.

“From the Beginning” Some Pharisees approached Jesus, and tested him, saying, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any cause whatever?” Jesus said in reply, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” They said to him, “Then why did Moses command that the man give the woman a bill of divorce and dismiss [her]?”He said to them, “Because of the hardness of your hearts Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. Matthew 19:3-8

We are Created in God’s Image and Likeness Intellect: I can reflect upon my conscious self Will: I can choose what I will do, I have free will to choose my thoughts, my actions, what I will speak, etc. I can choose my actions based objective truth that is revealed by God’s through his creation, scripture, and the church. This means we are PERSONS. Just as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are persons.

Male and Female He Created Them Man and woman are relational and com-pli-mentary; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. And this combined with personhood separates us from ALL other God’s creatures; dogs, cats, apes, dolphins, etc.

A ‘Communion’ of Persons Communion: a STRONG exchange of emotion or spirit; to mutually possess or share in common. The communion of persons within the Trinity reflects the fact that God is self-giving love. KEY: As human beings created in His image and likeness one way husbands and wives experience this same self-giving love is through sexual intercourse. (See handout: ‘The Marital Act – A Communion of Persons’) Role of orgasam

The Truth and Meaning of Human Sexuality The Theology of the Body describes a ‘language of the body’ Exhibited when each spouse, through the sexual act, gives their whole self to the other, the other accepts it, and in turn gives themselves totally back to the other spouse, freely and lovingly. Total; we do not hold back anything, we give all of ourselves. Free; one person cannot be forced to love another person. God cannot force us to love Him, our spouse cannot force us to love them. We have free will, because we are created in the image and likeness of the Triune God. As such, the love between husband and wife, expressed and consummated in their sexual union, is an imperfect, but real, earthly reflection of the eternal exchange of love within the communion of persons of the Holy Trinity. This is a profound statement! It requires reflection. Ask the Lord to reveal it to you in the fullness it’s meaning.

A Holy Bond Between a Man and a Woman A spiritual bond is created whenever a man and a woman engage in conjugal union. These ties are permanent while alive in this world and are created as a consequence of the act itself. In marriage this holy bond supports the husband and wife in their life together, drawing them closer to each other every time their marriage covenant is renewed through the marital act. However, outside of marriage, even if the act was consensual, the bond that was established is unholy. (See handout - ‘The Severing of Unholy Bonds’) All this has implications for us as we strive to live out our lives as husband and wife. And a very practical way is how we conduct our marital intimacy as spouses. A clear understanding of this reality is a powerful weapon against an enemy who wants to mightily distort the truth and meaning of human sexuality.

“Be Watchful and Alert...” “...your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8 Satan and his demons exist. He is not just some abstract mental construct that some monk dreamt up to explain why bad things happen. And we can EASILY fall prey to Satan - the deceiver. To ‘Deceive’: to cause someone to believe something that is not true.

Do Not Be Deceived By... Our own sinful inclinations, Satan, and what the world says about... Masturbation Pornography Abortion; in the form of ‘doing what is best’ with a poor fetal diagnosis Cohabitation IVF

In Vitro Fertilization In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process by which egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the body in the lab and then implanting this embryo back into the mother. It takes away the usual chance of conception by pre-fertilizing the egg, however IVF success rates are still very low because more often than not the embryos don't stick or stay inside the womb. Process begins with the woman's ovaries are stimulated to produce multiple ova (eggs).

Sperm and Egg Collection

‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Embryos Both ‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ embryos are created, fertilized eggs are observed carefully to determine health and virility. The best looking embryos will be chosen for implantation into the uterus.

‘Good’ and ‘Bad’ Embryos

The Result: embryos die Though the couple may "want" only one child, the failure rate for successful implantation is so high as to necessitate multiple implantations - assuming that most will die. Any remaining embryos are then frozen for later "use" or destroyed.

Questions?