1. Sexuality (Customize for parish here)

2. The Invisible Reality Sexuality, as God created it, is intended to be something beautifula sign of our creation in the image of God. Gods plan for love and conception in marriage mirrors the Spirit of Love between the Father and the Son is so great that it literally becomes another personthe Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity.

3. The Invisible Reality Jesus, in his relationship with the Church, has held nothing back – Complete – Free – Faithful – Fruitful As a Church, are called to give our whole selves to Jesus in the same way

4. The Visible Sign Married love in Gods plan means becoming visible, physical signs of who God is. Giving oneself freely, totally, faithfully, and fruitfully to another person and being open to the natural result of that mutual self-gift, which may come in the form of another persona child.

5. The Visible Sign How do we, as a married couple, become visible signs of the Holy Trinity and of the relationship between Christ and the Church?

6. The Visible Sign A man and a woman who come together in marriage must do so freely. They must not feel any pressure to marry, but must make these vows by choice.

7. The Visible Sign A man and woman who wish to marry must be able to give themselves to one another exclusively and completely. Since the visible sexual act renews a promise and visibly expresses the invisible reality of a bond sealed by God Himself, a promise and a bond must exist for the act to make sense. A vow of faithfulness must be present for the sexual act to be genuine.

8. The Visible Sign The vows of marriage are made visible in the most complete manner in the sexual relationship properly shared. The Church teaches against actions that take sexual expression out of the context of a loving, healthy marriage.

9. The Visible Sign The Catholic Church teaches against the use of artificial contraception because it closes the marriage to life and says to a spouse, I give my whole self to you – except my fertility. The Church also teaches against reproductive technologies that create life without the loving, unitive act of a couple.

10. The Visible Sign Catholics do believe in family planning. Natural family planning is a safe, effective, and moral way to space children and to limit the number of children a couple has if they have serious reasons for doing so. Natural family planning techniques also provide a safe, effective, and moral way to achieve pregnancy when a couple has difficulty conceiving a child.

11. The Visible Sign NFP is different from artificial contraception and artificial forms of fertilization because it works with the way God has created our bodies, rather than working against it. God did not create women to be fertile 100% of the time. He provided a way in nature for a couple to space or postpone pregnancies when necessary and reliably predict ovulation to facilitate pregnancy.

12. The Visible Sign Intimacy in marriage – making love means more than having sex! – Time spent with one another –Date nights – Cuddling – Notes, phone calls, etc. – Flowers and other surprises

13. Questions for Reflection How does the Catholic view of sexuality differ from societys view of sexuality? Given the truth that marriage signifies, explain the reasons for the Churchs teaching about contraception.

14. Prayer See prayer, p. 43