Am I obligated to marry and have children?

[rfox7495]

I recently returned to the Catholic Church after a number of years away. I won’t go into details on that, as it would take many, many pages.

Even when I was agnostic and then later came back to faith in a non-denominational fashion; I have not had the desire to marry, have children, or even engage in a sexual relationship. Now that I’m Catholic again that stance hasn’t changed. Oh, I have urges like any human, but I suppress them. At 28 years of age I can still count myself as a virgin.

My question is simple: am I obligated to marry and have children to satisfy God’s wish that we be fruitful and multiply as well as give glory to Him through the sacrament of marriage?

Let me be perfectly honest about this question. Some people may choose this path because they wish to become a priest or nun. Some people don’t choose this path because it is forced upon them through mental and/or physical anomalies. As for myself, it is simply because I don’t wish to deal with that part of life. I would assume my reasoning behind this is more selfish than others. Perhaps there is some level of “wrong” there that I’m not aware of.

What (name removed by moderator)ut could you offer on this?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Nobody is “obligated” to marry and have children. Marriage is a vocation, which means that not everyone is called to it. Should you choose not to marry, all that you are “obligated” to do is to practice the chastity expected by the Church for a single person. Since you are not interested in marriage, that would also include refraining from becoming involved in romantic relationships.