Marriage

[robin_hood]

Have just come back from a RCIA meeting led by a Priest where he stated that before the document " Casti Connubi" in the nineteen thirties, The church only stressed the procreation and raising of children and the controlling of lust in the Marriage Covenant .The loving union between a Man and a Woman only started to be stressed in " Casti Connubi and the Vatican 2 documents.
I personally find this hard to believe and would appreciate any quotes from Magesterial documents anybody can give me to prove this wrong, the older the better.
Or on the other hand I am wrong

 

[JimG]

I strongly suspect that priest was not alive in the 1930’s; so he may not have a good feel for the actual situation.

But I think that throughout most of history, and not just in the Catholic Church, it probably was the procreative aspect of marriage that was mostly stressed. Kings needed heirs; (look at Henry VIII–all those wives just trying for a male child!); families needed working members; towns and cities needed population.

In the bible, the barren were considred cursed, those with many children and descendants were considered blessed.

And in most historical eras, I don’t think young people in general chose their own mates. They were considered too inexperienced for that decision.

But at the same time, the marital embrace was considered to be a means of unifying the marriage partners, no matter how they might have been chosen.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

robin hood:

Have just come back from a RCIA meeting led by a Priest where he stated that before the document " Casti Connubi" in the nineteen thirties, The church only stressed the procreation and raising of children and the controlling of lust in the Marriage Covenant .The loving union between a Man and a Woman only started to be stressed in " Casti Connubi and the Vatican 2 documents.
I personally find this hard to believe and would appreciate any quotes from Magesterial documents anybody can give me to prove this wrong, the older the better.
Or on the other hand I am wrong

I think it is important to remember that just because some point is not stressed in Church teaching at a certain time does not mean that it is not there. Certain things were stressed at certain times depending on the needs at the time.

 

[mosher]

St. John Crysostom’s sermons on Corinthians do a good job.

 

[G_S]

If we read the Song of Songs, we can see that the idea that the Twentieth Century discovered love is absurd. Perhaps sexual pleasure was emphasized less and proreation more. Now it seems that pleasure is emphasized and procreation is discouraged.

 

[robin_hood]

Have just been looking at the Catechism of Trent and it is full of references in the Marriage section dealing with the love aspect of Marriage.
Great