E
ephraim79
Guest
Dear Friends,
First, I apologize for raising a topic which has been covered here frequently. I have looked over as many past posts as I could manage and don’t think this issue has been addressed as directly as I would like, so I bring it up again. Sorry if it’s already been well addressed and I’ve missed it.
I have been trying for some time to come to terms with how every sexual act between spouses taken to fulfillment, must be ordered toward procreation (I believe that—or similar—is how it is expressed in the Catechism); or must have “procreative significance” (Humanae Vitae).
While I understand and can accept that the sexual act taken to fulfillment between spouses who are capable of procreating, must be ordered toward procreation; I cannot find the logic and reason in applying this principle to spouses who simply cannot procreate. For example, how can one reasonably propose that sexual relations between a 79 year old man and his 75 year old spouse must be—indeed, could even possibly be—“ordered toward procreation”?
Or considering it from the other perspective, how can this same husband and wife possibly do anything—in the area of sexual relations—that is NOT ordered toward procreation, since they simply cannot procreate at all?
If I stand at the edge of a cliff and do not jump off, have I taken a course that is “not ordered to flying”? I would answer: no. Flying is not a possible consequence of any action I might take—or fail to take. My not jumping off the cliff has nothing to do with flying…so not jumping is neither ordered or “not ordered” to flying. I just can’t fly.
Similarly, if I do jump off the cliff, am I doing something “ordered to flying”? I don’t think so. Again, I just can’t fly.
And yet, if my understanding is correct, the Church teaches that every sexual act taken to fulfillment between spouses who objectively cannot procreate, must nevertheless be “ordered toward procreation”…must have “procreative significance”. That’s something I don’t understand.
My frustration is that I have always believed that Church teachings were compatible with human reason; that the Church proposes nothing to the Faithful that is not consistent with our use of the faculties of reasoning and logic that the Creator has blessed us with. So, I’ve been trying to understand the rationale behind Church teaching on this point…but I just can’t find it.
Thank you for any guidance you can provide.
First, I apologize for raising a topic which has been covered here frequently. I have looked over as many past posts as I could manage and don’t think this issue has been addressed as directly as I would like, so I bring it up again. Sorry if it’s already been well addressed and I’ve missed it.
I have been trying for some time to come to terms with how every sexual act between spouses taken to fulfillment, must be ordered toward procreation (I believe that—or similar—is how it is expressed in the Catechism); or must have “procreative significance” (Humanae Vitae).
While I understand and can accept that the sexual act taken to fulfillment between spouses who are capable of procreating, must be ordered toward procreation; I cannot find the logic and reason in applying this principle to spouses who simply cannot procreate. For example, how can one reasonably propose that sexual relations between a 79 year old man and his 75 year old spouse must be—indeed, could even possibly be—“ordered toward procreation”?
Or considering it from the other perspective, how can this same husband and wife possibly do anything—in the area of sexual relations—that is NOT ordered toward procreation, since they simply cannot procreate at all?
If I stand at the edge of a cliff and do not jump off, have I taken a course that is “not ordered to flying”? I would answer: no. Flying is not a possible consequence of any action I might take—or fail to take. My not jumping off the cliff has nothing to do with flying…so not jumping is neither ordered or “not ordered” to flying. I just can’t fly.
Similarly, if I do jump off the cliff, am I doing something “ordered to flying”? I don’t think so. Again, I just can’t fly.
And yet, if my understanding is correct, the Church teaches that every sexual act taken to fulfillment between spouses who objectively cannot procreate, must nevertheless be “ordered toward procreation”…must have “procreative significance”. That’s something I don’t understand.
My frustration is that I have always believed that Church teachings were compatible with human reason; that the Church proposes nothing to the Faithful that is not consistent with our use of the faculties of reasoning and logic that the Creator has blessed us with. So, I’ve been trying to understand the rationale behind Church teaching on this point…but I just can’t find it.
Thank you for any guidance you can provide.