We need to have some idea of what the video contains: visual content and language. Especially as this is such a sensitive topic, and we must be careful to guard our eyes. Can you briefly describe what is in the link?The marital act SHOULD BE AND CAN BE made Holy.
Here is a beautifully done video…about 5m that every married couple should watch…the marital act can bring us to Trinitarian love…union with each other and with God.
vimeo.com/14241671
It’s a video showing an older man, an MD Being interviewed (Dr Fitzgibbons)… There is an image of an older couple with their arm around each other, smiling. An image of a beautiful altar with Crucifix in view, an image of a child playing with his sibling, with his mother inthe background, an image of Saint John Paul II, an image of a young couple in wedding clothes walking on a beach.We need to have some idea of what the video contains: visual content and language. Especially as this is such a sensitive topic, and we must be careful to guard our eyes. Can you briefly describe what is in the link?
What an absolutely beautiful, uplifting and soul raising clip. I cannot recommend it highly enough to the thread contributors. The description of the movement from friendship to betrothed love gives you the sense of the true transcendence of married love and its manifestation in the marital act.The marital act SHOULD BE AND CAN BE made Holy.
Here is a beautifully done video…about 5m that every married couple should watch…the marital act can bring us to Trinitarian love…union with each other and with God.
vimeo.com/14241671
My goodness, I don’t know where you got your “Catholic view on sex” from, but whoever provided it completely corrupted it for you, or else you have totally misunderstood.I hope I am not distracting from mommamaree’s point here, but I still struggle with the Catholic view on sex, despite being catechized extensively. I think part of that is because all of the Catholic documents I have read on the subject are vague, flowery and poetic rather than direct… I guess for fear of causing arousal. But still, it has the side effect of leaving questions unanswered.
The other part of the problem for me is that I have created this dichotomy between holy and unholy, clean and dirty. I know exactly what unholy and dirty are—rejoicing in the pleasures of sex, having no limitations, selfishness, exploring new ideas, not welcoming guilt and so on. So I just figure that the opposite must be holy and clean. But the opposite of what I have described as unholy is not tasking pleasure in sex, selflessness, having as many limitations as possible, never trying anything new and always feeling guilty about everything.
This would seem to require a kind of non-physical sex. No arousal, no enjoyment, no exchange of bodily fluids, as that would be dirty. But I don’t understand how that could be possible: sex cannot be a non-physical act, it is a physical one. It cannot be a completely clean event, as there are bodily fluids involved. It cannot be one that fully rejects pleasure, as consensual sex is virtually impossible if both partners are not enjoying it somewhat. It cannot be a completely selfless act, either, as it must involve the self. In other words, as a man, if I never think of myself or embrace my desires during the act, then physically the act simply won’t work and likewise for a woman. And then I’m told that I’m supposed to do this act and embrace it as it is a part of marriage, but also I’m supposed to feel guilty enjoying the sight or touch or taste of my wife, for giving in to these base, unholy/unclean desires. And foreplay is wrong, and so on.
And you can’t get much illumination because it cannot be discussed in a “dirty” (that is, direct) way.
It is all very, very confusing.
I got a chance this morning to view this video. Thank you so much for sharing it. I hope you understand my initial caution. I never click a link without being fairly confident that I know where the link will take me. But the video was beautiful and it summarizes the beautiful truth and vision that drew me into the Catholic faith almost 5 years ago.It’s a video showing an older man, an MD Being interviewed (Dr Fitzgibbons)… There is an image of an older couple with their arm around each other, smiling. An image of a beautiful altar with Crucifix in view, an image of a child playing with his sibling, with his mother inthe background, an image of Saint John Paul II, an image of a young couple in wedding clothes walking on a beach.
Beautiful, harmless, tasteful, with some profound points to make. We show this in pre-Cana classes.
Yes, your caution is perfectly understandable. Glad you’re getting closer. Lots of great people here, with lots to share. Good luck.I got a chance this morning to view this video. Thank you so much for sharing it. I hope you understand my initial caution. I never click a link without being fairly confident that I know where the link will take me. But the video was beautiful and it summarizes the beautiful truth and vision that drew me into the Catholic faith almost 5 years ago.
With regard to my initial question at the opening of this thread, I now feel, through prayer and discussion and a lot of thinking, that I understand the truth more than I did before I asked the question. I now can see how understanding (a) and (b) can both be true, and how (a) and (b) reinforce each other. But honestly, it has been so hard to find much that focused upon the larger perspective without getting lost in the weeds of discussions. This thread has encouraged me to locate such resources.
Thanks everyone, for what has turned out to be a wonderful thread. I hope it benefits others, too!