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Marriage is Unitive and Procreative

The purpose of a Catholic marriage is both unitive and procreative

Marriage is unitive

When a man and a woman decide to marry, the purpose of that marriage is to unite both individuals into a bond that is sacramental and blessed by God through the Church. Being unitive, marriage therefore calls the man and the woman to consummate their marriage through conjugal relations. As the Scripture says, in marriage, man and woman become one flesh and they become as one body. Unitive.

Marriage is procreative

When a man and a woman unite in marriage, the consummation of their marriage through the conjugal act leads to the procreative purpose of the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is ordained to bring the gift of life to the world through the institution of the family. Though the sacrament of marriage purposely is meant for a procreative goal, the couple must however, be responsible in planning their family so that the quality of life that they will found the family upon will be one according to the contemporary situations and contexts in which their marriage is situated.

Marriage has to be both unitive and procreative

Vatican II teaches us that marriage has to be both unitive and procreative. It cannot be either or. So, for instance, those who wish to establish a same-sex union, will find that it is not according to the teaching of the Church. First, marriage is between a man and a woman. Second, even though there may be an argument for the element of being unitive, it is not however procreative. The same is true for those who decide to live together, and by their living together, have already sired and begot children. The couple in this case who decided to live together may have been procreative in their decision to share their life. However, their decision is not unitive in the sense that they have not been united in a sacramental bond that makes them one flesh and one body under God's blessing through the Church.

Can marriage be dissolved in the Catholic Church?

The marital bond is a sacramental bond that can never be broken. There is however the canon law proceeding which we term marriage annulment. In a marriage annulment, the case to consider here is that if the marriage were to be proven to have not been valid in the first place (due to many impediments that were overlooked), then there really was no marriage in the first place. In this case, the spouses can separate ways. However, it must be seriously proven that the marriage was not valid at the start. For cases like this, the marriage tribunal is one whom the couple must consult and confer in relation to their marriage situation.

The institution of marriage must be protected

Before all legal proceedings or any canon law jurisdictions are to be discussed, the Church seeks all means by which the marriage can be saved through much counselling and spiritual guidance. If the marriage can be restored through sessions that help both husband and wife open up and communicate so as to better understand the root of the problem, then it will truly be good not only for the marriage partners but for their children as well. Healing is possible and time heals all wounds. The grace of God is stronger than anything that wishes to destroy what is sacred. Let the sacramental bond of marriage be strongly unitive and strongly procreative through the help of God in the person of the families, relatives, and friends, involved in the marriage.