THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

Her Doctrine and Morals

The Second Sunday after the Epiphany

14 January 2024

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The Sunday

Sermon

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Dear Friends,

Modern marriage has lost much of the beauty and sacredness that it once had. Many people have tried to redefine marriage or destroy the very concept or foundation of it. Marriage is the foundation of society; therefore, the destruction of a valid marriage is the destruction of society.

Marriage is a gift from God, which we can accept or reject in our personal lives. Those who accept this gift from God are not free to alter it in any significant way. We find the origins of marriage in the first pages of the book of Genesis. We look to the wedding feast of Cana, where Jesus elevated marriage to the status of a sacrament (An outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace). This is His first public miracle, and it is among the first of the sacraments established.

Today, our world wants to take God out of the picture as much as possible. We find people who want marriage to be a pagan ritual rather than a valid sacrament. We find people who want to live without any bond or union, freely engaging in marital relationships without any commitment and working to avoid procreation at all costs — artificial "birth control" and abortions. We find many people who want to redefine marriage to include all perversions of sexual unions that are contrary to divine and natural law.

The attack upon marriage is a demonic attack upon God. The desire for sexual pleasure is a good thing created by God for His purpose of having us cooperate with Him in the creation of souls for this world and, more importantly, for eternity. God has also given us the use of reason, which is also a good thing. We must bring desire and reason into conformity. To let desire override reason turns us into demons — worse than brute beasts who cannot reason. The devils were the first to attempt to use reason to promote desire over truth. When we see people attempting to use reason to justify sexual perversions or re-interpreting the true meaning of marriage, we see the devils active in the world around us.

A valid marriage is between one woman and one man and is only dissolved by death. It unites them together as one, and it is exclusive as it excludes union with anyone else. Mixing another person in this union pollutes or adulterates the union; hence, this is called adultery. Sexual union, when there is no marriage, is called fornication. Sexual unions between those of the same gender are called homosexual. Sexual unions between humans and animals are known as bestiality. These things should not even be mentioned among Catholics or even those who make any claim to "Christianity."

"For know ye this, and understand, that no fornicator, nor unclean, nor covetous person, which is a serving of idols, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ, and of God. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the anger of God upon the children of unbelief. Be ye not, therefore partakers with them" (Ephesians 5:5-7).

In addition to all these sins, we must warn the good reader against any sins of sexual self-abuse. The deliberate wasting or spilling of seed is called onanism. This comes from the son of Juda, named Onan, in the 38th Chapter of Genesis. In performing the marital act, he withdrew so that his sperm was spilled and, therefore, prevented the conception of a child. This unnatural act is even more detestable to God than to nature. God took Onan's life from him because of this sin.

Using our intelligence to obtain sexual pleasure while frustrating the design of God and nature is demonic. It does not matter how many people approve of or applaud it. The majority vote does not make evil good. Truth is true even if no one on earth accepts it.

True marriage is challenging but very rewarding. The Sacrament of Matrimony gives the graces needed to live correctly in married life. In living modestly and virtuously, the crosses are made light and sweet. We genuinely need young men and women who love God, themselves, and their fellow men to enter and live correctly in the married state. We must cooperate with God and the graces of the sacraments without fear or hesitation — even in opposition to the rest of the world. When we follow the vocation that God gives us, we can overcome the devils, the world, and all temptations.

All deliberate sexual activity that is pursued outside of a valid marriage is evil and sinful. All frustration with the natural consequences of marital actions is likewise evil and sinful. The only true hope for our society is in those who cooperate with the graces and live up to the high ideals God gives us in the Sacrament of Matrimony.

May the Immaculate Heart of Mary inspire, guide, and protect us!