Sign & Symbol

The act of sexual love is viewed as sign and symbol of married love. There can be no reservation or real doubt about the unity it signifies. If there is, that couple has no right to it. It is not simply for recreation. To give oneself in the marital act, one cannot be frivolous. It is to a particular person that one gives him- or herself, and to no other, until death do they part. Trial relationships erode this connotation of sexual intercourse since permanence is not a relevant factor.

In addition, since this special joining of persons cries out for perfect unity, permiscuity fragments the individual. A case came to me not long ago wherein a young woman described herself as coming to pieces. She had given herself to so many men, and the last one in a relationship of over a year, that she felt unsatisfied and torn. A part of her was crying out for unity in each and every one of the men to whom she had given herself. It would only be in marriage or in a religious vocation that all these facets could be pulled back together and totally reintegrated. She had misunderstood her sexuality as merely a diversion instead of as an important aspect of her identity.

Sex cannot be played with as a form of recreation or sport like bowling, swimming, or golf. Its abuse is a hurt that the Church would desire all to avoid; for the rest who have strayed, it is an injury the Church would seek to heal.