EXTERNAL FACTORS:

The economy of Migration:
In the light of the economic situation spouse/ parents leave families behind to look for jobs that offer greater compensation but at the price of stability of their spousal bond, the proper maturation of their children who are deprived  of the guidance and love of their parents at the most impressionable years  of their life.

Mass Media:
 Most programs in the mass media are engineered to change our attitude towards relationships and sexuality. They are designed to break down sexual inhibitions, invalidate traditional values, destroys parental and family trust and have for reaching consequences changing the mind, morals and motivation of an entire generation.

Technology :
We live in an age where speed is the essence of life. We  have no time to listen, to dialogue, to reflect. We have lost the ability to be still.Speed has and is destroying relationships, marriages and families because we want immediate results/ happiness/ solutions/ peace/understanding/ compatibility. Technology has recreated the way we live and subsequently the need to always use things and people for our own convenience.

Challenges at the work place:
The family today is under pressure with working and children away from the university. The Family has little time for togetherness and bonding rituals. But perhaps the greater challenge is at the workplace, with changing work culture that demands more time and dedication. We are moving into a generation where our colleagues and work performance, social status and career opportunities are prioritized over spouse and family. This threatens the spousal bond. If spouses do not set boundaries for themselves it is not difficult to have significant others at the workplaces, who meet your emotional needs. Infidelity is the end result held with the value of relativism.Often the role of being a good provider takes precedence over being a faithful spouse or loving parent.

Influence of extended Family:
Marriage  is a significant decision in the life of adult which triggers a re-orientation in the list of one's priorities. It is a process of adjustment as well" Adjustment implies that all things/ persons will fade   in importance when compared with the welfare or well being of one's  spouse/ marriage commitment. The spouse be the first priority. Only then can one  enter fully, freely faithfully and fruitfully in to relationship.

Dealings with Psycho- medical challenges calls for:

Awareness:  To foster awareness of the internal/ external/family of origin stressors that exist.

Acceptance: Dysfunction can be worked on with great success. Spouses accept their own area of dysfunction
Action         : Commit to make the spousal band a priority.
                   : Identify       and work through Stressors (internal and external)
                   : Build the spousal relationship through communication and couple prayer.
                     Sustain the spousal bond through Rituals and connect.
                      Family prayer/ Family Catechesis

Dealings with Psycho-Medical Challenges calls for:

AWARENESS :  To foster awareness of the internal / external / family of origin stressors that exist.

ACCEPTANCE : Dysfunction can be  worked on with great success. Spouses accept their own area of dysfunction

Action                : Commit to make the spousal bond a priority.
                          : Identify and work through Stressors ( internal and external )
                          : Build the spousal relationship through communication and couple prayer.
                           Sustain the spousal bond through Rituals that connect.
                           Family Prayer / Family Catechesis
 

Culture of Death

In March 1995, Pope John Paul II spoke of a profound " crisis of culture" which was against the world....marriage and family. A mentally against life enhancing culture, which he called as " Culture of Death ...."
The phrase "culture of life" is described by Catholic moral theologians as a philosophy that human life, at all stages from conception through to natural death, is sacred. As such , a "culture of  life>> is claimed to be opposed to practices seen by its proponents as destructive of human life., often including embryonic stem cell research, abortion, euthanasia, contraception, sex outside marriage, capital punishment, greed, degradation, sadistic humiliation , narcissism,selfishness, poverty and war. The "culture of death" degrades the human person and encourages a mentality that devalues the institution of marriage and family. When it comes to human relationships, the human  person is degraded into an object of pleasure, and the sanctity of marriage is not valued thus giving approval to pre-marital sex and extra-marital affairs.

Changes in Language Instituted by the Culture of Death

       *      Pre-Marital Sex is now called co- habitation
       *      Contraception methods - reproductive health products
       *      Abortion - woman's health issue
       *      Euthanasia - death with dignity
       *      Pornography - sexually explicit material
       *      Child molestation - Inter - generational love
       *      Promiscuity - serial monogamy
       *      Adultery - flexible monogamy
       *      Partner in adultery - significant other
       *      Bestiality - interspecies love

We are called to give witness to love and life in these challenging times when the " culture of death " mentality is challenging the very foundation of the Christian understanding of the human person, marriage and family

The Church is a mother and loves her children and wants the best for you, as a mother she has duty to teach the Truth to her children. When we talk about Catholic Morality we need to keep these thoughts in mind that the Church teaches as a mother.

Catholic Morality is about Life

Our Lord Jesus said, " I come that may they have life, and have it abundantly.>>(John 10:10).
Faith and baptism give us new life in Christ. That life involves far more than simply following a set of rules.
It is about living as free human beings not tied down by any bondages and making LOVE our fundamental option.

Morality is a call to recognize our dignity as men who have received a free gift of new life in Christ. We must live accordingly. Our Lord Jesus himself clearly taught us the first principles of Catholic morality: " You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it, You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself. On these two commandments depend all the law and the prophets.>> ( Mt 22: 37-40 )

Love , or charity, is the great commandment of the Lord.

Love of God and love of neighbor are the source & summary of  Cattholic morality. " All the law and the prophets " flow from this starting point.

This means that what love requires is the essence of all moral rules, all of the Ten Commandments, and all aspects of morality spoken of by the Christ and Church Tradition down the ages. The only things needed are those things which love makes necessary.

Our Fundamental Vocation is to Love

Catholic morality should be understood in the context of our vocation to love.God created man in His own image and likeness: calling him to existence in love, through love and for love. Therefore. LOVE is our fundamental vocation. Two specific ways of realizing this vocation to love. single life ( virginity/ celibacy ) or Marriage. Marriage is the vocation of the Majority of the people.

Some terms:

There are certain terms we need to be familiar with when we talk about Christian Morality in Relationship.
CHASTITY : Living in a world with a growing hedonistic our mentality, we draw attention to the value of
Chastity, Chastity / celibacy is not a value to be witnessed  only by priest and nuns but all Christians.
Catholicism defines chastity as the virtue that moderates the sexual appetite ( Summa Theologia 1-11 q. 60 a. 5) . Unmarried Catholics express chastity through sexual abstinence.
Sexual intercourse within marriage is considered chaste when it retains the twofold significance of unity and procreation. [Humanae Vitae [HV] . 12)
CHASTITY as a moral virtue regulates the use of one's sexuality in such a way that the"I" can encounter the particular "thou" validly and lovingly, abstaining from sexual dealings will harm the encounter.


SEXUALITY: Sexuality is not something related only to the body, but something that affects the whole person
in the depth of his/her "I" is discovered. We have genetic and generic component of our sexuality, and Generic- affective and personal dimension.

What do couples pledge to the Altar?

" I . ..come before you  freely and without reservation [fully]....and I promise to be faithful...open to the children
that God wants to give us [fruitful]."

                *      Every sexual intercourse is a renewal of the wedding vows taken at the altar.

Spouses should always recall " How did Jesus-God Loves us?"

           *    Freely:  " No one takes my life from me, I lay it down on my own."
           *    Fully [Unconditionally]: " I give myself to you without reservation: body, soul and divinity"
           *    Faithfully: " I will be with you always, until the end of time."
           *    Fruitfully: " I have laid down my life so that my bride may have life and have it to the full."

Christian View of the Human Body

*      Genesis 1: 27, Human beings are created in the image of God

*      Dignity of the human person. God  created man in his own image and likeness (Genesis 1:27 ).

        Hence, body is the medium or sign that reveal God's love , power, goodness etc. therefore,

        body is very sacred.

*      In this context, the vocation and dignity of the human person should be clearly understood.

*     Mature sexual behavior comes from a proper understanding of the sacredness of our sexuality.

 *    Problem today- Morals have been corrupted, modern communication media only adds to this 

       corruption - influence of films, T.V. serials, print media and opinion polls.

*     We need to beware of the influence of   " Hedonistic Culture ".

*      The human person is sacred and not for use and abuse.

*      Sincere intention alone is not enough; life must be based on objective standards.

*      All our relationships should be guided by the universal norm of love.

*      The general and basic principles in this domain are: sex has a finality, which determines its morality.

 Mutual self-giving and procreation make up the finality. 

 This finality is preserve only in marriage. Therefore, genital sex is justified only in marriage and 

 consequently the use of sex outside marriage is immoral.