Transcription
Having and raising children is part of human nature. But what makes this common activity supernatural for a person of faith? In this video, we will look at parenthood in light of the three-fold good of the sacrament of matrimony.
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In his catechetical work on the articles of the faith, St. Thomas Aquinus writes, "Matrimony has a three-fold good. The first is the birth of children and the educating of them to the worship of God. The second is that fidelity which one must render to the other. And the third is that it is a sacrament, or in other words, the indivisibility of matrimony which shows forth the indivisible union of Christ and his church." In our videos on marriage and friendship, NFP and dating, we explore the second and third goods of marriage. In this video, we focus on what the church teaches and what we have come to learn through experience about being parents.
>> The first good of marriage is the production and education of offspring, often called the procreative end of marriage. Openness to children is a cornerstone upon which married couples build their entire lives and relationships. This is sometimes misinterpreted as a command to have as many children as possible without concern for each child as a person. But the church has always taught that the procreative good of marriage extends far beyond just having children. For Aquinas, the education of children is an act of the virtue of religion since we aim to raise children who will worship God. He would agree with Pope St. John Paul II who wrote that saints beget and raise saints.
>> Those of us in the lay life have been called to sanctify the world through our acts of charity and the preaching of the gospel. Emphasizing this work of the ley is one of the great contributions of Vatican 2. But already in the suma controg and tiles we find St. Thomas reflecting on how mothers and fathers are called to participate in the priestly work of Christ describing parenting as a ministerial role. For some propagate and conserve the spiritual life in an only spiritual ministry, and this belongs to the sacrament of orders, and some in a ministry that is simultaneously bodily and spiritual, which takes place in the sacrament of matrimony, where a man and woman come together to beget offspring and to rear them in divine worship. St. Thomas distinguishes between the work of a spiritual father and the work of a natural father or mother while clearly identifying both as priestly work. Work that sanctifies the world and brings souls to God. It is especially important to do this work in the home. In this regard, St. John Paul II underlines the importance of family prayer. Only by praying together with their children can a father and mother exercising their royal priesthood penetrate the innermost depths of their children's hearts and leave an impression that the future events in their lives will not be able to a face.
>> One of the defining characteristics of a priest is the offering of sacrifice. The priesthood of a father or mother entails offering sacrifices constantly for the sake of your spouse and the sake of your children. The vocations of fatherhood and motherhood when lived well are aesthetic ones in which you learn to put the needs of others before your own to choose for their good instead of your pleasure or benefit. In the tertiapars of the suma theologia Thomas speaks about the mysteries of Christ's life in the gospels. And here he says Christ saves us not only by divine power but also through the mystery of his incarnation. In other words, among the many ways God could have brought about salvation, he saw fit to do so in and through Jesus, the word made flesh. This is a crucial point for Thomas who claims that everything Christ did and suffered in the Gospels is salvific since these things are a manifestation of divine love. The gospels recount Jesus praying, weeping, thirsting, sleeping, spitting in the dirt, tracing lines in the sand, and turning over tables. These are not details to be passed over as though the real message were somewhere else in the story. These are details to be pondered and lived into. Christ came to save us in a manner we knew, stooping down to our level and meeting us through the senses. Early Christians have compared this to the way a great rhetoric might stoop down to babble with a baby. Because this is the kind of God we have, the life of grace makes even the smallest of acts of motherhood and fatherhood, a participation in the mystery of the incarnation and gives an eternal significance to the many daily menial tasks of being a mom. I have found motherhood to be a self-mping of the things I cling to that make me feel important and powerful. As a mother, I love pondering the words of institution during the liturgy of the eukarist, which reference Christ's words to his apostles during the last supper. "This is my body given for you." In today's world, when women say, "This is my body," it often means something quite different than how Christ meant it here. It is a rallying cry against sacrifice and self-g, against anything that might inconvenience our pursuit of total freedom. But Christ in total possession of his body and in full awareness of his power of consent freely offers himself for those he loves. Motherhood is an invitation to follow in that self-g born of total freedom. And maybe Jesus as man learned this attitude of self-g who accepted Christ's conception in her womb saying to the angel, "Let it be done to me according to your word."
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