Category Archives: Marriage

Online text: “Every Marital Act Ought to be Open to New Life: Toward a Clearer Understanding”, by Germain Grisez et al.

25 Thursday Jul 2019

Posted by in Anthropology, Apologetics, Article, Biology, Catholic, Children, Christian, Ethics, Family, Life, Marriage, Parenting, Philosophy, Religion, Science, Sex, Theology

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See this online text:

  • “Every Marital Act Ought to be Open to New Life: Toward a Clearer Understanding”, by Germain Grisez, Joseph Boyle, John Finnis & William E. May. Reprinted from The Thomist, 52, 3 (July 1988): pp. 365-426 (copyright © Dominican Fathers, Province of St. Joseph, 1988). Available in pdf format through this page of The Way of the Lord Jesus.

On the anniversary of the issuance of the Encyclical “Humanae Vitae”. See also these related texts:

Other related texts are listed in the page “Marriage and the Family“. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“[I]t is never lawful, even for the gravest reasons, to do evil that good may come of it (cf. Rom 3:8) — in other words, to intend directly something which of its very nature contradicts the moral order, and which must therefore be judged unworthy of man, even though the intention is to protect or promote the welfare of an individual, of a family or of society in general” (Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, No. 14, as quoted by Pope St. John Paul II, Veritatis Splendor, No. 80)

Free audiobook & ebook: “The Great Encyclical Letters of Pope Leo XIII”

20 Saturday Jul 2019

Posted by in America, Apologetics, Audiobook, Bible, Books, Catholic, Christian, Church, Communism, Democracy, Doctrine, EBooks, England, Ethics, Faith, Family, Freedom, God, Human Rights, Jesus Christ, Liberalism, Marriage, Papacy, Persecution, Philippines, Philosophy, Politics, Protestantism, Religion, Secularism, Theology, Video, Youtube

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See this legally free audiobook and ebook:

  • The work (audiobook/ebook) includes the following encyclicals and other letters (as listed on LibriVox):
    • On the Evils Afffecting Modern Society “Inscrutabili”;
    • Socialism, Communism, Nihilism “Quod Apostolici Muneris”;
    • The Study of Scholastic Philosophy “Aeterni Patris”;
    • Christian Marriage “Arcanum Divinae”;
    • Freemasonry “Humanum Genus”;
    • The Christian Constitution of States “ Immortale Dei”;
    • Human Liberty “Libertas Praestantissimum”;
    • The Right Ordering of Christian Life “Exeunte Jam Anno”;
    • On the Chief Duties of Christians as Citizens “Sapientiae Christianae”;
    • The Condition of the Working Classes “Rerum Novarum”;
    • Allegiance to the Republic “Au Milieu des Sollicitudes”;
    • The Pope and the Columbus Tercenary “Quarto Abrupto Saeculo”;
    • The Study of Holy Scripture “Provindentissimus Deus”;
    • The Reunion of Christendom “Praeclara Gratulationis Publicae”;
    • Catholicity in the United States “Longuinque Oceani”;
    • To the English People “Amantissima Voluntatis”;
    • The Unity of the Church “Satis Cognitum”;
    • Anglican Orders “Apostolicae Curae”;
    • The Prohibition and Censorship of Books “Officiorum ac Munerum”;
    • The Holy Spirit “Divinum Illud”;
    • True and False Americanism in Religion “Testem Benevolentiae”;
    • On the Consecration of Mankind to the Sacred Heart of Jesus “Annum Sacrum”;
    • Christ Our Redeemer “Tametsi”;
    • Christian Democracy “Graves de Communi”;
    • The Religious Congregations in France;
    • Congratulations to the American Hierarchy;
    • The Most Holy Eucharist “Mirae Caritatis”;
    • The Holy Scriptures; The Biblical Commission “Vigilantiae”;
    • The Church in the Philippines; and
    • Review of His Pontificate.

In remembrance of Pope Leo XIII (d. 20 July 1903), vicarius Ss. Petri et Pauli, faithful shepherd and teacher. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: “Theology of the Body for Families & Single People”

06 Saturday Jul 2019

Posted by in Anthropology, Books, Catholic, Christian, EBooks, Ethics, Family, Love, Marriage, Religion, Sex, Sexuality, Youth

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See this online ebook:

  • Theology of the Body for Families & Single People, plus Family Chastity Formation in Virtue and Purity of Heart: Universal Truths about Human Sexuality for People of All Ages, with Extensive References to the Official Teachings of the Roman Catholic Church (Kettle River, Minnesota: Communitas Dei Patris, 2006-2017). (Rev: 1/25/2017). Available in pdf format (here) through this page of Family Prayer Night.
    • [The text states: “This free pdf version of Theology of the Body for Families & Single People plus Family Chastity Formation in Virtue & Purity of Heart is a gift from parents to parents with the blessings of the Church. Any reproductions, full or partial, are not to be sold; sales, as such, are strictly forbidden.”]

See also the ecclesiastical documents relating to holy purity and chastity listed on Catechesis of the Popes and listed below:

See also other texts on holy purity and chastity listed at the Project’s page on Marriage and the Family and listed below:

On the Memorial of Saint Maria Goretti and in advance of the Memorial of Blessed Peter To Rot. For other online texts and legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“You have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery. But I tell you that he who casts his eyes on a woman so as to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If thy right eye is the occasion of thy falling into sin, pluck it out and cast it away from thee; better to lose one part of thy body than to have the whole cast into hell. And if thy right hand is an occasion of falling, cut it off and cast it away from thee; better to lose one of thy limbs than to have thy whole body cast into hell.” (St. Matthew v, 27-30)

“And now, brethren, I appeal to you by God’s mercies to offer up your bodies as a living sacrifice, consecrated to God and worthy of his acceptance; this is the worship due from you as rational creatures. And you must not fall in with the manners of this world; there must be an inward change, a remaking of your minds, so that you can satisfy yourselves what is God’s will, the good thing, the desirable thing, the perfect thing. (Romans xii, 1-2)

“Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, Nor the effeminate, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God…. Know you not, that your bodies are the members of Christ?… Or know you not, that your members are the temple of the Holy Ghost, who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body.” (I Corinthians vi, 9-10, 15, 19-20)

“And that is how husband ought to love wife, as if she were his own body; in loving his wife, a man is but loving himself. It is unheard of, that a man should bear ill-will to his own flesh and blood; no, he keeps it fed and warmed; and so it is with Christ and his Church; we are limbs of his body; flesh and bone, we belong to him. That is why a man will leave his father and mother and will cling to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. Yes, those words are a high mystery, and I am applying them here to Christ and his Church. (Ephesians v, 28-32)

Online video & text: “Discovering Sexual Equality in Our Shared Response to Human Dependency”, by Erika Bachiochi

08 Friday Mar 2019

Posted by in Abortion, Anthropology, Apologetics, Biology, Catholic, Christian, Ethics, Family, Feminism, Marriage, Parenting, Psychology, Religion, Women

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See this online text and video:

Posted on International Women’s Day, 2019, in advance of the Feast of Saint Frances of Rome in the Roman Rite, and in belated observance of the Feast of Saints Perpetua and Felicity. For other online texts and more legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: A Comparison of the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with St. Thomas Aquinas, by Thomas Petri

28 Monday Jan 2019

Posted by in Aquinas, Catholic, Christian, EBooks, Ethics, Family, Grace, Language, Marriage, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Saints, Sex, Spirituality, Theology

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Annunciation_Cathedral_(Jerusalem)_Fresco_of_Marriage_at_Cana

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online ebook:

  • Locating a Spousal Meaning of the Body in the Summa Theologiae: A Comparison of a Central Idea Articulated in the Theology of the Body by Pope John Paul II with the Mature Work of St. Thomas Aquinas (Dissertation), by Thomas Petri, S.T.D. (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America, 2010). 452 pages. Copyright and All Rights Reserved by Thomas Petri. Available in pdf format (on this page) at the Catholic University of America University Libraries.

On the Feast of St. Thomas Aquinas in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite and of St. Agnes in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. See also our posts: “A Beginner’s Guide to Saint Thomas Aquinas” and “Free eBooks by (and about) Saint Thomas Aquinas“.

Online text: “On Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity”, by the Vatican II Preparatory Commission

30 Sunday Dec 2018

Posted by in Bishops, Catholic, Christian, Church, Doctrine, EBooks, Ethics, Family, Marriage, Religion, Sex, Virginity

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Annunciation_Cathedral_(Jerusalem)_Fresco_of_Marriage_at_Cana

Fresco of Marriage at Cana, Annunciation Cathedral (Jerusalem). Photo by See The Holy Land. Image from Wikimedia Commons

See this online text:

  • Draft of a Dogmatic Constitution on Chastity, Marriage, the Family, and Virginity, by the Preparatory Theological Commission for the Second Vatican Council, translated by Fr. Joseph A. Komonchak (2012). Available in pdf format (on this page) at In Verbo Veritatis.

On the Feast of St. Egwin of Evesham.

“To the unmarried, and to the widows, I would say that they will do well to remain in the same state as myself, but if they have not the gift of continence, let them marry; better to marry than to feel the heat of passion. For those who have married already, the precept holds which is the Lord’s precept, not mine; the wife is not to leave her husband, (if she has left him, she must either remain unmarried, or go back to her own husband again), and the husband is not to put away his wife.” (I Corinthians vii, 8-11)

Online text: “Engaged Couples Guide to Marriage Preparation”

30 Sunday Sep 2018

Posted by in Catholic, Christian, Ethics, Family, Love, Marriage, Religion, Sex

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See this online text:

On the Memorial of the Engagement of the Virgin Mary to Saint Joseph in the Maronite church. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

Online ebook: “The Catholic Home”, by Father Alexander, O.F.M.

12 Thursday Jul 2018

Posted by in Anthropology, Books, Catholic, Children, Christian, Doctrine, EBooks, Ethics, Family, Love, Marriage, Religion, Spirituality

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See this online ebook:

  • The Catholic Home, by Father Alexander, O.F.M., with a Foreword by the Bishop of Salford (London, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow: R. & T. Washbourne, 1914). With Imprimatur. May be read online, and available in epub, mobi, pdf, and other formats at Internet Archive.

Posted on the Feast of Saints Louis Martin and Marie-Azélie Guérin.

“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the Church, and delivered himself up for it, that he might sanctify it, cleansing it by the laver of water in the word of life, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, nor any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

“So also ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself. For no man ever hated his own flesh: but nourisheth and cherisheth it, as also Christ doth the church: for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother: and shall adhere to his wife, and they shall be two in one flesh.

“This is a great sacrament: but I speak in Christ, and in the church.”  (Ephesians v, 25-32)

Online text: “Women, Sexual Asymmetry & Catholic Teaching”, by Erika Bachiochi

28 Monday May 2018

Posted by in Abortion, Anthropology, Apologetics, Article, Catholic, Christian, Ethics, Family, Feminism, Life, Marriage, Religion, Women

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See this online text:

On the occasion of the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, 2018.

“[F]rom the beginning of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife. And they two shall be in one flesh. Therefore now they are not two, but one flesh.” (St. Mark x, 6-8)

Online texts: Commentaries on “Amoris Laetitia”

08 Sunday Apr 2018

Posted by in Apologetics, Bishops, Catholic, Christian, Church, Doctrine, Ethics, Family, Love, Marriage, Papacy, Religion, Sex, Theology

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See these online commentaries and interventions on the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on Love in the Family “Amoris laetitia”. Note that this list is a work in progress and may be expanded further.


I. Interventions on the Synod on the Family

II. Documents implementing “Amoris laetitia”


III. Interventions and petitions on “Amoris laetitia”


IV. Other Commentaries on “Amoris laetitia”

V. Other Texts on Worthy Reception of Holy Communion

On Divine Mercy Sunday, 2018; and on the anniversary of the release of the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation “Amoris laetitia” on Love in the Family. For other legally free ebooks, you may access the List of Free eBooks (Arranged by Title) and the List of Free eBooks (Grouped by Subject).

“When I say to the wicked: O wicked man, thou shalt surely die: if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked man from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but I will require his blood at thy hand… And if I shall say to the wicked: Thou shalt surely die: and he do penance for his sin and do judgment and justice; And if that wicked man restore the pledge, and render what he had robbed, and walk in the commandments of life, and do no unjust thing, he shall surely live, and shall not die.” (Ezechiel xxxiii, 8, 14-15)

“Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself: and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord.” (I Corinthians xi, 27-29)

“‘Neither will I condemn you.’ What is this, O Lord? Do You therefore favor sins? Not so, evidently. Mark what follows: ‘Go, henceforth sin no more’. Therefore the Lord did also condemn, but condemned sins, not man… The Lord is gentle, the Lord is long-suffering, the Lord is pitiful; but the Lord is also just, the Lord is also true. He bestows on you space for correction; but you love the delay of judgment more than the amendment of your ways… Thus therefore said He to the woman… ‘Neither will I condemn you’: I have blotted out what you have done; keep what I have commanded you, that you may find what I have promised.” (St. Augustine, Tractate xxxiii on the Gospel of John, 6-8.)

“How many there are who have the temerity to come to the Holy Table with sins unconfessed or disguised in Confession. How many have not the contrition that the good God demands of them, and keep a secret will to commit sin again and not to make every effort to correct themselves… If ever you have been in these dispositions when going to Holy Communion, you have been guilty of sacrilege… The unworthy communicant is a traitor and a hypocrite… The unworthy communicant is an ungrateful person… The unworthy communicant is a parricide.” (St. John Baptist Mary Vianney, Eucharistic Meditations of the Curé d’Ars)