Called to love

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Called to love

Author: Fr. Mieczysław Piotrowski S.Chr.,
"Love One Another!" 38/2017
The Movement of Pure Hearts

God has made the capacity and calling to love and a special kind of conjugal unity inherent parts of man’s and woman’s humanity. Love therefore is a fundamental calling of every human being.

Called to love

It must be remembered that man is an incarnated spirit and has an immortal soul which expresses itself in a body. Hence, man in his or her entirety, with the immortal soul and body, is called to spiritual love in which the body shares as well. Sexuality and related sexual intercourse of spouses is not a mere biological and sensual act. St. John Paul II emphasizes that a conjugal act “concerns the innermost being of the human person as such. It is realized in a truly human way only if it is an integral part of the love by which a man and a woman commit themselves totally to one another until death” (Familiaris consortio, 11). This most intimate unity of a man and woman in a conjugal act is to be “the sign and fruit of a total personal self-giving, in which the whole person, including the temporal dimension, is present.” This is possible only in sacramental marriage and when the spouses have pure hearts, that is, when both are in the state of sanctifying grace.

It is not possible to receive Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin; a conjugal act, likewise, should not take place when the spouses live in sin. Remaining in mortal sin, they carry the reality of spiritual death in themselves, because they have broken off the ties of love with Christ and are in the captivity of evil spirits. Hence there is no love in their hearts: their conjugal act will not be a mutual gift of love whose source is Christ. As any of us, when receiving Holy Communion in an unworthy manner, “eats and drinks judgment against themselves” (1 Cor 11:29), so do the spouses when they have sexual intercourse in the state of mortal sin. In the Creator’s plans, a conjugal act is to be a sign of the sacrament of marriage, a source of sanctification and sharing by the spouses in the life and love of the Holy Trinity. This is possible in sacramental marriage and when the spouses are in the state of sanctifying grace.

The source of all crises in marriage is the spouses’ neglect of spiritual life, persistence in the state of sin, neglect of prayer, ignoring of the sacraments of penance and the Eucharist, and forgetting that the sacrament of marriage is Christ himself, who stands by them and who is the only source of their love and chance for their healing. You need to bring all your problems to Jesus, pray daily and persistently, get up from every grave sin by going to confession and attend the Eucharist as often as possible.

This most intimate unity of a man and woman in the conjugal act is to be “the sign and fruit of a total personal self-giving, in which the whole person, including the temporal dimension, is present.” This is possible only in sacramental marriage and when the spouses have pure hearts, that is, when both are in the state of sanctifying grace

If the spouses are in the state of sanctifying grace, they will be united with Christ who is present in their sacrament of marriage. Then, it will be Jesus who will make them capable of making a mutual, complete and unselfish gift of the entire spiritual and corporal wealth of one’s person to the person of the spouse. “This totality which is required by conjugal love”, St. John Paul II writes, “also corresponds to the demands of responsible fertility. This fertility is directed to the generation of a human being, and so by its nature it surpasses the purely biological order” (Familiaris consortio, 11). In this context, it is absolutely clear, what a great sin of disobedience to God the use of contraceptives is. Conjugal love is directed towards giving birth and upbringing offspring; the spouses work together with God in bringing into existence new human beings. This is a great calling for the spouses and a huge responsibility, too. Hence, spouses should try to discern God’s will as to the number of children they ought to have in their marriage and put themselves completely at the disposal of God the Creator in this respect.

Movement of Pure Hearts of Married Couples (MPHMC)

Dear Spouses! Please remember the invaluable treasure that you have received in the sacrament of marriage, namely Jesus Christ himself. Please entrust yourselves to him through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Present all your problems, troubles and joys to him in daily prayer. Every day pray on the rosary, say the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy and study the Bible. Only with Christ, Mary and St. Joseph will you overcome all difficulties! If spouses pray together, go to confession regularly and participate in the Eucharist, they build their future on an indestructible rock, which God himself is. Jesus invites you to join the Movement of Pure Hearts of Married Couples because he wishes to teach you how to love by renewing, deepening and healing your marital relationships. To join the MPHMC, you must first confess all your sins in the sacrament of penance, attend Mass and after receiving Jesus in Holy Communion, recite the MPHMC Prayer of Entrustment.

Recite the MPHMC Prayer of Entrustment every day and put all obligations included in it into practice in your married life. You need to schedule your everyday duties so that prayer has priority followed by work and rest. Beware of making television and the Internet idols in your homes and thieves of your time at the expense of prayer and rest. Ask daily for the gift of a pure heart. A pure heart is a heart fully devoted to God, that is, remaining in the state of sanctifying grace. Be on the alert and remain in unity with Christ who is present in the sacrament of marriage; and should you fall gravely, go to confession immediately. I strongly recommend, as much as it is possible, that you participate in the Eucharist and adore the Blessed Sacrament on a daily basis.

Jesus wants you to share with others, on the pages of “Love One Another!”, your experience of life and faith. Hence, please send us your testimonies. Of this great event of your joining the MPHMC, you may let us know by sending us your address, date of marriage and joining the MPHMC. We shall enter you in the Book of Pure Hearts and send you a special blessing. “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with all of you” (2 Cor 13:13).

Source: https://loamagazine.org/archive/2017/2017-38/called-to-love

The article was published with the permission from "Love One Another!" in April 2021.