The Two Become One Flesh: The Catholic View Of The Sacrament Of Marriage | Prof. Paul Gondreau
Jun 17, 2024
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Prof. Paul Gondreau discusses Catholic view on marriage, human sexuality, and anthropology. Topics include materialist anthropology's impact, Catholic view on body-soul unity, sacrament of marriage, raising children, divine empowerment for happy marriages, and guarantee of grace in matrimony.
Catholic moral teaching emphasizes human nature's beauty and intended way of life through marriage.
The integrated anthropology of Catholicism values the unity of physical and spiritual aspects in human nature.
Deep dives
Understanding Catholic Moral Teaching on Marriage and Human Sexuality
Catholic moral teaching on marriage and human sexuality is often misunderstood as a set of prohibitions imposed by celibate individuals. In reality, it is founded on a beautiful conception of human nature and how God intends us to live. Pope Benedict XVI highlighted that this teaching is inscribed in human nature itself, accessible to reason and common to all humanity, emphasizing a humanist vision at its core.
The Human Person as a Body-Soul Composite Unity
Catholic moral teaching adopts an integrated anthropology wherein the human person is viewed as a unity of physical and spiritual aspects, as seen in the Aristotelian inspired concept of hylomorphic anthropology. This view contrasts with rival anthropologies that isolate either the body or the soul, resulting in fragmented perspectives on what it means to be human.
Materialist View of the Human Person
Opposing the Catholic view of an integrated body-soul unity, the materialist perspective reduces human nature to a purely physical entity, denying any spiritual dimension or transcendent aspect. This reductionist anthropology leads to a devaluation of the human body, enabling behaviors that disregard moral responsibility and treat the body as a mere instrument for pleasure or manipulation.
Cartesianist View of the Human Person
In contrast to the Catholic understanding, the Cartesianist perspective considers the human person as a soul detached from the body, leading to a disregard for the bodily aspect and a focus solely on autonomous thinking and choosing. This view diminishes the significance of the body, promoting a disconnection between bodily identity and human essence.
This lecture was given on April 25th, 2024, at University of Oregon.
For more information on upcoming events, visit us at thomisticinstitute.org/upcoming-events
About the Speaker:
Paul Gondreau is professor of theology at Providence College, where he has taught for 26 years. He received his doctorate in theology from the University of Fribourg, Switzerland, doing his dissertation on Christ's full humanity (Christ's human passions/emotions) under the renowned Thomist scholar Jean-Pierre Torrell. He specializes in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas and has published widely in the areas of Christology (focusing on Christ’s full humanity and his maleness), Christian anthropology, the moral meaning and purpose of human sexuality and sexual difference, the biblical vision of Aquinas' theology, the theology of disability, the sacrament of the Eucharist and the priesthood, and the Catholic vision of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
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