Chapter 9: Key Terms in Christian Discipleship and Marriage

Apologist

Someone who speaks or writes to defend and explain a belief, doctrine, or idea.

Theology of the Body

Authored by St. John Paul II, it is about the goodness and sacredness of the human body and its role in our expressing and sharing our truest and most intimate self.

Nuptial and Generative

Nuptial is (matrimonial) and generative is (provocative). It is to be love-giving and life-giving.

Chastity

One of the virtues that empowers us to meet this command; Christ himself is the model of living a chaste life.

Chastity (continued)

It fosters our growth in the moral attitudes and behavior that enable us to honor and respect dignity.

Celibacy

Integral to the way of life of those who have chosen to remain unmarried.

Abstinence

The refraining from sexual intercourse and other inappropriate expressions of intimacy until one marries.

Temperance

The virtue by which one moderates the desire and attraction of pleasure and provides balance in the use of created goods.

Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in humans as the 'first fruits' of eternal glory: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, and chastity.

Theological Virtue

A gift from God that enables us to choose to and to live in the right relationship with the Holy Trinity. (faith, hope, charity (love).

Elements of a True and Valid Sacramental Marriage

The elements are free and freely entered: unity, indissolubility, fidelity, and fecundity.

Natural Family Planning

Open to the gift of children, spouses fulfill one of the two inseparable and fundamental purposes of marriage.

Natural Family Planning (continued)

Being open to procreation of a new life does not command a married couple to generate children irresponsibly. (responsible methods of deliberately regulating conception.)(Natural Family Planning is ecological, holistic, healthy, and an exercise in partnership between the couple.)

Free Unions

Refers to several relationships between a man and woman (this includes trial marriages, cohabitation, and concubinage). The partners have chosen to live together without being

married, and they remain "free" from entering a full marriage commitment.