Reflection November 21, 1984

https://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/jp2tb127.htm

I think the world would scoff or blush at the idea that there is any “religious content” in the conjugal act. However, SJPII says that it is our duty to understand the conjugal act, to not let it “become diminished and deprived” of the meaning that it does have, including religious meaning. The world sees it as a pleasurable act only, not a means to anything, but an end to be achieved. There is no sacredness to it, no holiness, only the physical pleasure that is achieved. And because of this, it reduces both parties to “mere objects”. SJPII seeks to show us that the “normal” method is the more freeing, and “strengthens the interior freedom of the gift.” The world sees it as restrictive and doesn’t understand that its “freedom” is unnatural and turns humans into objects to be used, slaves.