5
DENVER CATHOLIC | FEB-MAR 2024 DENVER CATHOLIC | FEB-MAR 2024
5
BY DR. ELIZABETH KLEIN
Assistant Professor of Theology
at the Augustine Institute
For most of human
history marriage has
been a given, a kind of
self-explanatory fact of
human society. But with
fewer and fewer young
people choosing to get
married today — let
alone getting married in
a religious context — we
might well ask: what
is the point of getting
married? And what
is the point of getting
married in the Church?
T
he Catholic Church has long summarized
the reasons for getting married by talking
about the "three goods of marriage;" after
all, we do things because they are good, because
we identify in them goods worth pursuing.
These three goods are: children, fidelity, and
the sacramental bond. Perhaps at first glance
these don't sound very exciting (especially the
children part, at least for many people today!),
but let's take a look at them one by one to get a
sense of these wonderful gifts of marriage. ⊲
