Are marital relations not supposed to be pleasurable, since they are for reproduction?
The short answer
Husband and wife are meant to enjoy marital relations. Pleasure is not itself a purpose of sex, but it helps fulfill its purposes — procreation and spousal unity. The problem arises only when pleasure is put above or in place of those purposes.
The purposes
The primary purposes of marital relations are procreation and the unity of the spouses — babies and bonding. That does not mean spouses aren't supposed to find pleasure in them.
Pleasure serves the purpose
Pleasure is not a purpose of sex, but it is important for fulfilling sex's purposes. God gave us the ability to enjoy food and sex to encourage us to fulfill the purposes of those needs.
Where it goes wrong
A moral problem arises only when pleasure is put above, or in place of, the intended purpose. Someone who eats only for pleasure, ignoring the body's needs, abuses eating; someone who has sex only for pleasure, ignoring babies and bonding, abuses sex.
Continue exploring
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- Does the Church allow birth control in certain circumstances?Q&A
- If sex is good for us, why is the Church so hostile to it?Q&A
- Is marital intercourse sinful if the spouses do it with lust for each other?Q&A
- Is the right to marry a person of the same sex a civil right?Q&A
- Why is living together wrong if we're committed to chastity?Q&A