Catholic church teaching on dating

We started dating when I was seventeen and we were engaged when I was eighteen.

But, in order to know that, there then has to be some sort of test.

Since “test marriages” would be a violation of basic morals — even on the natural level — what we have instead is called courtship. I will not go into detail on many of those things one can read in a book such as Father Lovasik’s , or Father Kelley’s book on chastity I mentioned last week.

However, sex – like all gifts – has to be used appropriately. According to the Bible, marriage occurs when a man and a woman “become one flesh.” Thus the consummation of a marriage happens during a sexual union.

When two people don’t commit to be together for the rest of their lives, sexuality becomes tied to a tentative relationship, something that can be ended at any moment.

Follow these rules and make sure your date or companion does also and the search for a spouse and courtship can be a joy.

If you fail, have recourse to the Sacrament of Penance as soon as possible and begin again.

He and his wife, Kelly, have three children, ages 10, 7 and 5.

In an email exchange with Fathers for Good, King discussed several aspects of dating. Why is there no explicit mention of dating in the Catholic tradition?

Your soul is at stake and perhaps a happy marriage and a possible vocation. The road to chastity is paved with prayer, the Eucharist, and reading of the New Testament.

(This was written in preparation for a series of conferences on vocations and states in life that I gave at Saint Benedict Center in the Spring of 2005.