The Conjugal Communio Amoris as the Path to Holiness: Perspective of the Exhortation “Familiaris Consortio”

Abstract

The issues of conjugal communio amoris and the implications of this relationship in Christian marriage, i.e., the path to holiness, are the subject of this paper. Communio amoris in relation to marriage and family comes from the theological thought of John Paul II, from the “Familiaris Consortio” exhortation. In three parts of the paper, there are presented in turn: conjugal communion of love, conjugal love as the fruit of that communion, and communio sanctorum - holiness in marriage as the realization of the communion of love. The history of the Church shows that the holiness of spouses was practiced “despite” marriage, “in” marriage and “thanks to” marriage. However, a special emphasis in this paper is placed on the third model. Communio amoris is the principle of sanctification for spouses entering into a sacramental union; it is the path to communio sanctorum.

Keywords

• the communion of love
• communion of persons
• communion of saints
• theology of love
• psychology of love
• marital sanctity