A Man and Woman Become a Family

A MAN AND WOMAN BECOME A FAMILY ON THE DAY 

THEY ARE UNITED IN MARRIAGE

Infertility Fact: A man and a woman become a family on the day they are united in marriage. “Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be two in one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 DRA). Moreover, the Catholic Church recognizes a family, with or without children, as the domestic church. Infertility is hard in so many ways, but it is not the end of marriage, a barren desert, or a place where joy and peace can never reign.
 
Infertility Awareness: Some people, even in the Church, believe that only couples with children form a family. This adds to the social isolation of many families without children. For example, a question like “When are you going to start a family?” is hurtful because it implies that the married couple struggling with infertility is not a “family” without children.
 
Action: Show by your words that you recognize your married friends without children as a family. Take the lead from them and what they may wish to share about their struggle with infertility, rather than asking questions about when they will “start a family.” Listen to them with sensitivity, and when describing your own family, avoid suggesting that you and your spouse “started a family” when you had children. God has given all Christians a mission to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28), whether in our marriage, our work, how we serve the community, and so on. Acknowledge how your married friends without children fulfill their unique mission to fruitfulness.