Does there come a point in a marriage when the couple should (or perhaps are obligated to) cease engaging in the marital act?
I'm thinking of situations like during pregnancy, after menopause, etc., when it is absolutely (barring a miracle) certain that conception cannot occur. It would seem that the couple could possibly fall into using the marital act strictly for lust, which is sinful. Perhaps they are de facto using it for strictly for lust in these situations.
Thoughts?
Does there become a point in
a marriage? Yes. Does there become a point in
every marriage? No.
The instances you have given aren't really the instances that come to mind, I'm thinking more like after a traumatic surgery or for some other medical reason (besides pregnancy or menopause) where the marital act would pose some health risk to one or both spouses. The marital debt can be postponed for a just cause.
A woman cannot conceive when she is not ovulating. Barring a miracle, it is certain that conception cannot occur. Women don't always know when they're ovulating, and the men certainly don't. Ironically, if one is intent on discerning ovulation patterns, doing so will likely involve NFP-style charting. But there is no Church teaching that says married couples can only be intimate when the woman is ovulating-- because the Church teaches that procreation is the
primary end, not the
only end of marriage and the marital act. This has already been mentioned, and it's the key to understanding this entire concept.
One of the second ends of the procreative act is the satisfaction of concupiscence. The Church recognizes the frailty of human nature especially in relation to sins of the flesh, and one purpose marriage serves is as a licit avenue by which the passions can be exercised. This is obviously, in comparison to the dignity of participating with God in bringing forth new life, a more base function of the act, but it is a
legitimate function of it nevertheless. A couple who marry promise each other exclusive and
perpetual rights to their respective bodies, not simply rights until the woman enters menopause. Nor does the right disappear when the woman becomes pregnant.