 The Church position on sexual activity can be summarized as : " sexual activity belongs only in marriage as an expression of total self @-@ giving and union , and always open to the possibility of new life . " Sexual acts in marriage are considered " noble and honorable " and are meant to be enjoyed with " joy and gratitude . " <unk> is to be reserved to marriage : " by its very nature <unk> love requires the <unk> fidelity of the spouses . This is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other . Love seeks to be definitive ; it cannot be an arrangement ' until further notice . ' " The " intimate union of marriage , as a mutual giving of two persons , and the good of the children , demand total fidelity from the spouses and require an <unk> union between them . " ( Gaudium et spes ) " . 
