While recalling the historical debates concerning the doctrine of the «goods» and of the «ends» of marriage, the author develops an original thesis. Since the beginning of the century, we have seen the birth of a new doctrine, that of the «gifts». Between the Augustinian bonum and the Thomistic finis, the beauty and the truth of the «gift» spring forth for our time. Are not the «goods» of marriage «ends» because they are first «gifts»? It is in this light that the author interprets and describes fides, sacramentum and proles. Relying at the same time on the «onto-do-logy» (ontology of the gifts) of Cl. Bruaire and on a study of the principal magisterial texts of this century, the author presents a synthesis of a theology of «gift» in marriage. He offers new melodies for the songs of freedom, of the person, and of human dignity. The language of -gift-, set forth in such a manner, is accessible to persons and felicitous in its pastoral application. It offers new channels of meaning which are both concrete and unambiguous in order to present the reality of human love in God's plan.
