MATRIMONY

The Marriage Covenant

1. What is Christian marriage?

Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman, which is ordered to the well-being of the spouses, and to the procreation and upbringing of children. When validly contracted between two baptized people, marriage is a sacrament called matrimony. [glossary, 1660*, 1601].

2. What are three essential attributes of marriage?

Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity; divorce separates what God has joined together, and the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift", the child. [1664*].

3. What is a covenant?

A covenant is a solemn agreement between human beings, or between God and a human being, involving mutual commitments and guarantees. Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. [glossary, 1662*].

4. What is the scriptural basis for the marriage covenant?

The Old Testament affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is not good that the man should be alone." The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal, his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh." (cf. Gen 2:18-25). The Lord himself showed that this signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the creator had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh." (Mt 19:6). In the New Testament the apostle Paul asserts: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved his Church and gave himself for her, that he might sanctify her," adding at once "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and his Church." (Eph 5:25-26, 31-32; cf. Gen 2:24). [1659*, 1605, 1616].

Characteristics of Marriage

5. What is the matrimonial consent?

The consent is a human act in which the partners mutually and freely give themselves to each other: "I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my husband." The consent must be a free act of the will of each of the contracting parties, meaning that it is not under any fear or constraint, and it is not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law. If the consent is lacking, or if freedom is lacking, the marriage is invalid. [1625-1629].

6. What are the effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony?

The Sacrament of Matrimony established a bond between the spouses which, by its very nature, is perpetual and indissoluble. Furthermore the spouses are strengthened in their marriage by special sacramental graces for the duties and the dignity of their state. This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love, to strengthen their indissoluble unity, and to sanctify them on the way to eternal life. By this grace they help one another to attain holiness in their married life, and in welcoming and educating their children. [1661*, 1638-1642].

7. What does scripture say about the indissolubility of marriage?

In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as it was from the beginning: permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the "hardness of hearts'" (cf. Mt 18:8). The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble. God himself has determined this: "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder." (Mt 19:6). [1664*, 1614-15, 1638-1641, 1644].

8. What type of fidelity is required of a married couple?

By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. 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 unbreakable union between them. [1846-1848].

9. Is same-sex marriage allowed?

A valid marriage can only take place between a man and a woman, not between two individuals of the same gender. [2357-59].

Celebrating the Marriage

10. What preparation is required for marriage?

So that the "I do" of the spouses to marriage may be a free and responsible act, and so that the marriage covenant may have solid and lasting human and Christian foundations, preparation for marriage is of prime importance. The guidelines of the local diocese, and the acceptance of suitable and timely instruction concerning the dignity of married love and its exercise, must be followed. [1632].

11. How is Christian marriage celebrated?

In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful is a public event which normally takes place during Holy Mass, with their reception of the Eucharist, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ. The bride and groom should prepare themselves beforehand by receiving the sacrament of penance. According to the Latin tradition the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer on each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. A priest or deacon receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church, and gives the blessing of the Church. The spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the seal of their covenant, as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. [1663*, 1621-1624, 1630].

12. What is the role of the assisting priest or deacon at the marriage celebration?

The priest or deacon who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church, and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the Church's minister, and of the witnesses, visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality. [1630].

13. What special situations exist when a Catholic marries a Noncatholic?

One must not underestimate the difficulties involved in a marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic (mixed marriage), and in a marriage between a Catholic and a non-baptized person (disparity of cult). A mixed marriage requires express permission from Church authority, whereas a disparity of cult marriage requires an express dispensation from Church authority. The dispensation is needed because disparity of cult constitutes an impediment which can make the marriage invalid. [1633-1637].

14. What is an annulment?

An annulment is a declaration that a valid marriage never took place. Grounds for an annulment include a person being under-age, lack of free consent, permanent impotence that precedes the marriage, too close a family relationship, a preexisting marriage, or the prior reception of Holy Orders. [1629].

Children of Marriage

15. What is the domestic church?

The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly called "the domestic church," a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity. [1666*, 1655-1658].

16. How should Marriage be open to fertility?

By its very nature the institution of marriage, as well as married love, are ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring, and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory. This is in accord with the twofold end of marriage: the good of the spouses themselves and the transmission of life. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children. [1652, 1653].

17. Is it morally justifiable to regulate procreation?

For justifiable reasons spouses may wish to space the births of their children. It is their duty to make certain that their desire is not motivated by selfishness, but is in conformity with the generosity appropriate to responsible parenthood. Periodic continence, that is, the methods of birth regulation based on self-observation and the use of infertile periods, is morally acceptable. In contrast to this every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes to render procreation impossible, is intrinsically evil. [2368-2370].