His attitude toward the union of man and woman as an indissoluble bond has been a Catholic tenet of faith from the earliest days of the Church:
“ What God has joined together let no one separate.” (Matthew 19:6). Even St. Paul regarded marriage as sacred, and in the Epistle to the Ephesians, he compared the marital union to the relationship of Jesus with the Church.
The Changing Notion of Matrimony
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) set down stringent marriage laws. The sacrament was defined as a legal contract valid only if it took place in the presence of a priest and two witnesses with procreation of children as the primary goal. This notion lasted until Vatican II.
The present Code of Canon Law, revised in 1983, contains numerous regulations concerning marriage (111 canons). To safeguard the sacredness of marriage, the Church has dramatically shifted its understanding of marriage to a deeper level.
In reinterpreting God’s plan of redemption, Vatican II emphasizes marriage as a covenant relationship, like the relationship of Christ to the Church. Vatican II explains the marital union in scriptural terms as an “intimate partnership of life and love” (Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, #48).
Greater stress us now laid upon the couple’s self-giving to each other as a way to grow in God’s love and be a more visible sign of Christ.
The Presence of Jesus in Matrimony
Today’s modern world does not seem to respect seriously the stability of marriage and since we are surrounded by popular cultural values, it is most important to provide adequate marriage preparation for couples. This helps us ascertain the compatibility of the parties and their psychological readiness for the challenges of the married state.
The revised rite of marriage portrays marriage as a covenant relationship. The rite is simple with the key element being mutual and free consent, which the couple publicly expresses to each other in the presence of the gathered community.
The mutual affection of the couple for each other, expressed in the solemn exchange of the marriage vows, is really the heart of the sacramental celebration.
Unlike other sacraments that are administered by the priest, the couple administers the sacrament to each other. The priest or deacon serves as the official ecclesial witness and the wedding attendants act as witnesses of the community. The ceremony itself is the outward expression of worship and faith.
Meanwhile, the other ceremonies surrounding the exchange of vows provide meaningful symbolism and add to the solemnity of the occasion. The exchange of rings, for example, symbolizes the total exclusive partnership the couple pledges to each other. The nuptial candle lit from the couple’s individual candles symbolizes the unity of life and love they vow to share.
No matter how simple or elaborate the ceremony, the wedding rite celebrates the joyous start of a mutual effort toward growth and maturity in a loving, lasting relationship.
Matrimony and the Life of Our Faith
The harmony and love of a happily married couple stands as a potent sign of the harmony of all human relationships. Matrimony’s sign of unity challenges all persons to strive for meaningful relationships in life.
To “increase and multiply” may apply primarily to marriage, but the Genesis mandate extends beyond the marital bond - all humans are called to live fully and to bring forth goodness in the world.
The sacramentality of marriage is experienced when persons share their giftedness and caring as do the spouses in a true marriage relationship.
The Meaning of Matrimony for Catholics
When a man and woman enter into the permanent relationship of life in marriage, they portray the love God has shown in creation. In addition, their self-giving love for each other mirrors the bond of unity that Christ has for the Church!
Getting married enters us into a new way of life in which all things are shared. Each of us becomes a key agent in helping the other grow as a person and in holiness.
On a communal level, the couple’s pledge of love to each other becomes a vibrant sign of the Lord’s continuing mission among the people of God, celebrated in the presence of the community, who lovingly affirm the couple. The newlyweds form another miniature community of faith. And their family becomes a “domestic church”, the arena in which God is experienced through family intimacy and spiritual values are nurtured.
Did You Know? |
- Interfaith and inter-racial marriages are on the rise. The Church recognizes these marriages provided the ceremonies take place in a Catholic church, or in the place of worship of the party who is not Catholic, and provided a Catholic priest or deacon is present as the Church’s witness.
- Interfaith marriages face the issues of raising their children in the Catholic tradition. The Church asks that Catholic spouses promise to do everything possible to raise the children in the faith. Non-Catholic spouses are not longer required to make any promise at all about raising the children Catholic. But they must be informed of the promise made by the Catholic party.
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Article on Sacrament of Holy Matrimony edited from excerpts in “What You Should Know About the Sacraments” by Charlene Altemose, MSC, 2004.
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