The Sacrament of Matrimony in the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The sacrament of marriage, administered by a validly ordained priest, bishop or deacon, is part of the sacraments of communion, along with the sacrament of the Orders.
This sacrament is addressed specifically in Article 7 of the second section of the catechism on the seven sacraments of the Church, numbers 1601 to 1666.
Discover the main questions and answers around marriage.
What are the 4 pillars of marriage?
Christian marriage is based on four pillars: freedom of consent, unity and indissolubility, fidelity, and openness to fertility (the gift of life).
The freedom of consent
Marital consent is discussed in the numbers 1625 to 1637 of the catechism, particularly in the first two numbers.
The number 1625 recalls that “The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent; “to be free” means not being under constraint and not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.”
As for number 1626, it says: “The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that “makes the marriage.” If consent is lacking there is no marriage.”
The number 1662 completes this number by saying: “Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. ”
Unity and indissolubility
Unity and indissolubility are particularly discussed in numbers 1644 to 1645 of the Catechism. This encompasses their entire lives: “The love of the spouses requires, by its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of their community of persons which encompasses their entire life: “Thus they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Matthew 19:6; see also Genesis 2:24). They are called to grow constantly in their communion through daily fidelity to the promise of total mutual gift that marriage entails. ”
“What God has joined together, let no one separate” is what we hear especially during the celebration of marriage in the church. There is therefore a real call for indissolubility. Finally, number 1644 adds that this communion is deepened by the “life of the common faith and by the Eucharist received in common.”
Fidelity
Fidelity is particularly discussed in numbers 1646 to 1651 of the Catechism. The number 1647 explains the reason for fidelity with regard to God's fidelity to his covenant: “The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ to his Church.” This same number shows the importance for couples to show this fidelity: “Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it.”
Openness to fertility (the gift of life)
This is particularly discussed in numbers 1652 to 1654 of the Catechism. Number 1652 shows that “By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning glory.” It is specified in number 1654 that “Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms.”
What is the grace of the sacrament of marriage?
The grace of marriage is particularly discussed in numbers 1641 to 1642 of the Catechism.
We can remember that Christ is the source of this grace, that the spouses receive the grace of the Lord who “dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens, to “be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb” (No. 1642).
How to prepare for the sacrament of marriage?
Preparation for the sacrament of marriage is discussed in number 1632. This preparation is described as “of prime importance” for two reasons: “So that the “I do” of the spouses 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.”
Regarding the practical aspects of this preparation, nothing in particular is specified in the catechism, apart from “the indispensable role of pastors and the Christian community”. In practice, preparation for the sacrament of marriage varies by parish. Depending on this, there may be between 3 and 6 meetings and the preparation may be carried out by a priest or a deacon, or any other person mandated by the parish priest.
Couples who want to get married in church must make themselves known to their parish, usually between 6 months and 1 year in advance.
How is the Sacrament of marriage celebrated?
The celebration of marriage is particularly discussed in numbers 1621 to 1624 of the Catechism.
The celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during the Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal Mystery of Christ (No. 1621). The future spouses must be prepared to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation (no. 1622). The spouses “mutually confer the sacrament of marriage by expressing their consent before the Church” (No. 1623). “In the epiclesis of this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church.” (No. 1624).
What is required when one of the spouses is not Catholic?
The question of mixed marriages is particularly discussed in numbers 1633 to 1637 of the Catechism.
Number 1635 shows that “a mixed marriage needs, for its lawfulness, the express permission of the ecclesiastical authority. In the event of disparity of worship, an express exemption from the impediment is required for the validity of the marriage. This permission or dispensation presupposes that both parties know and do not exclude the purposes and essential properties of marriage and also that the Catholic party confirms its commitments, also brought to the explicit knowledge of the non-Catholic party, to preserve its faith and to ensure the baptism and education of children in the Catholic Church.”
Let us specify that a marriage is “mixed” when it is a marriage between a Catholic and a non-Catholic baptized person (the person being registered in a Church or an ecclesial community not having full communion with the Catholic Church). A marriage with disparity of worship, refers to a marriage between a Catholic person and an unbaptized person.
What does it mean to marry in a “domestic church”?
The domestic church is discussed in numbers 1655 to 1245, and in number 1668.
Families are seen as a domestic Church because they constitute “islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world” shows us number 1655, or “homes of living and radiant faith”, adds number 1656.
The domestic church is also called so, because “the home is thus the first school of Christian life” and “a school of human enrichment.” Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life.”(No. 1657)
Number 1666 provides a good summary: “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.”
And after the wedding? In addition to obviously living out the pillars of marriage, participation in the Eucharist, and the exercise of the offices of priest, prophet and king, it is good for the couple to reflect together on how they want to respond to the call to holiness in the vocation of their marriage.
Some saints who have lived the sacrament of marriage in an admirable way
Luigi and Maria Beltrame Quattrocchi, the first couple beatified together in 2001. On the occasion of their beatification, John Paul II said about this Italian couple who lived in the twentieth century, that they had an “ordinary life lived in an extraordinary way”
The parents of Sainte-Thérèse of Lisieux, Louis and Zélie Martin, lived this sacrament in an admirable way, since they were beatified and then canonized.
With Hozana, rediscover the beauty of marriage!
With Hozana, rediscover the beauty of the sacrament of marriage, with various proposals, such as a time of sharing and prayer around marriage
In addition, for single people with a deep desire to marry, Hozana also offers communities to pray to meet your soulmate.
