I.
Marriage in God's Plan
1602
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and the likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the
Lamb."85 (Rev 19:7, 9; cf. ⇒ Gen 1:26-27. ) Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its
"mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its
origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of
salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the
Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.86
Marriage
in the order of creation
1603
"The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married
state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own
proper laws.... God himself is the author of marriage."87 (GS 48 # 1. ) The vocation to
marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the
hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a purely human institution despite the
many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures,
social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences should not cause
us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the dignity of
this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,88 (Cf. GS 47 # 2.) some
sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures.
"The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian
society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family
life."89
1604
God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and
innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and
likeness of God who is himself, love.90 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 1:27; ⇒ 1 Jn 4:8, ⇒ 16.) Since God created him, man and woman,
their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with
which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. and this
love which God blesses is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the
common work of watching over creation: "And God blessed them, and God said
to them: 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'"91
1605
Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another:
"It is not good that the man should be alone."92 (Gen 2:18. ) The woman,
"flesh of his flesh," i.e., his counterpart, his equal, his nearest
in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus
represents God from whom comes our help.93 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 2:18-25. ) "Therefore a man leaves his
father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one
flesh."94 (Gen 2:24. ) The Lord himself shows 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."95 (Mt 19:6.)
Marriage
under the regime of sin
1606
Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes
itself felt in the relationships between man and woman. Their union has always
been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and
conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest
itself more or less acutely and can be more or less overcome according to the
circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a
universal character.
1607
According to faith, the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the
nature of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from sin.
As a break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of
the original communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by
mutual recriminations;96 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 3:12. ) their mutual attraction, the Creator's own gift,
changed into a relationship of domination and lust;97 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 2:22; ⇒ 3:16b. ) and the beautiful the vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, multiply and subdue the earth was
burdened by the pain of childbirth and the toil of work.98
1608
Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To
heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in
his infinite mercy never refuses them. 99 (Cf. ⇒ Gen 3:21. )Without his help, man and woman cannot
achieve the union of their lives for which God created them "in the
beginning."
Marriage
under the pedagogy of the Law
1609
In his mercy, God has not forsaken sinful man. the punishments consequent upon
sin, "pain in childbearing" and toil "in the sweat of your
brow, "100 (:/]; ⇒ Gen 3:16, 19. ) also embody remedies that limit the damaging effects of sin.
After the fall, marriage helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, the pursuit of
one's own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other, to mutual aid and to
self-giving.
1610
Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed
under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament, the polygamy of
patriarchs and kings are not yet explicitly rejected. Nevertheless, the law
given to Moses aims at protecting the wife from arbitrary domination by the
husband, even though according to the Lord's words it still carries traces of
man's "hardness of heart" which was the reason Moses permitted men to
divorce their wives.101
1611
Seeing God's covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and faithful
married love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People's conscience for a
deepened understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage.102 (Cf. ⇒ Hos 1-3; ⇒ Isa 54; ⇒ 62; ⇒ Jer 2-3; ⇒ 31; ⇒ Ezek 16; ⇒ 23; ⇒ Mal 2:13-17.) The
books of Ruth and Tobit bear moving witness to an elevated sense of marriage
and to the fidelity and tenderness of spouses. Tradition has always seen in the
Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, a pure reflection of God's
love - a love "strong as death" that "many waters cannot
quench."103
Marriage
in the Lord
1612
The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for
the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate
and giving his life has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved
by him, thus preparing for "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."104
1613
On the threshold of his public life, Jesus performs his first sign - at his
mother's request - during a wedding feast.105 (Cf. ⇒ Jn 2:1-11. ) The Church attaches great
importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the
confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth
marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence.
1614
In his preaching, Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union
of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given
by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts.106 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 19:8. ) The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined
it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put
asunder."107
1615
This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may
have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize.
However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too
heavy - heavier than the Law of Moses.108 (Cf. ⇒ Mk 8:34; ⇒ Mt 11:29-30. ) By coming to restore the original
order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to
live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following
Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be
able to "receive" the original meaning of marriage and live it with
the help of Christ.109 ( Cf. ⇒ Mt 19:11. ) This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's
cross, the source of all Christian life.
1616
This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: "Husbands, love
your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up 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 the
Church."110
1617
The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the
Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial
mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath 111 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 5:26-27.
)which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist. Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.112 (Cf. DS 1800; ⇒ CIC, Can. 1055 # 2. )
)which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist. Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.112 (Cf. DS 1800; ⇒ CIC, Can. 1055 # 2. )
Virginity
for the sake of the Kingdom
1618
Christ is the center of all Christian life. the bond with him takes precedence
over all other bonds, familial or social.113 (Cf. ⇒ Lk 14:26; ⇒ Mk 10:28-31. ) From the very beginning of the
Church there have been men and women who have renounced the great good of
marriage to follow the Lamb wherever he goes, to be intent on the things of the
Lord, to seek to please him, and to go out to meet the Bridegroom who is
coming.114 (Cf. ⇒ Rev 14:4; ⇒ 1 Cor 7:32; Mt 2:56. ) Christ himself has invited certain persons to follow him in this way
of life, of which he remains the model:
"For
there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have
been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves
eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this,
let him receive it."115
1619
Virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is an unfolding of baptismal
grace, a powerful sign of the supremacy of the bond with Christ and of the
ardent expectation of his return, a sign which also recalls that marriage is a
reality of this present age which is passing away.116
1620
Both the sacrament of Matrimony and virginity for the Kingdom of God come from
the Lord himself. It is he who gives them meaning and grants them the grace
which is indispensable for living them out in conformity with his will.117 (Cf. ⇒ Mt 19:3-12. ) The esteem of virginity for the sake of the kingdom118 (Cf. LG 42; PC 12; OT 10. ) and the Christian
understanding of marriage are inseparable, and they reinforce each other:
Whoever
denigrates marriage also diminishes the glory of virginity. Whoever praises it
makes virginity more admirable and resplendent. What appears good only in
comparison with evil would not be truly good. the most excellent good is
something even better than what is admitted to be good.119
II.
The Celebration of Marriage
1621
In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful
normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the
sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ.120 (Cf. SC 61.
) In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself forever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up.121 (Cf. LG 6. ) It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ.122
) In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself forever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up.121 (Cf. LG 6. ) It is therefore fitting that the spouses should seal their consent to give themselves to each other through the offering of their own lives by uniting it to the offering of Christ for his Church made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and by receiving the Eucharist so that, communicating in the same Body and the same Blood of Christ, they may form but "one body" in Christ.122
1622
"Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical
celebration of marriage . . . must be, per se, valid, worthy, and
fruitful."123 (FC 67. ) It is therefore appropriate for the bride and groom to
prepare themselves for the celebration of their marriage by receiving the
sacrament of penance.
1623
In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers
of Christ's grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony
by expressing their consent before the Church. In the Eastern liturgies the
minister of this sacrament (which is called "Crowning") is the priest
or bishop who, after receiving the mutual consent of the spouses, successively
crowns the bridegroom and the bride as a sign of the marriage covenant.
1624
The various liturgies abound in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God's
grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride. In the epiclesis of
this sacrament, the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of
Christ and the Church.124 (Cf. ⇒ Eph 5:32. ) The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the
ever-available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity.
III.
Matrimonial Consent
1625
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;
-
not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.
1626
The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the
indispensable element that "makes the marriage."125 (CIC, can. 1057 # 1. ) If consent is
lacking there is no marriage.
1627
The consent consists in a "human act by which the partners mutually give
themselves to each other": "I take you to be my wife" - "I
take you to be my husband."126 (GS 48 # 1; OCM 45; cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1057 # 2. ) This consent that binds the spouses to each
other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh."127
1628
The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free
of coercion or grave external fear.128 ( Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1103. ) No human power can substitute for this
consent.129 (Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1057 # 1. ) If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid.
1629
For this reason (or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void)
the Church, after an examination of the situation by the competent
ecclesiastical tribunal can declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the
marriage never existed.130 (Cf. ⇒ CIC, cann. 1095-1107. ) In this case the contracting parties are free to
marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged.131 (Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1071. )
1630
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 also of the witnesses)
visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality.
1631
This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract marriage
according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this
requirement:132
-
Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it
should be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;
-
Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order and creates rights and duties
in the Church between the spouses and towards their children; - Since marriage
is a state of life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the
obligation to have witnesses);
-
the public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given
and helps the spouses remain faithful to it.
1632
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.
The
example and teaching was given by parents and families remain the special form of
this preparation. The
role of pastors and of the Christian community as the "family of God"
is indispensable for the transmission of the human and Christian values of
marriage and family,133 ( Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1063) and much more so in our era when many young people
experience broken homes which no longer sufficiently assure this initiation:
It
is imperative to give suitable and timely instruction to young people, above
all in the heart of their own families, about the dignity of married love, its
role and its exercise, so that, having learned the value of chastity, they will
be able at a suitable age to engage in honorable courtship and enter upon a
marriage of their own.134
Mixed
marriages and disparity of cult
1633
In many countries the situation of a mixed marriage (marriage between a
Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) often arises. It requires particular
attention on the part of couples and their pastors. A case of marriage with
disparity of cult (between a Catholic and a nonbaptized person) requires even
greater circumspection.
1634
Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an
insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common
what they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each
other the way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties
of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that
the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. the spouses risk
experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own
home. The disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. Differences
about faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious
mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards
the education of children. the temptation to religious indifference can then
arise.
1635
According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs for
liceity the express permission of the ecclesiastical authority.135 (Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1124. ) In case of the disparity of cult an express dispensation from this impediment is required for
the validity of the marriage.136 (Cf. ⇒ CIC, can. 1086. ) This permission or dispensation presupposes
that both parties know and do not exclude the essential ends and properties of
marriage and the obligations assumed by the Catholic party concerning the
baptism and education of the children in the Catholic Church.137
1636
Through ecumenical dialogue Christian communities in many regions have been
able to put into effect a common pastoral practice for mixed marriages. Its
task is to help such couples live out their particular situation in the light
of faith, overcome the tensions between the couple's obligations to each other
and towards their ecclesial communities, and encourage the flowering of what is
common to them in faith and respect for what separates them.
1637
In marriages with disparity of cult the Catholic spouse has a particular task:
"For the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife and the
unbelieving wife is consecrated through her husband."138 (1 Cor 7:14. ) It is a great joy
for the Christian spouse and for the Church if this "consecration"
should lead to the free conversion of the other spouse to the Christian
faith.139 (Cf. ⇒ 1 Cor 7:16. ) Sincere married love, the humble and patient practice of the family
virtues and perseverance in prayer can prepare the non-believing spouse to
accept the grace of conversion.
IV.
The Effects of the Sacrament of Matrimony
1638
"From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very
nature is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the
spouses are strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the
dignity of their state by a special sacrament."140
The
marriage bond
1639
The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is
sealed by God himself.141 (Cf. ⇒ Mk 10:9. ) From their covenant arises "an institution,
confirmed by the divine law, . . . even in the eyes of society."142 (GS 48 # 1. ) The
covenant between the spouses is integrated into God's covenant with man:
"Authentic married love is caught up into divine love."143 (GS 48 # 2. )
1640
Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a
marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be
dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and
their consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and
gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. the Church does not have
the power to contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.144
The
grace of the sacrament of Matrimony
1641
"By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses]
have their own special gifts in the People of God."145 (LG 11 # 2. ) This grace proper
to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to
strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they "help one another
to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their
children."146 (LG 11 # 2; cf. LG 41.)
1642
Christ is the source of this grace. "Just as of old God encountered his
people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the
Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of
Matrimony."147 (GS 48 # 2. ) Christ 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,"148 (Eph 5:21; cf. ⇒ Gal 6:2. ) 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:
How
can I ever express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church,
strengthened by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and
ratified by the Father? . . . How wonderful the bond between two believers, now
one in hope, one in desire, one in discipline, one in the same service! They
are both children of one Father and servants of the same Master, undivided in
spirit and flesh, truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh is one, one also is
the spirit.149
V.
The Goods and Requirements of Conjugal Love
1643
"Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the
person enter - appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and
affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of will. It aims at a deeply personal
unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh, leads to forming one heart and
soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in definitive mutual giving;
and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the normal
characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which
not only purifies and strengthens them but raises them to the extent of making
them the expression of specifically Christian values."150
The
unity and indissolubility of marriage
1644
The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and
indissolubility of the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their
entire life: "so they are no longer two, but one flesh."151 (Mt 19:6; cf. ⇒ Gen 2:24.) They
"are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day
fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving."152 (FC 19. ) This
human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus
Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened by lives of
the common faith and by the Eucharist received together.
1645
"The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear
in the equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual
and unreserved affection."153 (GS 49 # 2. ) Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which
is undivided and exclusive.154
The
fidelity of conjugal love
1646
By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable 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 unbreakable union between
them."155
1647
The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of
Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are
enabled to represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament,
the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.
1648
It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another
human being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News
that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples
share in this love, that it supports and sustains them, and that by their own
faithfulness they can be witnesses to God's faithful love. Spouses who with
God's grace give this witness, often in very difficult conditions, deserve the
gratitude and support of the ecclesial community.156
1649
Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically
impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases, the Church permits the
physical separation of the couple and their living apart. the spouses do not
cease to be husband and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new
union. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible,
reconciliation. the Christian community is called to help these persons live
out their situation in a Christian manner and in fidelity to their marriage
bond which remains indissoluble.157
1650
Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil
divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ
- "Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against
her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits
adultery"158 (Mk 10:11-12. ) The Church maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as
valid if the first marriage was. If the divorced are remarried civilly, they
find themselves in a situation that objectively contravenes God's law.
Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as long as this
situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial
responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be
granted only to those who have repented for having violated the sign of the
covenant and of fidelity to Christ, and who are committed to living in complete
continence.
1651
Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and
desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole
community must manifest an attentive solicitude so that they do not consider
themselves separated from the Church, in whose life they can and must
participate as baptized persons:
They
should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of
the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to
community efforts for justice, to bring up their children in the Christian
faith, to cultivate the spirit and practice of penance and thus implore, day by
day, God's grace.159
The
openness to fertility
1652
"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."160
Children
are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the
parents themselves. God himself said: "It is not good that man should be
alone," and "from the beginning (he) made them male and female";
wishing to associate them in a special way in his own creative work, God
blessed man and woman with the words: "Be fruitful and multiply."
Hence, true married love and the whole structure of family life which results
from it, without diminishment of the other ends of marriage, are directed to
disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and
Savior, who through them will increase and enrich his family from day to
day.161
1653
The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral,
spiritual, and supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by
education. Parents are the principal and first educators of their children.162 (Cf. GE 3. ) In this sense the fundamental task of marriage and family is to be at the
service of life.163 (Cf. FC 28. )
1654
Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal
life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can
radiate a fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality, and of sacrifice.
VI.
The Domestic Church
1655
Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph
and Mary. the Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From
the beginning, the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had
become believers "together with all [their] household." 164 (Cf. ⇒ Acts 18:8. ) When they
were converted, they desired that "their whole household" should also
be saved. 165 ( Cf. ⇒ Acts 16:31; ⇒ Acts 11:14. ) These families who became believers were islands of Christian life
in an unbelieving world.
1656
In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing
families are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For
this reason, the Second Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the
family the Ecclesia domestica.166 (LG 11; cf. FC 21. ) It is in the bosom of the family that parents
are "by word and example . . . the first heralds of the faith with regard
to their children. They should encourage them in the vocation which is proper
to each child, fostering with special care any religious vocation."167
1657
It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members
of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way
"by the reception of the sacraments, prayer, and thanksgiving, the witness
of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity."168 (LG 10.) Thus the home is the
first school of Christian life and "a school for human
enrichment."169 (GS 52 # 1. ) 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.
1658
We must also remember the great number of single persons who, because of the
particular circumstances in which they have to live - often not of their
choosing - are especially close to Jesus' heart and therefore deserve the
special affection and active solicitude of the Church, especially of pastors.
Many remain without a human family often due to conditions of poverty. Some
live their situation in the spirit of the Beatitudes, serving God and neighbor
in exemplary fashion. the doors of homes, the "domestic churches," and
of the great family which is the Church must be open to all of them. "No
one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home and family for
everyone, especially those who 'labor and are heavy laden.'"170
IN
BRIEF
1659
St. Paul said: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church....
This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church"
(⇒ Eph 5:25, ⇒ 32).
1660
The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate
communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special
laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the
couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord
raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament (cf ⇒ CIC, can. 1055 # 1;
cf. GS 48 # 1).
1661
The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It
gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has
loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of
the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the
way to eternal life (cf Council of Trent: DS 1799).
1662
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.
1663
Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church,
it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical
celebration, before the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the
witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful.
1664
Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage.
Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God
has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its
"supreme gift," the child (GS 50 # 1).
1665
The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the
plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the
Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian
lives especially by educating their children in the faith.
1666
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.
GO TO:
CHAPTER THREE THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION
PART TWO: THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY
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