MATRIMONY: "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church......For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall be made into one" (Ephesians 5:25, 31).
The Bible records that marriage was in the plan of God from the dawn of creation. The Church has upheld the sacredness of marriage and has assisted couples to live the challenges of married life. At the Second Council of Lyons, the Church numbered marriage as one of the seven sacraments in support of the sacredness and indissolubility of the marriage bond. Matrimony, from the root word for mother, was the name chosen for the sacrament because the primary goal of marriage was the begetting of offspring.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) set down the laws of the sacrament of matrimony which was defined as a legal contract and only valid if it took place in the presence of a priest and two witnesses, with procreation of children as the primary goal. After Vatican II, Code of Canon Law contains 111 canons concerning marriage. In reinterpreting God's plan of redemption, it emphasizes marriage as a covenant relationship, like the relationship of Christ to the Church. A deeper stress is laid upon the couple's self-giving to each other in "intimate partnership of life and love" to grow in God's love and be a viable sign of Christ.
A valid marriage in the eyes of the church requires one to be of a mature age and free to marry; one must also freely choose to marry and must not be closely related by blood to the other party. One must be physically capable of the marriage act and open to the possibility of new life. The Rite of Matrimony is solemnly celebrated ideally during a special liturgy called a nuptial Mass. The couple administers the sacrament to each other and the exchange of rings represents the total self-giving partnership the couple pledges to each other. A nuptial candle, an optional tradition, lit from the couple's individual candles, symbolized the unity of life and love they vow to share.
In their new way of life all things are shared and the couple helps each other grow as persons in holiness. Their self giving love for each other is a sign of the bond of unity that Christ has for the Church. A vibrant sign of the Lord's continuing mission among the people of God is the couple's pledge of love to each other. Celebrated in the presence of the community who lovingly affirm the couple the newlyweds form another miniature community of faith, the domestic church.
MATRIMONY: "Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church......For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and shall cling to his wife, and the two shall be made into one" (Ephesians 5:25, 31).
The Bible records that marriage was in the plan of God from the dawn of creation. The Church has upheld the sacredness of marriage and has assisted couples to live the challenges of married life. At the Second Council of Lyons, the Church numbered marriage as one of the seven sacraments in support of the sacredness and indissolubility of the marriage bond. Matrimony, from the root word for mother, was the name chosen for the sacrament because the primary goal of marriage was the begetting of offspring.
The Council of Trent (1545-1563) set down the laws of the sacrament of matrimony which was defined as a legal contract and only valid if it took place in the presence of a priest and two witnesses, with procreation of children as the primary goal. After Vatican II, Code of Canon Law contains 111 canons concerning marriage. In reinterpreting God's plan of redemption, it emphasizes marriage as a covenant relationship, like the relationship of Christ to the Church. A deeper stress is laid upon the couple's self-giving to each other in "intimate partnership of life and love" to grow in God's love and be a viable sign of Christ.
A valid marriage in the eyes of the church requires one to be of a mature age and free to marry; one must also freely choose to marry and must not be closely related by blood to the other party. One must be physically capable of the marriage act and open to the possibility of new life. The Rite of Matrimony is solemnly celebrated ideally during a special liturgy called a nuptial Mass. The couple administers the sacrament to each other and the exchange of rings represents the total self-giving partnership the couple pledges to each other. A nuptial candle, an optional tradition, lit from the couple's individual candles, symbolized the unity of life and love they vow to share.
In their new way of life all things are shared and the couple helps each other grow as persons in holiness. Their self giving love for each other is a sign of the bond of unity that Christ has for the Church. A vibrant sign of the Lord's continuing mission among the people of God is the couple's pledge of love to each other. Celebrated in the presence of the community who lovingly affirm the couple the newlyweds form another miniature community of faith, the domestic church.