A mixed marriage (between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) needs for liceity the permission of ecclesiastical authority. Its lifelong nature and exclusiveness are guaranteed by contract. 103 Song 8:6-7. 106 Cf. 114 Cf. Hos 1-3; Isa 54; 62; Jer 2-3; 31; Ezek 16; 23; Mal 2:13-17. "89, 1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. 118 Cf. 1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil divorce and contract new civil unions. The three elements of mortal sin are: Grave matter (i.e., gravely wrong). What are the elements of marriage? 144 GS 48 § 1. In the Eastern right, the priest is the minister. Gen 1:27; 1 Jn 4:8, 16. 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.  As you anticipate the joy of your wedding and marriage, we invite you to enter into this marriage preparation process in the Catholic Church as an opportunity to grow individually and as a couple rather than as a checklist of things you “have to do”. The seven sacraments are as follows: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, Reconciliation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage and Holy Orders.... Of all the sacraments, the sacrament of marriage is the most controversial because it was not included in the original sacraments. Mt 10:8; Eph 5:31. 95 Mt 19:6. Therefore, a marriage which is ratified and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. Marriage, SACRAMENT OF.—That Christian marriage (i.e. 130 Cf. CIC, can. It is also necessary for the Catholic party to accept the obligation, of which the non-Catholic party has been advised, to persevere in the faith and to assure the baptism and Catholic education of their children. CIC, can. Gen 2:24. The doors of homes, the "domestic churches," and of the great family which is the Church must be open to all of them. According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs for liceity the, Through ecumenical dialogue Christian communities in many regions have been able to put into effect a, 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.". 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. Gen 2:18-25. 117 Cf. 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. 1642 Christ is the source of this grace. 87 GS 48 § 1. 172 FC 85; cf. 155 GS 49 § 2. 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). 133 Cf. . They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their children in the faith. 4. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. . 1063. . Sacrament of Marriage A comprehensive nine-month preparation program is required by the Phoenix Diocese to assist couples who are called by God to the Sacrament of Matrimony. 1661 The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. FC 28. Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique expression of human love, insofar as it is a reflection of God's love - a love "strong as death" that "many waters cannot quench. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage receives a new and deeper meaning. 154 FC 19. 134 Cf. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. 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 Esteem of virginity for the sake of the kingdom118 and the Christian understanding of marriage are inseparable, and they reinforce each other: 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 In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for whom he gave himself up.121 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. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. . 98 Cf. . The Catholic Church distinguishes between a legal marriage and the Sacrament of Matrimony. 132 Cf. The Catholic Church also has requirements before Catholics can be considered validly married in the eyes of the Church. 109 Cf. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must not be underestimated. Mk 12:25; 1 Cor 7:31. "123 It is therefore appropriate for the bride and groom to prepare themselves for the celebration of their marriage by receiving the sacrament of penance. Eph 5:26-27. 93 Cf. Although the dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,88 some sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. 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. 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. Gal 6:2. The chief duties of husband and … "103, 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. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant..112. 169 LG 11. Acts 16:31; Acts 11:14. 146 Cf. Because of original sin, which caused a rupture in the … GS 48 § 1). 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 Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives for which God created them "in the beginning.". 828. "94 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. 165 Cf. 1055 § 1; cf. In our present rite, several elements recall that early stage of the celebration of marriage: the ceremony of the "Crowning" starts, as does the Liturgy, with the exclamation "Blessed is the Kingdom," and the rite itself includes such elements as the singing of the "Our Father" followed by the couple's participation in a common cup of wine. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties. 107 Mt 19:6. 160 Mk 10:11-12. John Paul II, FC 16. "153 They "are called to grow continually in their communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual self-giving. Their distinctions remain, and yet in their marriage we find that there is something there that is greater than the sum of the persons involved. Each family member, in accord with their own role, exercises the baptismal priesthood and contributes toward making the family a community of grace and of prayer, a school of human and Christian virtue and the place where the faith is first proclaimed to children. 88 Cf. 171 GS 52 § 1. Gen 2:22; 3:16b. It excludes a union with any other person so long as the marriage exists. Gen 2:24. For a valid marriage the consent must have as its object true Matrimony, and be a human act which is conscious and free and not determined by duress or coercion. “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery” (Mark 10:11-12). This sacrament, seen as a sign of the love uniting Christ and the Church, establishes between … "142, 1639 The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself.143 From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine law, . 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. In such cases the Church permits the physical separation of the couple and their living apart. LG 42; PC 12; OT 10. 1665 The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. 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: Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the parents themselves. 1635 According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs for liceity the express permission of ecclesiastical authority.137 In case of disparity of cult an express dispensation from this impediment is required for the validity of the marriage.138 This permission or dispensation presupposes that both parties know and do not exclude the essential ends and properties of marriage; and furthermore that the Catholic party confirms the obligations, which have been made known to the non-Catholic party, of preserving his or her own faith and ensuring the baptism and education of the children in the Catholic Church.139. 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. 138 Cf. "152, The unity and indissolubility of marriage. It is a lifelong union, ending only with the death of one spouse. . 1628 The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear.130 No human power can substitute for this consent.131 If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid. "154 This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. 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. 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 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. In the sacrament of Matrimony, the outward sign is the exchange of marital consent on the part of a baptized man and a baptized woman. What three requirements are essential to Marriage? For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love.90 Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. 135 Cf. 166 Cf. What is the sacrament of Matrimony? If the non-Catholic was baptized in a non-Catholic church, she needs documentation verifying Baptism. 159 Cf. Matrimonial consent is given when a man and a woman manifest the will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love. THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHRISTIAN MYSTERY, SECTION TWO Since consent constitutes Matrimony, it is indispensable and irreplaceable. CIC, can. 85 Rev 19:7, 9; cf. 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. FC 19. . 1622 "Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical celebration of marriage . 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. GS 48 § 1. How wonderful the bond between two believers, now one in hope, one in desire, one in discipline, one in the same service! 151 Tertullian, Ad uxorem. According to the original divine plan this conjugal union is indissoluble, as Jesus Christ affirmed: “What God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (Mark 10:9). The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality. The nuptial covenant of God with Israel prepared for and prefigured the new covenant established by Jesus Christ the Son of God, with his spouse, the Church. 153 Mt 19:6; cf. The sacrament of matrimony consist of the marriage contract, so that for Christians the contract and the sacrament are inseparable. 129 Gen 2:24; cf. "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. 157 GS 48 § 1. God helped his people above all through the teaching of the Law and the Prophets to deepen progressively their understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage. Gen 1:28; 3:16-19. The spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even in the heart of their own home. Council of Trent: DS 1799). 1624 The various liturgies abound in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God's grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride. 136 GS 49 § 3. 105 Cf. It is good, very good, in the Creator's eyes. Council of Trent: DS 1813-1816; CIC, can. 1623 According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. Love seeks to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement "until further notice." "162, 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. 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? 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. 1609 In his mercy God has not forsaken sinful man. 150 Eph 5:21; cf. . As a break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of the original communion between man and woman. CIC, can. 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. 1610 Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed under the pedagogy of the old law. 1151-1155. 142 Cf. 140 1 Cor 7:14. CCEO, can. the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. 3. The promise made between a man and a woman before God and the Church, which forms a binding bond unto death as a couple committed to each other Who administers the sacrament of Matrimony? After the fall, marriage helps to overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one's own pleasure, and to open oneself to the other, to mutual aid and to self-giving. 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.159. 1 Cor 10:17. Prayerful preparation, discernment, discussion and learning about oneself and one another is … 116 Cf. 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,135 and much more so in our era when many young people experience broken homes which no longer sufficiently assure this initiation: Matrimony being a sacrament in which the contracting parties themselves are the ministers, it is plain that its essential forms must be expressed not in Latin but in the vernacular, and this fact alone at once introduces a certain element of divergence. The Church is nothing other than "the family of God." 115 Mt 19:12. 170 LG 10. In this difficult situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. 1659 St. Paul said: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. CIC, can. 1071. 91 Gen 1:28; cf. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. 119 St. John Chrysostom, De virg. 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,135 and much more so in our era when many young people experience broken homes which no longer sufficiently assure this initiation: 1633 In many countries the situation of a mixed marriage (marriage between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) often arises. Mt 19:3-12. The three requirements that are essential to Marriage are unity, indissolubility, and openness to children. God himself is the author of marriage. 121 Cf. 1654 Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. 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. 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. John Hardon explains in his Pocket Catholic Dictionary, there are four elements common to natural marriage throughout history: It is a union of opposite sexes. As Fr. The sacrament of Matrimony establishes a perpetual and exclusive bond between the spouses. In sacramental terms, the man and the woman are the ministers of the Sacrament of Marriage, not the priest or deacon who performs the ceremony; therefore, in entering into the sacrament, they need to intend by an act of the will to do what the Church intends in the sacrament: "Matrimonial consent is an act of the will by which a man and a woman mutually give and accept each other through … The temptation to religious indifference can then arise. God who is love and who created man and woman for love has called them to love. 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 impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law. PART TWO 1:31. It is also a public statement about God: the loving union of husband and wife speaks of family values and also God's values. Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation. So, even at a natural level, a lack of commitment to these four elements means that no marriage has taken place. FC 20. 1636 Through ecumenical dialogue Christian communities in many regions have been able to put into effect a common pastoral practice for mixed marriages. The spouses are the ministers of the sacrament of marriage because the mark—the external sign—of the sacrament is not the wedding Mass or anything the priest might do but the marriage contract itself. By this grace they "help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children."148. The marital union of man and woman, which is founded and endowed with its own proper laws by the Creator, is by its very nature ordered to the communion and good of the couple and to the generation and education of children. CCEO, can. 1613 On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign - at his mother's request - during a wedding feast.105 The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. THE SACRAMENTS AT THE SERVICE OF COMMUNION, 1601 "The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament. Mk 10:9. […] In both cases, it is essential that the spouses do not exclude the acceptance of the essential ends and properties of marriage. 102 Cf. Mt 19:8. FC 21. Several reasons converge to explain this requirement:134. 156 Cf. 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