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Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:53:50 GMT

Matrimony: a profound mystery

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 18:48:20 GMT

Love and Marriage

Marriage is a Sacrament

Christian marriage shall reflect the love and trust of Christ for His Church. He loves His Church despite all her faults and imperfections, and He does not leave her. The prototype of this link between Christ and His Church is already shown in the love of God for His people, Israel, in the Old Testament. He faithfully accompanied them through all times. This "covenant of God with His people" is mentioned repeatedly in the Bible in terms of the image of a marriage. (Isaiah 50,1; Jeremiah 2,2; 5,7).

The unconditional faithfulness of God and Jesus Christ to humanity and the Church should be mirrored in the love of the spouses. This love can correspond so closely to Christ's relationship with the Church that it is not only an image of His love, but that His love itself is becoming present through the love of the married couple. For this reason, Paul calls matrimony a "profound mystery".

What happens between two people on a minor scale takes place between Christ and the Church on a large scale. Thus, God can be experienced in the love of the spouses. Therefore, the Christian marriage is a Sacrament, a sign, a place and means for divine action. It is not merely a community for the purposes of financial convenience or an institutionalized form of procreation and child raising.

Church wedding

A church wedding is more than just an extra blessing compared to a civil ceremony. A man and a woman commit themselves to each other before a priest or deacon and at least two witnesses, but usually a larger community, and thereby administer to each other the Sacrament of Matrimony. The validity of a marriage of Catholics is tied to this rite of the Church, which, like every other Sacrament, has its own distinct form.

The community participates in this celebration and learns that God becomes present in a special way in the Sacrament of Matrimony not only to the spouses, but also to the members of the community. However, the Sacrament is not limited to the Church wedding but is very closely connected to the couple's history, beginning long before the wedding and ending with their death.

Although marriage, especially the Christian marriage, is today being called into question, the majority of couples opt for a Church wedding. This does not seem to jibe with the generally suspected decrease of the Church's credibility and the distancing of people from the Church. For this reason we often hear that for many people the ceremony at the Church is just a solemn setting for the wedding. However, in many cases, this is not so. Most brides and bridegrooms, even those who seem little engaged in the Church, feel that marriage is an important point of their lives and that the success of their common plans does not depend solely on themselves.

What does the Bible say?

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 18:57:05 GMT

Love and Marriage

Matrimony

is not an invention of Christianity and the churches, but since love and the desire to have a permanent relationship are an essential part of human existence, it is not surprising that they also have an important place in the Bible, Christianity, and the Church.

What does the Bible say?

The biblical image of the human being and of the relationship between man and woman is shown in the very first chapters of the Bible (Genesis 1-3). "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them, and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.'

According to the story of creation the encounter with woman liberates man from his loneliness. In their conjugal love, the partners "know" each other and become "one body". The basic equality of man and woman is expressed in a metaphorical way: �This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh", an acknowledgment of the equality of sexes that was far ahead of its time. "The man leaves father and mother and commits himself completely to his wife"; this statement seems to be almost revolutionary in a patriarchal environment. But only very slowly does this idea prevail during the course of history.

In the Genesis story of creation, human sexuality is also given its divine dignity. But not in the same way as in other religions of biblical times, where sexuality itself was venerated as something divine. In the Bible, sexuality is part of human nature and human responsibility, intended to give people fulfillment and joy as a gift from God who created it. The fact that sexuality can become a source of evil and suffering, and a way for men to gain dominance over women, is due to the consequences of sin and is not part of creation.

The basis of matrimony can be found in God's creation and Jesus also sees it this way. He expressly repeats the words of the report on creation. (See Mt 19, 3 - 9; Mk 10, 2 - 12). Marriage was not established by Him. On the contrary, Jesus refers to something that has always been valid before God: spouses are tied to each other by God and therefore are not allowed to divorce, nor may man separate them. With this, He opposes those who refer to Moses and maintain that a man has the right to divorce his wife under certain circumstances.

As marriage is part of God's creation and exposed to the consequences of original sin, it also partakes in the salvation through Jesus Christ. Paul writes in his letter to the Ephesians (5,31f): "A man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh." - Paul compares the marriage of Christians to the relationship between Christ and His Church.

sexuality

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 15:42:05 GMT

Love and Marriage

Sexuality

The changing image of marriage and family has also given new significance to human sexuality. "Fertile sexuality" was the generally recognized principle in the past; today, sexuality may be fruitful, but does not have to be so. An increasing number of people even believe that it should not be fruitful. This is true not only for nations which are over populated, but also married couples wondering whether or not an additional child can be justified.

Today, even couples who are fond of children view their sexual life primarily as a means of expressing their personal relationship. They see their sexual encounter as a sign of love, a high point of their mutual experience, and sexual harmony gives a great deal of joy to their lives. Especially at the moment of sexual fulfillment they experience each other as precious, unique and irreplaceable.

For most married couples, it is normal to have a family. Fertility is taken for granted, but is nevertheless a special sign of their conjugal love. They expect children as a gift, not as a burden; but even without children the purpose of marriage and love is not lost for them, although for some couples, ardent longings remain unfulfilled.

Marriage and society

To care for marriage and family is also an important task of the state. Citizens expect to be helped, not only when they are young, preparing for marriage and starting a family, but also after they are married and have children. Governments give financial support and tax relief and provide counsel on matrimony, family, education etc. Not only do married couples need help from society, but society needs healthy marriages and families.

Therefore, a wedding is not just a private matter. Matters such as living together, property ownership and children's education all involve society in general. Through the children, future generations are affected. For this reason, a marriage cannot be legitimized by private sexual acts or private matrimonial promises. The will to get married must be a publicly expressed decision. Without this, society is unable to recognize the marriage and protect it by law. In addition, public confirmation of a marriage can give life support to a marriage in crisis.

Christ and matrimony

Until now, our thoughts did not refer to faith or the Church, although the churches in particular attach great importance to marriage and families. The Catholic Church even calls Holy Matrimony a Sacrament. This is because of what we said earlier: living together as husband and wife and trusting the love and fidelity of the partner is one of our basic longings. Marriage as institution is merely the human desire for a permanent relationship embedded in a public, legal framework. Marriage does not necessarily have an ecclesiastical or religious foundation, but responds to basic human desires.