Marriage a sacrament of the Catholic ideal

Catholic Marriage is the free consent that allows couples to give and receive each other. That is, the essence or “matter” of what we call the sacrament of marriage. Marriage is the intimate union of society, of life and of love, established by God and governed by his laws. It is the mutual surrender between the man and the woman in order to find each other for the good of both and about their inevitable feelings.

the sacrament of marriage

In the code of canon law – 1601, the sacrament of marriage as: “The matrimonial alliance, by which the man and the woman constitute a lifelong consortium among themselves, ordered by their very natural nature to the good of the spouses already the generation and education of offspring was raised by Christ our Lord to the dignity of a sacrament among the baptized” (CIC, can. 1055,1).

Marriage in God’s plan

It is important to understand the word, because history shows that every relationship has its roots, in the unique will of God who has created man and woman in his image and likeness, gave them the ability to love and give themselves equally, to the point to be able to be “one flesh”.

In Genesis 2:22-24 it tells us; 22: And from the rib that Jehovah God took from the man, he made a woman, and brought her to the man. 23: Then Adam said: This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; this one will be called Varona, because of the man she was taken. 24: Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and he shall be joined to his wife, and they shall be one flesh.

The laws that will be seen below, is a wise establishment of the Creator to carry out his plan of love in humanity:

Sacred Scripture opens with the account of the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God (see Gen 1:26-27) and closes with the vision of the “wedding feast of the Lamb” (see Ap 19, 7.9).

Throughout the writing he speaks of marriage and its “secret”, of its institution and the meaning that God gave it, of its beginning and its end, of its dissimilar executions throughout the history of protection, of his problems born of sin and of his transformation “in the Lord” (see 1 Cor 7,39) all in the perspective of the New Covenant of Christ and of the Church (see cf Eph 5,31-32).

Marriage in the order of creation

It should be noted that the reflections on the Sacrament of Marriage are instructed by attending to the principles of humanity as the Bible describes it. At the end of creation and as we explained later, God created the most remarkable creature in height above his surroundings: The human being, that is, the image that represents the love of God and his initial alliance of love with humanity.

Marriage is created, loved and consecrated by God. He himself confirms that his work is excellent. That is why in Genesis he expresses himself by saying: “And he blessed them…” (see Gn 1,28). “And God saw everything that he had made, and he was very good” (see Gen 1:31).

It is beneficial to read this passage with the purpose of revealing how God is condescending to man and woman so that both can feel both in the same way and equality, called to love, help, support, complement each other and make human life grow in the Earth. The disposition to marriage is written in the nature of man and woman.

The second part of the code of canon law, the celebration of the Christian mystery, states that:

.- 1603: Marriage is not necessarily or strictly human despite the various transitions it has undergone over time in different cultures, social structures and spiritual attitudes. These multiplicities should not make us forget its initial and permanent philosophy.

Although the dignity of this institution does not always shine through with the same clarity (cf. GS 47,2), there is in all cultures a certain sense of the greatness of the marriage union. “The salvation of the person and of human and Christian society is closely linked to the prosperity of the conjugal and family community” (see GS 47,1).

.- 1604: God who has created man out of love has also called him to love, the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. Because man was created in the image and likeness of God (see Gn 1,2), who is Love (see cf 1 Jn 4,8.16). God having created them man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man.

This love is good, very good, in the eyes of the Creator (see cf Gn 1,31). And this love that God blesses is destined to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of caring for creation. “And God blessed them and said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it'” (see Gen 1:28).

.- 1605: Sacred Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for each other: “It is not good for man to be alone”. The woman, “flesh of her flesh”, hers the same as hers, the creature most similar to man himself, is given to him by God as a “help”, thus representing God who is our “help” (see cf Ps 121,2).

“That is why a man leaves his father and mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh” (cf. Gn 2:18-25). That this means an indefectible union of their two lives, the Lord himself shows by recalling what was “in the beginning”, the plan of the Creator: “So that they are no longer two but one flesh” (see Mt 19,6) .

Marriage under the bondage of sin

The responsibility granted in the sacrament should become the lifestyle of the spouses but unfortunately the reality is different, the current world lives in what we can call a family crisis, because the man has slowly been separated from the keys spiritual leaning towards material things, and even becoming their own to other religious views according to their interests, it is in this way that the free union, the extinction of virginity and adultery are reflected, 3 of the mandates that constitute a sin according to Christian belief.

As we have been mentioning in the code of canon law, it is said that:

.-1606: Every man, both in his environment and in his own heart, lives the experience of evil. This custom is also felt in relations between men and women.

At all times, the union of man and woman is threatened by discord, the spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy and conflicts that can lead to hatred and rupture. This bewilderment can manifest itself in a more or less subtle way, and can be more or less overcome, depending on the cultures, the times, the individuals, but it always appears as something of a universal nature.

.-1607: According to faith, this disorder that we are painfully aware of does not originate in the nature of man and woman, nor in the nature of their relationships, but rather in sin. The first sin, rupture with God, has as its The first consequence is the rupture of the original communion between man and woman.

Their relationships are distorted by reciprocal grievances (see cf Gn 3,12); his mutual attractiveness, a gift proper to the creator (see cf Gn 2,22), changes into relationships of domination and concupiscence (see cf Gn 3,16b); the beautiful vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, to multiply and subdue the earth (see cf Gn 1,28) remains subject to the pains of childbirth and the efforts of earning bread (see cf Gn 3,16-19 ).

.-1608: However, the order of Creation subsists, although seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of sin, men and women need the help of grace that God, in his infinite mercy, has never withheld from them (cf. Gn 3:21). Without this help, man and woman cannot come to realize the union of their lives in order to which God created them “in the beginning.”

For all these reasons, marriage must be taken as the sacrament of service that, hand in hand with the permanent support of God’s grace, is an attractive path to achieve holiness.

What is the sacrament of marriage for the Lord?

It is precisely at the beginning of the analogy of a firm and splendid marriage where God wants children to be procreated so that they flourish in love and it is there in the bed where new creatures are received and the family and society are formed. Ultimately, it is his love that will become an available instrument for God’s creative work. It is at the beginning of marriage and in the similarity to the communion of life and love where everyone, both men and women, have that possibility of “being” and of reaching their moment of maximum perfection or development.

In the code of canon law, it is said that:

.-1612: The nuptial alliance between God and his people Israel was preparing the new and eternal alliance through which the Son of God, who incarnates himself and gives his life, was united in a certain way with all humanity saved by him (see cf. GS 22), thus preparing “the marriage of the lamb” (see Ap 19,7.9).

.-1613: On the threshold of his public life, Jesus performs his first sign – at the request of his Mother – on the occasion of a wedding banquet (see cf Jn 2,1-11). The Church attaches great importance to the presence of Jesus at the wedding at Cana. He sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the announcement that from now on marriage will be an effective sign of the presence of Christ.

.-1614: In his preaching, Jesus taught without any ambiguity the original meaning of the union of man and woman, just as the Creator wanted it in the beginning: the authorization, given by Moses, to repudiate his wife was a concession to hardness of heart (see cf Mt 19,8); the matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself established it: “what God has joined together, let no man put asunder” (see Mt 19:6).

.-1615: This insistence, unequivocal, on the indissolubility of the marriage bond which generates perplexity and appears as an almost improbable requirement (see cf Mt 19,10). However, Jesus did not impose on the spouses a burden that was impossible to bear and too heavy (see cf Mt 11:29-30), heavier than the Law of Moses.

Coming to restore the first order of creation disturbed by sin, he gives strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Kingdom of God. Following Christ, renouncing themselves, taking up their crosses (see cf Mt 8,34), the spouses will be able to “understand” (see cf Mt 19,11) the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of the Cross of Christ, source of all Christian life.

.-1616: For what the apostle Paul wants to convey by saying the following: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, to sanctify her” (see Eph 5:25-26 ), and immediately adding: “`That is why a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ This is a great mystery, I say it regarding Christ and the Church” (see Eph 5:31-32).

.-1617: All Christian life is marked by the spousal love of Christ and of the Church. Already Baptism, entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery. It is, so to speak, like the wedding bath (see cf Eph 5:26-27) that precedes the wedding banquet, the Eucharist. Christian marriage becomes, for its part, an effective sign, a sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church.

Since it is a sign and communication of grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant (see DS 1800; CIC, can. 1055,2).

Many recommendations about God’s purpose for marriage are explained in the main pages of the Bible in the Genesis treatise.

The fundamental thing to understand at this point is that, from the beginning, from which man and woman were procreated by God. He arranged for them to share life in love. However, the woman was created as a “support” for the man. It was created from man, and despite all the surveys of modern “experts”, the woman can find the greatest placidity and satisfaction of herself relating, helping and complementing her partner in married life, bringing a child into the world and directing your home.

Purity for the Kingdom of God

When he tells us purity or virginity, the first thing we think of is sex. Well, God invented sex for two reasons:

1. For multiplication (says the book of Genesis) .
2. And pleasure (he says it in the book of Songs, Proverbs and the apostle Paul also talks a little about this).

So it could be said that it is not so true that sex is bad. Sex is a good thing, like everything that God has done. The problem lies in the difficulty of understanding that with something good, bad things are also done to us that can even hurt. This is what happens with fire, for example.

Can anyone say that this is something bad, diabolical or even hellish? Fire is simple and extraordinary, it is used to cook and to keep us warm in different cold areas. But with fire it is possible that we can also get burned, and that is why we must be so careful. This is similar to what happens with sexuality!

Very well, we have already clarified the point of purity or also known as virginity, focusing on sexuality. But for the Kingdom of God the priestly vocation or also called religious, is part of the marriage sacrament. The Lord needs those who take care of his things. It is that whoever occupies this place will also have many spiritual children.

God gives priests that paternal or maternity vocation, by calling them father or mother, and it is understood that their vocation is resplendent by marriage, the “key” of their commitment is spiritual with God.

The code of canon law tells us that:

.-1618: Christ is the center of all Christian life. The bond with Him occupies the first place among all other family or social bonds (see cf Lk 14,26; Mk 10,28-31).

Since the 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 (see cf Ap 14,4), to occupy themselves with the Lord’s business, to try to please him (see cf 1 Co 7,32), to go to meet the Bridegroom who is coming (see cf Mt 25,6).

Christ himself invited some to follow him in this way of life of which he is the model: There are eunuchs who were born like this from the womb, and there are eunuchs made by men, and there are eunuchs who made themselves such for the Kingdom of God. the Heavens. Who can understand, let him understand (see Mt 19,12).

.-1619: Virginity for the Kingdom of Heaven is a development of baptismal grace, a powerful sign of the pre-eminence of the bond with Christ, of the ardent expectation of his return, a sign that also reminds us that marriage is a reality that manifests the transitory nature of this world (see cf 1 Co 7,31; Mk 12,25).

.-1620: These two realities, 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 indispensable grace to live according to his will (see cf Mt 19:3-12).

The esteem of virginity for the Kingdom (see cf LG 42; PC 12; OT 10) and the Christian meaning of Marriage are inseparable and mutually supportive: To denigrate marriage is to reduce at the same time the glory of virginity; to praise him is to enhance at the same time the admiration that corresponds to virginity… (see St. John Chrysostom, virg. 10,1; cf FC, 16).

What is the End of the Marriage Celebration?

When we refer to the celebration of Marriage, it is nothing more than a man and a woman when they meet at the altar, so that God grants them with his grace the will to contract Marriage before the Church and the Christian community at that time gathered .

It is about Christ copiously blessing conjugal love, and he himself who consecrated them one day with holy baptism, so that they may be enriched, give them strength with this sacrament that is so characteristic and thus be able to bless that mutual union and that happiness and fidelity of both is imperishable fulfilling in addition obligation of the Marriage. Therefore, the Marriage Party or solemn act with which all its events are commemorated. The canons state that:

.-1621: In the Latin rite, the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful ordinarily takes place within Holy Mass, by virtue of the link that all the sacraments have with the Paschal Mystery of Christ (see cf SC 61). In the Eucharist, the memorial of the New Covenant is realized, in which Christ united himself forever to the Church, his beloved wife for whom he gave himself (see cf LG 6).

It is, therefore, appropriate that the spouses seal their consent to give themselves to each other by offering their own lives, joining Christ’s offering for his Church, made present in the Eucharistic sacrifice, and receiving the Eucharist, so that, communion in the same Body and in the same Blood of Christ, “form one body” in Christ (see cf 1 Cor 10,17).

.-1622: “As a sacramental gesture of sanctification, the celebration of marriage…must be valid, worthy and fruitful in itself” (see FC 67). Therefore, it is appropriate that the future spouses prepare to celebrate their marriage by receiving the sacrament of penance.

.-1623: According to the Latin tradition, the spouses, as ministers of the grace of Christ, expressing their consent before the Church, mutually confer the sacrament of marriage. In the traditions of the Eastern Churches, the priests – Bishops or presbyters – are witnesses of the reciprocal consent expressed by the spouses (see cf. CCEO, can. 817), but their blessing is also necessary for the validity of the sacrament (see cf CCEO , canon 828).

.-1624: The various liturgies are rich in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God for his grace and blessing on the new couple, especially on the wife. In the epiclesis of this sacrament, the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as a Communion of love of Christ and of the Church (see cf. Eph 5:32). The Holy Spirit is the seal of the covenant of the spouses, the ever generous source of their love, the force with which their fidelity will be renewed.

The marital consent

Marital consent is an act of the will, so that the man and the woman trust and accept each other, in a necessary agreement to build the marriage. It is an essential requirement for the presence of marriage. If the consent is missing, there is no marriage, it becomes the last decision to become a constituted marriage. Basically, consent is based on a human act, by which the spouses give and welcome each other. “I accept you as a wife”, “I accept you as a husband” is that Yes, I accept!

The Consent expressed in the code of canon law, clarifies that:

.-1625 The protagonists of the marriage alliance are a baptized man and woman, free to marry and freely expressing their consent. “Being free” means: not acting under duress; not be impeded by a natural or ecclesiastical law.

.-1626 The Church considers the exchange of consents between the spouses as the indispensable element “that makes the marriage” (see CIC, can. 1057,1). If consent is missing, there is no marriage.

.-1627 Consent consists of “a human act, by which spouses give and receive each other” (see GS 48,1; cf CIC, can. 1057,2): “I receive you as a wife” – “ I receive you as a husband” (see OcM 45). This consent that unites the spouses to each other finds its fullness in the fact that the two “become one flesh” (see cf Gn 2,24; Mk 10,8; Eph 5,31).

.-1628 Consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free from violence or grave external fear (see cf CIC, can. 1103). No human power can replace this consent (see CIC, can. 1057, 1). If this freedom is missing, the marriage is invalid.

.-1629 For this reason (or for other reasons that make the marriage null and void; see cf. CIC, can. 1095-1107), the Church, after examining the situation by the competent ecclesiastical court, can declare “the nullity of the marriage”, that is, that the marriage did not exist. In this case, the contracting parties remain free to marry, although they must fulfill the natural obligations arising from a previous previous union (see cf CIC, can. 1071).

.-1630 The priest (or deacon) who attends the celebration of the marriage, receives the consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church. The presence of the minister of the Church (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses that marriage is an ecclesial reality.

.-1631 For this reason, the Church ordinarily requires for its faithful the ecclesiastical form of the celebration of marriage (see Cc. of Trent: DS 1813-1816; CIC, can. 1108). Several reasons concur to explain this determination: Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. Therefore, it is appropriate that it be celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church.

Marriage introduces an ecclesial wave, creates rights and duties in the Church between the spouses and towards the children. Since marriage is a state of life in the Church, there must be certainty about it (hence the obligation to have witnesses). The public nature of consent protects the “Yes” once given and helps to remain faithful to it.

.-1632 So that the “Yes” of the spouses is a free and responsible act, and so that the marriage alliance has solid and stable human and Christian foundations, preparation for marriage is of primary importance: The example and teaching given by parents and families are the privileged path 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 the family (see cf. CIC, can. 1063), and this all the more so in our time in which many young people know the experience of broken homes that no longer sufficiently ensure this initiation:

Young people must be adequately and timely instructed on the dignity, dignity, tasks and exercise of conjugal love, especially within the same family, so that, educated in the cultivation of chastity, they can pass, at the appropriate age, from an honest courtship lived to marriage (see GS 49,3).

Marriages, mixed and cult disparity

In today’s increasingly open society, there are more and more cases of marriages between Christians and Catholics, Evangelicals and Catholics, Catholics and non-Christians.

In the Catholic Church it is of great importance that marriage be in an “ideal” way that it be between two Catholic people, man and woman. Despite this, the Catholic Church invites couples with a diversity of faith or worship to consider the prior agreements that they must make when they do not share the same religion and creed, in knowledge of this, authorization is granted, as something exceptional, to the celebration of the union through the sacrament of marriage. In canon law, it reads that:

.-1633: In many countries, the situation of mixed marriage (between a Catholic and a baptized non-Catholic) occurs quite frequently. It requires particular attention from spouses and pastors. The case of marriages with disparity of cult (between Catholic and unbaptized) requires even greater attention.

.-1634: The difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an insurmountable obstacle for the marriage, when they come to put in common what each of them has received in their community, and to learn from each other the way in which each one lives his fidelity to Christ.

But the difficulties of mixed marriages should not be underestimated either. They are due to the fact that the separation of Christians has not yet been overcome. Spouses run the risk of experiencing the drama of Christian disunity within their homes.

Cult disparity may further aggravate these difficulties. Divergences in faith, in the very concept of marriage, but also different religious mentalities can be a source of tension in marriage, especially regarding the education of children. One temptation that can present itself then is religious indifference.

.-1635: According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs, for its legality, the express permission of the ecclesiastical authority (see cf CIC, can. 1124). In case of disparity of cult, an express dispensation from the impediment is required for the validity of the marriage (see cf CIC, can. 1086).

This permission or this dispensation assumes that both parties know and do not exclude the purposes and essential properties of marriage; furthermore, that the Catholic party confirm the commitments – also making them known to the non-Catholic party – to preserve their own faith and to ensure Baptism and the education of their children in the Catholic Church (see CIC, can. 1125).

.-1636: In many regions, thanks to ecumenical dialogue, the Christian communities concerned have been able to carry out a common pastoral care for mixed marriages. Its objective is to help these couples to live their particular situation in the light of faith.

It must also help them to overcome the tensions between the obligations of the spouses, with one another, and with their ecclesial communities. It must encourage the development of what is common to them in the faith, and the respect of what separates them.

.-1637: In marriages with disparity of cult, the Catholic husband has a particular task: “For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by his wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the believing husband” (see 1 Cor 7, 14).

It is a great joy for the Christian spouse and for the Church that this “sanctification” leads to the free conversion of the other spouse to the Christian faith (see cf. 1 Cor 7:16). Sincere conjugal love, humble and patient practice of family virtues, and persevering prayer can prepare the unbelieving spouse to receive the grace of conversion.

What are the effects of the sacrament of marriage?

Understand that the main effects of marriage are governed by the total good of people, and in fusion with the love that unites the human with the divine, leading to marriage giving freely. They are the canonical rights, who speak:

.-1638: “A valid marriage originates between the spouses a perpetual and exclusive bond by its very nature; Furthermore, in Christian marriage the spouses are strengthened and consecrated by a special sacrament for the duties and dignity of their state” (see CIC, can. 1134).

The marriage bond

The marriage bond arises from the free approval given by a man and a woman prepared to join in marriage. Today, the content required to generate a canonically valid marriage bond is:

• Initially the absence of impediments.
• That there are no serious vices in the consent.
• That there are no certain defects of form.

Once the marriage bond has been established, no revocation will be allowed by the parties and only the death of the spouses dissolves it. But we will explain all this to you with the code of canon law.

.-1639: The consent by which the spouses give and receive each other is sealed by God himself (see cf Mk 10,9). From their alliance “a stable institution is born by divine ordination, also before society” (GS 48,1). The covenant of the spouses is integrated into the covenant of God with men: “authentic conjugal love is assumed in divine love” (see GS 48,2).

.-1640: Therefore, the marriage bond is established by God himself, so that the marriage celebrated and consummated between baptized persons can never be dissolved. This bond that results from the free human act of the spouses and from the consummation of the marriage is now an irrevocable reality and gives rise to a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity.

The Church has no power to pronounce against this disposition of divine wisdom (see cf CIC, can. 1141).

The grace of the sacrament of marriage

Grace proper to the sacrament of marriage is the promise to strengthen the love of the spouses, this is not only an event deprived of the dreams of a couple, but also the response to an inspiration in which God manifests himself for the good of men . “In their condition of life, Christian spouses possess God’s own blessing.” See in the canonical rights all the explanation:

.-1641: “In their way and state of life, (Christian spouses) have their own charism in the People of God” (see LG 11). This grace proper to the sacrament of marriage is intended to perfect the love of the spouses, to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By means of this grace “they help each other to sanctify themselves with conjugal married life and in the reception and education of children” (see LG 11; cf LG 41).

.-1642: Christ is the source of this grace. “For in the same way that God once went out to meet his people through an alliance of love and fidelity, now the Savior of men and Spouse of the Church, through the sacrament of marriage, goes out to meet Christian spouses. ” (see GS 48.2).

He remains with them, he gives them the strength to follow him by taking up their cross, to get up after their falls, to forgive each other, to bear one another’s burdens (see cf Ga 6,2), to be “subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (see Eph 5:21) and to love each other with a supernatural, delicate and fruitful love. Lamb:

Where am I going to get the strength to describe satisfactorily the joy of marriage that the Church celebrates, that confirms the offering, that seals the blessing? The angels proclaim it, the heavenly Father ratifies it.

What a marriage of two Christians, united by a single hope, a single desire, a single discipline, the same service! The two sons of the same Father, servants of the same Lord; nothing separates them, neither in the spirit nor in the flesh; on the contrary, they are truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh is one, the spirit is also one (see Tertullian, ux. 2,9; cf. FC 13).

Goods and requirements of conjugal love

The love of the spouses requires of its very nature, the unity and permanence within the Christian society, of people who will spend their entire lives with them: This same conjugal love demands respect and unwavering fidelity from the spouses. Just as the existence of children, who are the most appreciated gift within marriage, contributes to men and women, doing a lot for good.

The canons tell us:

.-1643: “Marital love involves a totality in which all the elements of the person enter -call of the body and instinct, strength of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit and of the will-; look at a deeply personal unity that, beyond the union in one flesh, leads to having only one heart and one soul; it demands the indissolubility and fidelity of the definitive reciprocal donation; and opens to fertility.

In a word: these are normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new meaning that not only purifies and consolidates them, but also elevates them to the point of making them the expression of properly Christian values” (see FC 13). . Unity and indissolubility of marriage

.-1644: The love of the spouses requires, by its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of the community of persons that encompasses the entire life of the spouses: “So that they are no longer two but one flesh” (see Mt 19,6; cf Gn 2,24).

“They are called to continually grow in their communion through daily fidelity to the marriage promise of total self-giving to one another” (see FC 19). This human communion is confirmed, purified and perfected by the communion in Jesus Christ given through the sacrament of marriage. It is deepened by the life of the common faith and by the Eucharist received in common.

.-1645: “The unity of marriage appears amply confirmed by the equal personal dignity that must be recognized for women and men in mutual and full love” (see GS 49,2). Polygamy is contrary to this equal dignity of one and the other and to conjugal love that is unique and exclusive.

fidelity in conjugal love

The commitment of marital fidelity should be frequent, but it seems that nowadays it has become commonplace to be unfaithful seen in many cases with excessive naturalness and even, for some people, it is attractive to conquer someone. a married man, or a married woman. This is why it is said that fidelity and loyalty are identified in a certain sense.

Here we will mention some arctics of canon law that tell us about this:

.-1646: Conjugal love demands of the spouses, by its very nature, an inviolable fidelity. This is a consequence of the gift of themselves that spouses make to each other. Authentic love tends by itself to be something definitive, not something temporary. “This intimate union, as a mutual donation of two people, like the good of children, requires the fidelity of the spouses and urges their indissoluble unity” (see GS 48,1).

.-1647: His deepest motive consists in the fidelity of God to his covenant, of Christ to his Church. Through the sacrament of marriage, the spouses are enabled to represent and testify to this fidelity. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of marriage acquires a new and deeper meaning.

.-1648: It may seem difficult, even impossible, to tie yourself to a human being for life. For this reason, it is all the more important to announce the good news that God loves us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that spouses share in this love, that it comforts and sustains them, and that by their fidelity they become witnesses of faithful love. of God.

Spouses who, with the grace of God, bear this witness, often under very difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community (see cf FC 20).

.-1649: There are, however, situations in which marital cohabitation is practically impossible for very different reasons. In such cases, the Church admits the physical separation of the spouses and the end of cohabitation. Spouses do not cease to be husband and wife before God; nor are they 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 people to live their situation in a Christian way in fidelity to the bond of their marriage which remains indissoluble (see cf FC; 83; CIC, can. 1151-1155).

.-1650: Today there are many Catholics in many countries who resort to divorce according to civil law and who also contract a new civil union. The Church maintains, by fidelity to the word 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”: Mk 10,11 -12), which cannot recognize this new union as valid, if the first marriage was valid.

If the divorced remarry civilly, they put themselves in a situation that objectively contradicts God’s law. Therefore, they cannot access Eucharistic communion while this situation persists, and for the same reason they cannot exercise certain ecclesial responsibilities.

Reconciliation through the sacrament of penance can only be granted to those who repent of having violated the sign of the Covenant and fidelity to Christ and who commit themselves to live in total continence.

.-1651 With regard to Christians who live in this situation and who often keep the faith and wish to educate their children in a Christian way, the priests and the entire community must show attentive care, so that they are not considered separated of the Church, in whose life they can and should participate as baptized:

They are exhorted to listen to the Word of God, to frequent the sacrifice of the Mass, to persevere in prayer, to increase works of charity and community initiatives in favor of justice, to educate their children in the Christian faith , to cultivate the spirit and the works of penance to implore in this way, day by day, the grace of God (see FC 84).

Openness to fertility within marriage

Creation itself and the love between man and woman order fertilization or procreation after receiving the sacrament of marriage, giving education and succession to life with this we are blessed by its nature.

In the canonical rights they explain to us that:

.-1652: “By their very nature, the very institution of marriage and conjugal love are ordered to the procreation and education of offspring and with them they are crowned as their culmination” (see GS 48,1):

Children are the most excellent gift of marriage and contribute much to the good of their own parents. The same God, who said: “It is not good for man to be alone (see Gn 2,18), and who from the beginning made man male and female” (see Mt 19,4), wanting to communicate to him a certain special participation in his own creative work, he blessed man and woman saying: “Increase and multiply” (see Gn 1,28).

Hence, the true cultivation of conjugal love and the whole system of family life that proceeds from it, without allowing the other ends of marriage to be postponed, tend to make the spouses willing with fortitude to cooperate with the love of the Creator and Savior , who through them increases and enriches his own family every day more (see GS 50,1).

.-1653: The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of moral, spiritual and supernatural life that parents transmit to their children through education. Parents are the main and first educators of their children (cf. GE 3). In this sense, the fundamental task of marriage and the family is to be at the service of life (see cf FC 28).

.-1654: However, the spouses to whom God has not granted to have children can lead a conjugal life full of meaning, humanly and Christianly. Your marriage can radiate a fruitfulness of charity, welcome and sacrifice.

the domestic church

Domestic Church, is the entity of faith, illusion and love. It is a society where you share, love, work, it is where you create hope and live with faith. Church shares God who is the creator of the family of that work that we call procreation, the domestic church helps us to educate children and choose to live in the midst of the family with Jesus, there raising and learning to live with human values ​​and Christians.

In the code of canonical rights the “domestic Church”, means that:

.-1655 Christ wanted to be born and grow in the bosom of the Holy Family of Joseph and Mary. The Church is nothing other than the “family of God”. From its origins, the nucleus of the Church was often made up of those who, “with their whole house”, had become believers (see cf Acts 18,8).

When they converted, they also wanted “their whole house” to be saved (see Acts 16:31 and 11:14). These converted families were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.

.-1656 In our days, in a world that is often strange and even hostile to faith, believing families are of paramount importance as beacons of a living and radiating faith. That is why the Second Vatican Council calls the family, with an old expression, “Ecclesia domestica” (see LG 11; cf. FC 21).

Within the family, “parents must be for their children the first heralds of the faith with their word and example, and they must foster the personal vocation of each one and, with special care, the vocation to consecrated life” (see LG 11).

.-1657 This is where the baptismal priesthood of the father of the family, of the mother, of the children, of all the members of the family, is exercised in a privileged manner, “in the reception of the sacraments, in prayer and in action of thanks, with the testimony of a holy life, with renunciation and love that translates into works” (see LG 10).

The home is thus the first school of Christian life and “school of the richest humanism” (see GS 52,1). Here one learns patience and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous forgiveness, even reiterated, and above all divine worship through prayer and the offering of his life.

.-1658 It is also necessary to remember a large number of people who remain single because of the concrete conditions in which they must live, often without having wanted it themselves. These people are particularly close to the heart of Jesus; and, therefore, they deserve diligent care and concern from the Church, particularly from her pastors.

Many of them live without a human family, often because of conditions of poverty. There are those who live their situation according to the spirit of the beatitudes, serving God and their neighbor in an exemplary way. To all of them it is necessary to open the doors of homes, “domestic churches” and the doors of the great family that is the Church. “No one sits without a family in this world:

the Church is home and family for all, especially for those who are `wearied and burdened’ (see Mt 11,28)” (see FC 85).

Summary of the Code of Canon Law

1659 St. Paul says: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the Church… This is a great mystery, I say it with respect to Christ and the Church” (Eph 5,25.32).

1660 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman constitute an intimate community of life and love, was founded and endowed with its own laws by the Creator. By its nature it is ordered to the good of the spouses as well as to the generation and education of children. Among the baptized, marriage has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. GS 48,1; CIC, can. 1055,1).

1661 The sacrament of marriage signifies the union of Christ with the Church. Give spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, reaffirms their indissoluble unity and sanctifies them on the path to eternal life (cf. Cc. de Trento: DS 1799).

1662 Marriage is founded on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on the will to give themselves mutually and definitively in order to live an alliance of faithful and fruitful love.

1663 Since marriage establishes the spouses in a public state of life in the Church, the celebration of the same is ordinarily done publicly, within the framework of a liturgical celebration, before the priest (or the qualified witness of 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; the rejection of fertility deprives married life of its “most excellent gift”, the child (GS 50,1).

1665 Contracting a new marriage by the divorced while their legitimate spouses are alive contradicts the plan and the law of God taught by Christ. Those who live in this situation are not separated from the Church but cannot access Eucharistic communion. They can live their Christian life above all 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 Christian charity.

Civil marriage for the Catholic Church

For the faith and practices that are carried out in the Catholic Church, the Sacrament of Marriage is based on God Himself, this means that for Catholics civil marriage is not valid, through the Scripture and Tradition of the Church we have been told let know these and especially the good news about marriage.

However, depending on the laws that are governed in the country where you live, it is necessary to contract a civil marriage, this is done more for legal purposes and it is contracted before civil authorities and not before God. This is why the Bible invites all Catholics who wish to consecrate themselves in marriage that this be done by the church.

Usually when people decide to marry civilly it is almost always because of the religious difference that both have, other reasons are because as we are we live in difficult times, and it is much simpler and faster. Those who have made the decision to prepare for a ceremony must comply with a series of procedures both to receive the sacrament of marriage from the Catholic Church and for those who will simply marry civilly.

For canon law, a single person or both persons can be considered, if they did not have their wedding in the Catholic Church, that is, they were considered single, the spouse or spouses were married and divorced, but said divorce was carried out only civil form, therefore it is not recognizable by the Church. Both remain single before the Church and before God.

Therefore, he could contract the sacrament of marriage with the same person who is married by civil or with another person. It is consistent to explain that for the civil divorce that the couple requested there is no obstacle since the church does not recognize the marriage for which the divorce is caused.