The Theology of Marriage Office of Marriage and Family Life: Adrienne Yates

10-14Mothers in Faith 2 Marriage and Sacrament  What is a sacrament?  An efficacious sign of grace, instituted by Christ and entrusted to the Church, through which Divine life is infused by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Mothers in Faith 3 Objective Goal for Marriage Preparation Ministers  A man and woman should come to the sacrament of marriage with the understanding that they have been created by God, in the image and likeness of God, and are called through the vocation of marriage to reveal God’s love to one another, and God’s saving presence to the world.

Mothers in Faith 4 Together, Created in the Image of God  When God created man, he made him in the likeness of God; he created them male and female. When they were created, he blessed them and named them “man”. (Gen 5:1-2)

Mothers in Faith 5 Together, Created in the Image of God  The Lord God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life and so man became a living being (Gen 2:7).

Mothers in Faith 6 Together, Created in the Image of God  “This one at last is bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh; this one shall be called woman, for out of her man this one has been taken.  That is why a man leaves his father and mother and clings to his wife and the two of them become one body” (Gen ).

Mothers in Faith 7 What does this say about the nature and purpose of Marriage?  The Hebrew understanding of body refers to the whole person, flesh and life-breath of God.  Marriage is for the good of the whole persons, who come together as man and woman, complementing one another in the image of God.  The new reality created in Christian marriage is life-giving and reveals the presence of God to the world.

Mothers in Faith 8 Reflection Question  Think of a married couple who are or have been a role model to you as a couple.  What is it about them that you admire?  How do you feel when you are with them?

Marriage as a Sacrament  Saint John Paul II spoke of this reality in the apostolic Exhortation, Familiaris Consortio:  This conjugal communion sinks its roots in the natural complementarity that exists between man and woman, and is nurtured through the personal willingness of the spouses to share their entire life-project, what they have and what they are: for this reason such communion is the fruit and the sign of a profoundly human need. God takes up this human need, confirms it, purifies it and elevates it, leading it to perfection through the sacrament of matrimony: the Holy Spirit who is poured out in the sacramental celebration offers Christian couples the gift of a new communion of love that is the living and real image of that unique unity which makes of the Church the indivisible Mystical Body of the Lord Jesus. Mothers in Faith 9

10 Christian Marriage is a Sacrament at Two Levels  Foundational level: A Christian marriage reveals and celebrates an intimate communion of life and love between a man and a woman.  Symbolic level: A Christian marriage proclaims, makes explicit and celebrates an intimate communion of life, love and grace between Christ and His Church.

Marriage as a Sacrament  Canon The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life and which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring, has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament between the baptized. Mothers in Faith 11

Mothers in Faith 12 Sacramental Marriage The Sacrament of Marriage reveals an indissoluble love that is:  Free  Faithful  Forever  Fruitful  For the good of the spouses and all they encounter

Mothers in Faith 13 Foundational Level of the Marriage Sacrament  The sacrament of marriage requires the full and free consent of the woman and the man entering into the marriage covenant.  The ritual asks, “Have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in in marriage? Will you love and honor each other as man and wife for the rest of your lives? Will you accept children lovingly from God, and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church?”

Marriage as Sacrament- Foundational Level  The bride and groom are the ordinary minsters of this sacrament.  The priest or deacon, as the witness of the Church, invites the couple to declare their intentions by saying: Mothers in Faith 14

RCA 15 Vow of Consent “I, _____ take you _____ to be my wife/husband. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.”

Mothers in Faith 16 Sign of Covenantal Love  After receiving their consent the priest or deacon says, “You have declared your consent before the Church. May the Lord in his goodness strengthen your consent and fill you both with his blessings. What God has joined, men must not divide.”

Mothers in Faith 17 Sign of Covenantal Love The rings are a sign of unending covenantal love. In exchanging the rings the bride and groom say: “ ____ take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.”

Mothers in Faith 18 Covenantal Love  Covenantal love transcends self, reaching beyond one’s self to another.  Covenantal love in marriage is an irrevocable love formed when two equals join to create a new reality.  It involves a lifelong partnership of love for the mutual well-being of both the husband and wife and their children.

Mothers in Faith 19 Covenantal Love  The Christian husband and wife assist one another in realizing his or her highest potential physically, emotionally and spiritually.  Christian love is rooted in service of one another.  All Christians are asked to “give way to one another because you stand in awe of Christ”. St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians describes Christian love:  “Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous. Love is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

Mothers in Faith 20 Reflection Question  Think back our first reflection of the married couple whom you admire.  If you replace the word Love with that couple’s name. Is the reading accurate?  If you replace your names with the word Love what statements are true?

Mothers in Faith 21 Symbolic Level of the Marriage Sacrament  The marriage rite calls the couple to be a living sign of the Church in the world. In the Nuptial Blessing, the priest or deacon prays,  “Father, to reveal the plan of your love, you made the union of husband and wife an image of the covenant between you and your people. In fulfillment of this sacrament, the marriage of Christian man and woman is a sign of the marriage between Christ and the Church.” (#119)

Mothers in Faith 22 Symbolic Level: the Domestic Church  Marriage does not isolate the couple but immerses the couple in life. From the couple springs life.  In loving and serving each other, their children and their community, the married couple is a living witness to Christ.  This embodiment of Christ’s presence by the family in their day to day living is known as the domestic church.

The Beginning Mothers in Faith 23