“Marriage is an act of will that signifies and involves a mutual gift, which unites the spouses and binds them to their eventual souls, with whom they make up a sole family – a domestic church.” (Pope John Paul II)

  Read pg 362 from the textbook – a reflection from Pope Benedict XVI on The Feast of the Holy Family of Nazareth  Answer the following questions:  According to Pope Benedict XVI, what is the vocation of the family?  How did the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph help Christ along the path that God the Father had prepared for Him?  How can the members of every family help each other along the path God has chosen for each person? With a Partner

  A Sacrament at the Service of Communion  Matrimony is a vocation to a state of life that joins a baptized man and baptized woman in a lifelong covenant of love for the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of children.  Man & Woman  Covenant  Unitive & procreative Sacrament of Matrimony

  Genesis 2  “ It is not good that the man should be alone.”  Man recognizes he is alone among creatures  Woman and man are made for one another  Destined for union with one another  Revelation 19  “Wedding-feast of the Lamb”  Church brought to union with Christ  The union of a woman and a man in matrimony is a sign of the union of the Church with Christ.  Ephesians 5:21-33 – subordinate to one another…Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ loved the church and handed himself over for her… “Made for Each Other”

  God encounters His people through covenants of love and fidelity  Through the external signs of Matrimony – in particular, the exchange of vows – Christ brings about a covenant sealed in His own love.  “[The marriage 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.” (CCC 1640) The Covenant of Marriage

  Unitive  Wife and husband are bound together, fulfilling their vocations by giving themselves to one another.  “No longer two, but one flesh.”  Marriage demands unity, indissolubility, and complete fidelity  Procreative  Through the self-giving love of husband and wife, they bear life into the world. There must be openness to this fertility.  Co-creators with God. First Commandment in Scripture  The family is called the Domestic Church  These are also described as the two dimensions of the marital act. These must both be upheld in the marital act itself, because they are the ends of matrimony as a whole. The Two Ends of Matrimony

  Recipient  Baptized, Christian man and woman  Must be adult, consenting, and heterosexual  Matter (2 views) 1. Public consent of the man and the woman 2. Consummation of the marriage in the marital act  Form  The exchange of vows  Ministers  Ordinary: the bride and bridegroom themselves  Extraordinary: none Outward Sign…

  Wedding at Cana (John 2:1-12)  Water into Wine  “Confirmation of the goodness of marriage and proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence.” ( CCC 1613)  Conversation about Divorce (Matt 19:1-9)  “They are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” …Instituted By Christ…

  As a Sacrament of Vocation, one receives the grace to fulfill one’s vocation – overcoming effects of sin to fulfill it perfectly.  Husband and wife are united until death  Graces needed to sanctify sharing of self and to live lovingly each day.  To take up crosses and follow, to forgive, to bear one another’s burdens, to be subject to one another  Grace to raise and educate children … to Give Grace

  Ideal form, in Mass in Catholic church  Special Entrance Rite  Liturgy of the Word  Consent (including Exchange of Vows)  Blessing and Exchange of Rings  Liturgy of the Eucharist  Special prayers in Eucharistic Prayer  After Lord’s Prayer, Nuptial Blessing, followed by Rite of Peace  Final greeting and solemn blessing Rite of Marriage during Mass

  Pre-Marital Sex  2w 2w  Gay Marriage  Difficult Topics Today

 Story Time

  In the early Church, matrimony happened in the Church no differently than in civil society; however, it was viewed as a significant moment of grace  Tertullian describes the sacrament as receiving the protection of Divine grace  St. Augustine describes marriage as a sacrament, which God Himself establishes as an indissoluble bond, comparing it to Holy Orders and Baptism.  St. Ambrose describes it as sanctified by Christ History

  St. Thomas Aquinas defines 3 significant aspects of marriage: the uniting of spouses, the raising of children, and the action of grace as a sacrament  Peter Lombard is first to comprehensively list the 7 sacraments, including Matrimony (AD 1150)  The Council of Verona in 1184 officially approves his list History (cont.)