Slide 1 This is a slide for the first movement

Marriage is in the media all the time when celebrities end up getting married or getting divorced; it tends to make headlines. Marriage more than a contract?

Why is marriage more than a contract? After the creation of Adam, the Lord God said: ‘It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper as his partner’ (Genesis 2:18). Living in relationships is at the heart of who God created us to be. Human sexuality is the God-given gift of being a man or a woman. The man–woman partnership is an image of God the Creator, who is Love.

Why is marriage more than a contract? Genesis chapters 1―2 reveal the inherent goodness of all creation, including our human sexuality. Genesis chapters 3―10 tells of Original Sin and its devastating effects on creation and on the partnership of Adam and Eve. Throughout the remaining texts of Sacred Scripture, from Genesis 11 to the final words in the Book of Revelation, we learn about God’s plan of Salvation in Christ to heal human selfishness and self-centeredness. And we learn of the harmful sinful relationships that distort and destroy our relationship with God and other people.

The following are truths of our faith that guide us in growing to become responsible and mature sexual persons:  Our sexuality is a great gift from God the Creator.  God created us as embodied persons with a body and a soul.  Human sexuality is an essential part of our body.  God is present within our very bodies.  We are alive by the breath of God.  Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, through which we glorify God. Why is marriage more than a contract?

Married life: the nuptial covenant Marriage is a Covenant and not simply a contract. It is an image and living sign of the covenant relationship between God and his people. The Old Testament uses the image of marital love to reveal the relationship binding God and his people. The sacramental marriage of Christians signifies the love uniting Christ and his Church. Catholics who wish to marry are required to do so according to Church law.

Married life: the nuptial covenant Jesus used his listeners’ experience of marriage and weddings to help them understand his teachings on the Kingdom of God.  Jesus compared the Kingdom of God to a wedding banquet. (Matthew 22:1-14)  Jesus changed water into wine at a wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. (John 2:1-11) The Church sees in the miracle at Cana the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the vocation of married Christians to build up the Kingdom of God. Christ’s love for his Church is the model for the spousal covenant of marriage.

The elements and purposes of marriage Conjugal love involves the giving and receiving of a whole person. For a sacramental marriage to be true and valid, three elements are essential:  The man and woman are both free to enter the marriage covenant.  They both make a lifelong commitment of inviolable fidelity to each other.  Both are open to the gift of children.

The elements and purposes of marriage A Christian marriage is indissoluble during the lifetime of the spouses and can be dissolved only by the death of one spouse. Fidelity strengthens the couple’s ability to trust each other. Making love in a Christian marriage must always be open to the possibility of procreation. The fidelity, unity and permanence of married life are needed to create the secure and loving environment for nurturing and educating children.

The Rite of Marriage The Rite of Marriage between two Catholics is normally celebrated within the celebration of Mass. Through receiving the Eucharist, the newly married couple are further bonded to Christ and to the Church, the Body of Christ. The man and woman marrying each other are the ministers of Christ’s grace given through the Sacrament of Matrimony. In exchanging their marriage vows, the couple also express their commitment symbolically to the entire Church and to God. The faith community that witnesses the marriage takes on the responsibility to pray for and support the couple.

The Rite of Marriage The Sacrament of Marriage takes place after the Liturgy of the Word. The priest or deacon invites the couple to declare their consent openly and publicly. Having witnessed the consent, the celebrant says in part: ‘What God has joined, men must not divide.’ The couple exchange rings as a sign of their love and fidelity to each other. The priest or deacon blesses the newly married couple before dismissing the congregation.

Jacques and Raïssa Maritain: equal partners in married life As students at the Sorbonne University in Paris, Jacques and Raïssa became discouraged when the popular philosophy of the time offered them no real answers to their questions about the true meaning of life. They gradually discovered the wisdom of the Catholic faith and felt sure that their quest for meaning had been answered. They were married in 1904 and were baptized into the Catholic Church in Jacques and Raïssa became great scholars, known for their study and teachings on the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas. Many credit them with preparing the way for the reforms of Vatican II.

Why is love at the center of a marriage? This is a slide for the first movement

Why is love at the center of a marriage? In the First Letter of John we read: ‘God is love’ (1 John 4:8). The sacred writer used the word agape for love. Agape is the total giving of oneself for another. It is the self-sacrificing love revealed in Jesus. Marriage is a privileged expression of God’s love at work in the world. Remote preparation for marriage: Living a virtuous life and growing into a mature adult is part of the ‘remote’ preparation. Immediate preparation for marriage: Engaged couples usually participate in marriage preparation courses organized by the diocese.

Why is love at the center of a marriage? In the First Letter of John we read: Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love. (1 John 4:7–8)

The goodness and responsibilities of marriage Chastity is a virtue that moves us to love others with generous regards for them. It helps us to see and put into practice God’s plan for the body, person and sexuality. All people are called to live chaste lives. Living a chaste life includes accepting that what one does with one’s sexual feelings and desires contributes to the kind of person one is. Lust is an inordinate desire for earthly pleasures, particularly sexual pleasures. Such behavior impedes moral growth and has a serious impact on one’s ability to live faithfully the Sacrament of Marriage.

The goodness and responsibilities of marriage The marriage covenant is rooted in committed love and fidelity. Sexual intimacy between spouses expresses the totality of this intimate communion of life and love. Conjugal love brings together the human and the divine. ‘Making love’ leads the married couple to form an ever- deeper bond of love with each other and with God. The right and privilege of sexual intercourse belongs, according to God’s plan, only to married couples.

The Christian family: The Church of the home Long before buildings called churches existed, the disciples of Jesus would meet in one another’s homes, around the family table, to pray and to share their faith. Today, the family home is called the ‘domestic church’ because it is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the Faith. Every Christian family is called to be a place of shared prayer and holy rituals; for example, families may share:  Grace at mealtimes,  Morning and evening prayer,  Reading Sacred Scripture together.

Parents are the primary teachers of the Faith in the home. Parents must work assiduously to make their home a place where the beliefs, values, words and actions of the Catholic Church and Christian discipleship are lived and taught by both word and example. It is the vocation of all the members of the Christian family to support one another in learning and living together a life of loving God, other people and themselves because of their love of God. The Christian family: The Church of the home

Matrimony―Mutual striving for holiness of life Married life is a call to holiness of life. Couples encounter Christ in the Sacrament of Marriage. Christ is at the heart and center of the marriage relationship. The marriage vocation is to show forth the very love of Christ to the world. Living the marriage covenant faithfully takes hard work, commitment and dedication. True married love is a foretaste of the everlasting and faithful love we will experience with God in Heaven.

Matrimony―Mutual striving for holiness of life Catholic married couples enrich their marriage partnership and grow in holiness of life by:  joining with other members of the Church to offer and receive support;  taking part in marriage enrichment programs;  setting time aside for sharing their faith at home;  taking part in the sacramental life of the Church, especially in regular reception of the Eucharist.

Blessed Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Blessed Maria Corsini Luigi and Maria were both from Italy. Luigi was twenty-five and Maria was twenty-one when they married. They had four children: Filippo, who became a diocesan priest; Cesare, who joined the Trappist order of monks; Stefania, who entered a Benedictine cloister in Milan; Enrichetta, who dedicated herself to caring for her parents. Maria experienced a very difficult pregnancy with her last child, Enrichetta, and was advised to have an abortion. Maria and Luigi refused the counsel for abortion and instead they chose to place their trust and hope in God.

Blessed Luigi Beltrame Quattrocchi and Blessed Maria Corsini Enrichetta was born and both she and her mother were safe. Maria and Luigi’s relationship was based on their Christian discipleship. They kept their faith strong through attending Mass and receiving Holy Communion as a family, regularly praying together and with their children, and working with the poor. Luigi and Maria are the first married couple ever to have been beatified together by the Catholic Church.