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MATRIMONY
NATURE OF THE SACRAMENT
Matrimony is the sacrament by
which a man and a woman are
united before the Church and
Christ until death, and obtain
the grace to live a Christian
life together and bring up
their children to the glory of
God.
The essence of matrimony
consists in the solemn
declaration of mutual consent
made before God by man and
woman whereby they agree to
give themselves fully and
exclusively to each other and
promise to be faithful until
death. Marriage is of divine
origin and is governed by
divine laws (Gen. 2, 18-24).
Hence even as a natural union,
matrimonial bond is something
sacred.
Considered in itself, the
declaration of consent, though
very solemn, is a momentary
act. Yet it is made to last
for a life time. It must be
lived everyday. Thus
understood, married life is
the story of a life lived
together, the experience of a
journey together towards God,
the joint effort to build up a
Christian home day after day.
Jesus Christ has raised the
matrimonial union to the
dignity and completeness of a
sacrament and has thus given
the couples the power and
grace they need to accomplish
their challenging work for
God. Jesus’ presence and the
miracle He worked a t the
marriage feast of Can a
symbolizes the sanctifying,
vivifying and strengthening
action of Jesus whereby He
transforms the natural human
love of husband and wife into
a supernatural relationship.
St.Pau1 upholds the sacred
character of the relation
between husband and wife and
earnestly exhorts the
Christian couples to mould
their matrimonial union upon
the model of Christ’s mystical
union with His Church and to
nourish it with total,
exclusive and self-sacrificing
love that must always reign
among them.
ADMTNISTRATON OF THE SACRAMENT
The Sacramental Rite: The
essential rite of the
sacrament of matrimony
consists in the declaration
made by man and woman of their
will to live together in
marriage until death.
The Minister of the Sacrament:
Since the mutual declaration
is the essential rite of
marriage, the partners are at
one and the same time the
ministers and the recipients
of the sacrament. The priest
is no more than the Church’s
official witness to the
marriage.
Conditions for a lawful and
valid marriage: In the general
interest of the faithful and
for the welfare of mankind at
large, the Church has decided
on certain conditions for a
valid and lawful sacrament of
matrimony. The partners must
be baptized Christians in the
state of grace. They must have
the intention of marrying each
other, and must do so of their
own free will. The marriage
must take place before two
witnesses and a priest-the
parish priest or his deputy.
Notice of the marriage (the
banns) must be published
before hand. The proposed
marriage must be free of all
impediments laid down by the
law of God and of the Church.
Should any of the faithful be
aware of an impediment to a
proposed marriage, he or she
must declare it to the Church
authorities in due time,
normally once the banns have
been published.
EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT
First, by the sacrament of
matrimony Jesus Christ unites
a man and a woman in marriage
in a total, exclusive and
indissoluble union that lasts
until death. Hence Jesus
condemns in strong and
unmistakable terms any attempt
to destroy the original
purity, exclusiveness and
indissolubility of the
matrimonial bond (Mt. 19,3-9).
Secondly, Jesus consecrates
the married couple increasing
His sanctifying grace within
them and transforming them by
His love, so as to elevate
their union to a supernatural
level.
Thirdly, Jesus helps the
married couple to live a
Christian life together and
bring up their children to the
glory of God.
CONCLUSION
The sacrament of matrimony
makes the family a little cell
of the Church, a nucleus of
the life of the Lord and a
centre that radiates the light
of Christ. The family is a
school for human enrichment.
It is the place where
different generations come
together and help one another,
and as such it constitutes the
basis of human society. It is
also the place where the
children of God are brought
forth and educated in such a
away that they grow in age and
in wisdom gaining favour with
God and man. However the
success of marriage and family
life will depend above all on
the living example of the
couples’ own self-sacrificing
Christian love whereby they
will bear witness, before
their children, to the
self-emptying love of Christ.
It is indeed a noble but at
the same time difficult task.
It calls for great generosity
and self-sacrifice. The
Christian couple require
special divine assistance in
this vocation. They must
therefore realize the gravity
of their responsibilities,
prepare themselves in all
earnestness and pray for God’s
light and strength before they
proceed to receive the
sacrament of matrimony.
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