It does sound harsh, I agree, but I’m afraid that is exactly what it means. God is not a part of the marriage, as in a sacramental marriage, and therefore, it is not blessed by God. A sacramental marriage is a holy marriage, meaning blessed by God, just as water blessed by God through a priest is holy, and water that is not blessed is not holy. It’s still water, but it ain’t holy.Bad choice of language. It may not be a sacrament but that doesn’t mean it’s not blessed by God.
Yes, validity does apply. Any marriage between two people is either valid or invalid.Validity in the strictest sense doesn’t apply in the *Pauline *cases because the marriage is strictly a civil matter with no baptisms involved–a prerequisite for a valid marriage under canon law.
Your statement is at odds with what St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor 7:14:It does sound harsh, I agree, but I’m afraid that is exactly what it means. God is not a part of the marriage, as in a sacramental marriage, and therefore, it is not blessed by God. A sacramental marriage is a holy marriage, meaning blessed by God, just as water blessed by God through a priest is holy, and water that is not blessed is not holy. It’s still water, but it ain’t holy.
Your statement is at odds with what St. Paul teaches in 1 Cor 7:14:
Ok, you are right on that. If one of the spouses is a believer, then the unbelieving spouse can be sanctified and the children can most certainly be holy. But is the marriage itself “holy?” I don’t think that is what it is saying. I think Paul is saying here that the unbelieving spouse and the children are benefited by the believing spouse, but the marriage itself? It can certainly be a valid marriage, but holy? And what if both parties are unbelieving? How can the marriage be sanctified then? It is certainly valid, but I don’t think it is sanctified and holy.For the unbelieving husband has been sanctified through his wife, and the unbelieving wife has been sanctified through her believing husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy.
What is actual grace as opposed to sanctifying grace? I’ve never heard that term before.A marriage in which one or both parties is unbaptized does not receive *sacramental *grace, a.k.a. sanctifying grace . But that’s not the only kind of grace. Couples in a natural marriage can receive actual grace.
The catechism also refutes your concept that marriage of the unbaptized is purely of the human order having no divine dimension. The CCC describes marriage as being in the order of Creation, from the very beginning. It is raised to a Sacrament among the baptized, but for the unbaptized it is still an institution ordained by, and blessed by, God:
1603 “The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws. . . . God himself is the author of marriage.” The vocation to marriage is written in the very nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. **Marriage is not a purely human institution **despite the many variations it may have undergone through the centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes.
I did not say that “marriage of the unbaptized is purely of the human order having no divine dimension.” Certainly marriage was given to the human race by God. The question is, are all marriages holy because of that? Not hardly. Certainly God did bless the marriage between Adam and Eve - he was the one who married them - but that doesn’t mean every marriage from then on is blessed, because God is not involved in every marriage, even though He is the author of marriage. Are any marriages your children enter into automatically valid and sacramental just because your marriage is? I think more is involved than that.1604 God who created man out of love also calls him to love the fundamental and innate vocation of every human being. For man is created in the image and likeness of God who is himself love. Since God created him man and woman, their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves man. It is good, very good, in the Creator’s eyes. **And this love which God blesses **is intended to be fruitful and to be realized in the common work of watching over creation: " And God blessed them, and God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it.’
I looked up “actual grace”, and I thank you for bringing it to my attention because I’ve never seen this term before. On the Catholic Encyclopedia website, it is defined as:A marriage in which one or both parties is unbaptized does not receive *sacramental *grace, a.k.a. sanctifying grace . But that’s not the only kind of grace. Couples in a natural marriage can receive actual grace.
That makes sense, and you are absolutely right, “blessed” and “holy” do not mean the same thing, and I apologize for getting them wrong. I think we are actually on the same page here. All valid marriages are, of course, “blessed” by God in that sense.Brooklyn, You are using the terms “blessed by God” and “holy” (i.e. containing or receiving sanctifying grace) as if they mean the same thing. Phemie and I are not. (well Phemie can speak for herself but I’m speaking for me).
Blessed by God and *holy *do not have a one-to-one correspondence.
When I saw her refer to natural marriages being “blessed” by God, I believe she was referring to these marriages as being approved of by God.
An unbaptized person can receive a blessing from a priest or bless themselves with Holy Water as they enter a Catholic Church. Does that give them sanctifying grace? No.
But, the blessing is still given and God “blesses” that person through the priest, the holy water, or whatever other sacramental might be used. The person can receive actual graces, a precursor to the supernatural virtue of Faith by which a person might come to desire baptism.
All marriage is ordained by God and ordained in the order of creation not specifically ordained only for Christians. Natural marriages do not give sanctifying grace, but God does give actual graces and he does “bless”-- as in “approve of”-- any valid marriage. He created marriage. He blesses all marriages with graces appropriate to that person’s capacity to receive it.