Marriage as a sacrament?

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Let’s start with the three part definition of a sacrament and go from there:
  1. A visible sign… (in this case, the bodies of the man and woman themselves, designed for union)
  2. Instituted by Christ… (Jesus restored God’s original plan for marriage found in Genesis 2:21-24 when he pronounced marrige as indisoluble and exclusive in Matthew 19:3-9)
  3. **Which imparts grace…**Marriage imparts the grace the participants need to life this state in life as a means to their salvation (Ephesisans 5:22-32; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16)
Here, in part, is what the Catechism says:
1612 The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for “the wedding-feast of the Lamb.”
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1613 On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign - at his mother’s request - during a wedding feast. The Church attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ’s presence.
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1614 In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one’s wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts. The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it “what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder.”
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1615 This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy - heavier than the Law of Moses. By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to “receive” the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ. This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ’s cross, the source of all Christian life.
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1616 This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her,” adding at once: “'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church.”
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1617 The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath. which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist. Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant…
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1641 “By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of God.” This grace proper to the sacrament of Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple’s love and to strengthen their indissoluble unity. By this grace they “help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in welcoming and educating their children.”
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1642 Christ is the source of this grace. “Just as of old God encountered his people with a covenant of love and fidelity, so our Savior, the spouse of the Church, now encounters Christian spouses through the sacrament of Matrimony.” Christ dwells with them, gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another’s burdens, to “be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and to love one another with supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb.
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Rather than paraphrasing the Catechism, let’s go right to the source. You can read it all at this link:
scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c3a7.htm
(this (scborromeo.org) is a great reference site, you might want to bookmark it)
in brief:
1659 St. Paul said: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church. . . . This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church” (Eph 5:25, 32).
1660 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. CIC, can. 1055 § 1; cf. GS 48 § 1).
1661 The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1799).
1662 Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love.
1663 Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical celebration, before the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the faithful.
1664 Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its “supreme gift,” the child (GS 50 § 1).
1665 The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by educating their children in the faith.
1666 The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly called “the domestic church,” a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.
 
Thanks you guys, but I am really still having a difficult time explaining this to my sola scriptura friends. Why do they see only 2 sacraments? Right now we are just focused on marriage as a sacrament and I wanted to see how someone else could explain it as I am doing a poor job! Also, what about in Matthew where it looks like Jesus says divorce is ok if there is adultery?

Many thanks!
 
  1. **Which imparts grace…**Marriage imparts the grace the participants need to life this state in life as a means to their salvation (Ephesisans 5:22-32; 1 Corinthians 7:10-16)
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Hi,
Im a little confused:confused: I could be reading this wrong.:o Are you saying that being married plays a role in our salvation? What happens if you dont get married? Do you see my confusion?

IMHO Marriage has nothing to do with whether or not I believe in Jesus and am saved by Grace through faith. I could certainly do that without ever getting married. Although I am for 16 years:D

Could you please explain what you meant in the above quote?

Thanks

AFH
 
Marriage is one of the ways that God imparts grace. Marriage is a means of holiness. Those that are not married still have many ways to obtain grace but should be exploring their vocational calling. Hope this helps 🙂
 
ALLFORHIM said:
Hi,
Im a little confused:confused: I could be reading this wrong.:o Are you saying that being married plays a role in our salvation? What happens if you dont get married? Do you see my confusion?

IMHO Marriage has nothing to do with whether or not I believe in Jesus and am saved by Grace through faith. I could certainly do that without ever getting married. Although I am for 16 years:D

Could you please explain what you meant in the above quote?

Thanks

AFH
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Sure. First off, let me point out to you that I said the Sacrament of Matrimony is a means of salvation, not the cause of salvation itself, which is our belief in Jesus as Saviour, Redeemer, and Lord, and our subsequent obedience of faith to his Lordship (Romans 1:5, 16:26). Very important distinction.

Anyway, as I stated above, Catholic teaching is that the Sacraments effect what they signify – that there is grace recieved from them that actually does something, not just represents it. For example, the Catholic teaching is that baptism is regenerative, that is, through faith and the action of baptism (water and spirit, John 3:5), it actually removes sin and causes one to be “born again.”

Now, wherever is person is called to serve God, whether it be married, single, clerical or religious, it is in that state of life that a person will work out his salvation in this life (Php 2:12). Whatever one’s state in life, one is given graces by God in order to persevere in the Faith and so reach heaven.

In the Sacrament of Matrimony, therefore, the spouses are given to each other by God to be means of grace to each other: in effect to help one another to heaven. I think the Catechism references I cited above further explain this better than I could.

To a OSAS adherent, I’m sure none of this makes much sense since it involves growth in holiness and salvation as a journey in this life rather than done deal by a simple profession of faith. But this is the biblical and traditional Catholic teaching and has been for 2000 years.

Hope that helps. 🙂
 
Fidelis said:
Sure. First off, let me point out to you that I said the Sacrament of Matrimony is a means of salvation, not the cause of salvation itself, which is our belief in Jesus as Saviour, Redeemer, and Lord, and our subsequent obedience of faith to his Lordship (Romans 1:5, 16:26). Very important distinction.

Anyway, as I stated above, Catholic teaching is that the Sacraments effect what they signify – that there is grace recieved from them that actually does something, not just represents it. For example, the Catholic teaching is that baptism is regenerative, that is, through faith and the action of baptism (water and spirit, John 3:5), it actually removes sin and causes one to be “born again.”

Now, wherever is person is called to serve God, whether it be married, single, clerical or religious, it is in that state of life that a person will work out his salvation in this life (Php 2:12). Whatever one’s state in life, one is given graces by God in order to persevere in the Faith and so reach heaven.

In the Sacrament of Matrimony, therefore, the spouses are given to each other by God to be means of grace to each other: in effect to help one another to heaven. I think the Catechism references I cited above further explain this better than I could.

To a OSAS adherent, I’m sure none of this makes much sense since it involves growth in holiness and salvation as a journey in this life rather than done deal by a simple profession of faith. But this is the biblical and traditional Catholic teaching and has been for 2000 years.

Hope that helps. 🙂
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Hi,
Yes, thank you you have clarified this for me. I understand about growing in holiness through sanctification by God on a daily basis. So even though we have different definitions, we still believe we grow in holiness just not salvation. But that is off topic. So I will not continue with that train of thought.😃

AFH
 
For the some people, Marriage and Penance are considered the same sacrament. 😃
 
“There shall be one Christ loving himself”

This famous quote is very good to meditate on. In fact, a book called, “This Tremendous Lover” by Boylan address it. It has been called the modern day “Introduction to the Devout Life”. The book was written for the lay.
 
Struggle said:
Can someone tell me why marriage is a sacrament?

Thank you!
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Struggle said:
Why did the wedding at Cana elevate marriage to a sacrament?
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You may want to review the concept of marriage as the giving of ones body to serve others namely 1) the spouse, 2) God through procreation, 3) the church through procreation. Marriage began in the Garden of Eden. Jesus affirmed Marriage by his presents and cooperative action at Cana. Marriage imparts some grace to the participants because they surrender much of their body and life to perform the procreation function.

www.usccb.org/prolife/issues/nfp/Marriageasasacrament.pdf
 
ALLFORHIM said:
Hi,
Im a little confused:confused: I could be reading this wrong.:o Are you saying that being married plays a role in our salvation? What happens if you dont get married? Do you see my confusion?

IMHO Marriage has nothing to do with whether or not I believe in Jesus and am saved by Grace through faith. I could certainly do that without ever getting married. Although I am for 16 years:D

Could you please explain what you meant in the above quote?

Thanks

AFH
Click to expand...
For Catholics, part of our salvation is the process of sanctification, where God makes us holy. In heaven, we will be perfect, and have no sinful tendancies. Now naturally, this is a process; it does not happen overnight. God accomplishes this process for individuals in different ways; but for many people (not all, by any means) is through the Sacrament of Marriage.
St. Francis de Sales said “Marriage is the most difficult of all the holy vocations; it requires constant self-mortification.” For clarity, vocation means “a holy calling from God,” and self-mortification means “to die to yourself.” St. Francis de Sales says that marriage forces a person to overcome their selfish tendencies and desires for the good of their family. Think of a nursing mother. Her baby cries at 3:00 AM night after night, disturbing the mother’s sleep. Yet, despite this, she wakes herself up to feed and care for our child. At that moment, the mother is learning to love as Christ loved us. In this way, marriage helps to sanctify a person.
For those who are not called to perfection, such as priests and religious (nuns and brothers), God provides other means to bring them to sanctification. A diocesean priest (a priest who has a parish) must make constant sacrifices for the good of his parishoners, for example. Marriage is NOT necessary for a person to become holy or to become a saint. However, it is one of the more common ways which God provides. In the Sacrament of Matromony, God provides the grace for a couple to become holy; and to represent the marriage of Christ to His Church to the world.
 
Ok, I am really not trying to be difficult here! I just wish to understand as much as I can so that when I get caught in a conversation with my Protestant friends I can speak with confidence.
So, why don’t they beleive marriage is a sacrament and only baptism and confirmation are?
 
I am reading constantly on the topic, but sometimes it is easy for me to learn when I can ask qs. I so appreciate your help!
 
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