Sacrament of marriage?

[Barb_Ust]

Hi I was in a conversation tonight about marriage. I know (or at least, thought I knew) that sacraments are “viable signs, instituted by Christ, that give grace”.

It is my understanding that Marriage is a little different, meaning "not instituted by Christ, but “elevated by Christ as a sacrament” I was asked to name exact examples of this in the Bible, my first thought was the wedding at Cana, but that just didn’t seem right. I told my friend that I will find out exactly, as I was not comfortable with the possibility of getting this wrong, she respected that, but will most definitely want an answer.

Thanks as always!

 

[Fr.Charles_Grondin]

Marriage existed before the Incarnation. It existed all the way back to the first human beings (Genesis 1:28; 2:22-24). That is why Jesus says: "“Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, no human being must separate.” (Matthew 19:4-6).

So marriage as a plan of God was not instituted by Jesus’ ministry on earth, it already existed. However Christian marriage, as a sacrament, differs from natural marriage in that it cannot be dissolved. The indissoluble Christian sacrament of marriage is a sign of Christ’s commitment to His Church.