The Sacrament of Matrimony is the lifelong commitment through which a baptized man and woman express their consent to live together as husband and wife. Through this Sacrament, they receive the grace to love one another unconditionally and be faithful in their marriage. The essential elements are the free and full consent of the spouses, their fidelity for life, and openness to children. The effects include strengthening their union, raising children in faith, and witnessing to the community. Divorce is not recognized, as what God has joined cannot be separated by humans.

1. Matrimony
The Sacrament in
which a baptized man
and a baptized woman
make a lifelong
commitment of
themselves to each
other as husband and
wife and through
which they are given
the grace to live out
the commitment.

2. The Sacrament in which a baptized man and a baptized woman
make a lifelong commitment of themselves to each other as
husband and wife and through which they are given the grace
to live out the commitment.
Efficacious signs of
grace
Sacraments are:
Efficacious: having the
power to produce a desired
effect
The visible rites by which the
sacraments are celebrated signify and
make present the graces proper to each
sacrament. They bear fruit in those who
receive them with the required
dispositions*. CCC 1131
God’s life in us!
1

3. Efficacious signs of
grace, instituted by
Christ and entrusted to
the Church
The Sacrament in which a baptized man and a baptized woman
make a lifelong commitment of themselves to each other as
husband and wife and through which they are given the grace
to live out the commitment.
GOD himself created marriage!
“Man and woman are “made
for each other”. The Lord
God said: “It is not good
for the man to be alone, I
will make a suitable partner
for him” (Gn 2:19-20)
“That is why a man leaves his father and
mother and clings to his wife, and the two
become one body” (Gn 2:24)
2

4. 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.'” CCC 1604
Theology of the Body

5. Christ began his public life and mission by changing
the water into wine during a wedding at Cana! (Jn 2)
Christ entrusted the Church
to Peter and through
Apostolic Succession, the
Holy Spirit has guided the
Church to the present day.
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. CCC 1615
Because of the Paschal mystery,
marriage is now a Sacrament!

6. Efficacious signs of
grace, instituted by
Christ and entrusted to
the Church by which
divine life is dispensed
to us
The Sacrament in which a baptized man and a baptized woman
make a lifelong commitment of themselves to each other as
husband and wife and through which they are given the grace
to live out the commitment.
The visible rites by
which the sacraments
are celebrated signify
and make present the
graces proper to each
sacrament. They bear
fruit in those who
receive them with the
required dispositions*.
CCC 1131
Grace = God’s life in us
3

7. *It is appropriate for the
bride and groom to
prepare for the
celebration of their
marriage by receiving the
sacrament of penance.

8. The Sacrament in which a baptized man and a baptized woman
make a lifelong commitment of themselves to each other as husband
and wife and through which they are given the grace to live out
the commitment.
Natural Vs Supernatural
Eros
Philia
Agape

9. Celebration of the Sacrament
For couples where
one member is not
Catholic, the
Sacrament is
generally
celebrated within
the Liturgy of the
Word
Both Catholic = During the Mass
Marriage is public act
which requires a
liturgical celebration

10. In the Eucharist the memorial of the New Covenant is
realized, the New Covenant in which Christ has united
himself for ever to the Church, his beloved bride for
whom he gave himself up.
It is therefore fitting that the
spouses should seal their
consent to give themselves to
each other through the offering
of their own lives by uniting it to
the offering of Christ for his
Church made present in the
Eucharistic sacrifice, and by
receiving the Eucharist so that,
communicating in the same Body
and the same Blood of Christ,
they may form but "one body" in
Christ.

11. Minister of the Sacrament
The bride and groom in the presence of
the Church’s representative

12. Requirements for Reception
Able and willing to give free consent
No prior bond or
other impediments

13. Essential Elements
4) Consent given in the
presence of the Church’s
minister and two
witnesses
1) Free consent of the couple
2) Promise to live in an exclusive life-long
faithful commitment to each other
3) Openness to the gift of children from God.

14. Effects of the Sacrament
1. Grace to love each other unselfishly, as
Christ has loved us.
2. Grace to strengthen the unending nature of
their union.

15. 3. The man and woman who marry are both given
the help to raise their children in faith and love.
4. The witness of married
couples strengthens the
community of the Church
and the fabric of society.
The Domestic Church
Family is the basic
unit of society!

16. Teachings about Divorce and
Remarriage
The Sacrament in which a baptized man and a baptized woman
make a lifelong commitment of themselves to each other as
husband and wife and through which they are given the grace
to live out the commitment.
“What God has joined together, no
human being must separate”
Mt 19:6

17. 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.” CCC 1614
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. CCC 1615

18. “ Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ loved the Church and handed
himself over for her to sanctify her…”
Eph 5:25-26
Jesus comes into the life of married baptized Christians
through the Sacrament of Matrimony. The fruits of the
sacrament remain; Jesus remains present with the couple
through their entire marriage. In the same way he loves
the Church and handed himself over to the Church in his
life, Death and Resurrection, husbands and wives love
each other with faithfulness that does not end until death,
through the daily giving of themselves to the other.

19. Able and willing to give free consent
No prior bond or other impediments
The consent consists in a "human act by which the
partners mutually give themselves to each other":
"I take you to be my wife" - "I take you to be my
husband.".” This consent that binds the spouses to
each other finds its fulfillment in the two
"becoming one flesh”. CCC 1627
The Church holds the exchange of consent
between the spouses to be the indispensable
element that "makes the marriage.” If
consent is lacking there is no marriage.**
CCC 1626

20. What is an annulment?
For this reason (or for other reasons that render the
marriage null and void) the Church, after an
examination of the situation by the competent
ecclesiastical tribunal, can declare the nullity of a
marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed. In
this case the contracting parties are free to marry,
provided the natural obligations of a previous union
are discharged. CCC 1629
The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting
parties, free of coercion or grave external fear. No human power
can substitute for this consent. If this freedom is lacking the
marriage is invalid. CCC 1628

21. CONTRACT MARRIAGE COVENANT MARRIAGE
Terms based upon the compliance of the other
person. Example: I will love you if you love me. I
will be faithful if you will be faithful.
Terms based upon a promise given to comply.
Example: I will love you. I will be faithful.
Failure to comply releases the other party from
the agreement. Example: Since you don't love me,
I don't love you. Since you haven't been faithful to
me, I don't have to be faithful to you.
Your failure to comply does not change my
promise to comply. Example: Even though you
don't love me, I still love you. Even if you're not
faithful, I will remain faithful.
Contract marriage is over when promises are
completed or broken. Example: Since you did not
fulfill your end of the deal, our contract is broken.
You are released from your contract.
A covenant marriage is over when the one
making the promise dies. Example: The duration
of our covenant is "until death".
Contract marriage maintains separate
belongings. Example: This is my car, this is money.
He is your son.
All belongings are held in common by both
covenant partners. Example: This is our money,
my step-son is now our son.
Witnessed by the state. Example: getting married
in front of a justice of the peace.
Witnessed by God. Example: getting married in a
Church before God and the community
Is an exchange of goods and services. Example: I
will mow the grass and you will do the cooking.
Is an exchange of people. Example: I am yours
and you are mine.
Typically ratified by a signature. Example: I
signed a contract with CapitalOne to pay off my
car loan.
Typically ratified through “cutting a covenant.”
In ancient times, those entering into an agreement
with each other would slay an animal and cut the
parts of it in half. They would lay the halves along
a path, then walk in the midst of the path to cement
the agreement. This was symbolic of the fact that
the success of the covenant was contingent upon
each performing his part of the bargain.
Examples:
1. prostitution vs.
2. indentured servitude vs.
3. babysitting vs.
Examples:
 marriage
 kinship
 parenting