SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

PURPOSE

►Catechism of the Catholic Church #1601-1602
 
"The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament."
 
Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of "the wedding-feast of the Lamb." Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its "mystery," its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal "in the Lord" in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.
 
Please explore the lower sidebar for a CCC link, a printer friendly USCCB document and a video by Busted Halo, all related to this grace-filled Sacrament!
 

FAITH DOCTRINE REFERENCES

►CATECHISM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
 
MATRIMONY / MARRIAGE REFERENCES
Marriage (Matrimony)
 
bond is perpetual and exclusive, 1638
conjugal fidelity, 1646, 1648-49, 2364
consummation of, 1640
divorce of separated persons about to remarry civilly, 1650
effects of, 1638-42
freedom to contract, 1625, 1628-29
in God's plan, 1601
goods and requirements of conjugal love, 1643
greatness of, 1603
matrimonial chastity, 2349
mixed marriages and disparity of cult, 1633-37
nullity of, 1629
in the order of creation, 1603-05
in the preaching of the apostle Paul, 1616
in the preaching of Jesus, 1612-15
renouncing, 1618
in Sacred Scripture, 1602
as a sign of the covenant of Christ and the Church, 1617
under the pedagogy of the Law, 1609-11
under the regime of sin, 1606-08
sexuality in marriage and its significance, 2360-62 (see also Sexuality)
See also Divorce; Sacrament(s)
fecundity, 2366-72, 2373-779
        and adoption of children, 2379
        children as the gift of, 2378
        as cooperation with the love of God, the Creator, 2367
        openness to, 1652-54
        periodic continence and the regulation of birth, 2370
        and procreation to be regulated, 2368
        sterility
                as a great suffering, 2374
                and medical techniques, 2375-77
                and significance of conjugal life, 1654
purposes of marriage
        cooperation with the Creator's work, 372
        directed toward the salvation of others, 1534
        good of the spouses, 1660
        as man's vocation, 372, 1604-05
        procreation and education of offspring, 1652-53, 2366
        transmission of life, 372, 2363
indissolubility of marriage, 1644-45
        fidelity of conjugal love, 1646-48
        the marriage bond, 1639-40
        marriage in the words of Jesus, 1614-15
        matrimonial consent, 1625
                as an essential element, 1626
                as the foundation of the indissolubility of marriage, 1601, 1627, 2367
        nullity of marriage, 1629
        as a requirement of conjugal love, 1644
        significance and nature of matrimonial consent, 1627-28
        transmission of faith in the domestic Church, 1656
        unity and marriage in the Old Law, 1610-11
as a sacrament, 1601-58
        celebration of, 1621-24, 1627
        as consecration, 1535
        ecclesiastical form of celebrating, 1630-31
        grace of the sacrament of, 1641-42
        main effects of, 1638-40, 2365
        mixed marriage and disparity of cult, 1633-37
        preparation for, 1632
        raised to the dignity of a sacrament, 1601
offenses against the dignity of, 2380-91
        adultery, 2380-81
        divorce, 2382-86
        free union and concubinage, 2390
        incest, 2388
        polygamy, 1645, 2387
        sexual relations contracted before marriage, 2391
 
Marriages, trial, 2391
 
Married couple
 
fidelity and, 2364
harmony of the married couple and physical complementarity, 2333
human sterility and, 2374, 2377
marriage and, 1603, 1624, 1636, 1642, 2363