Matrimony
1626 The Church holds the exchange
of consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes
the marriage."127 If consent is lacking there is no marriage.
1627 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."128 This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh."129
1628 The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear.130 No human power can substitute for this consent.131 If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid.
1629 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.132 In this case the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged.133
The marriage is declared nullified and therefore ceases to exist
Adultery- infidelity of a partner in marriage to his or her spouse through the act of sex with a person the partner is not married to.
Annulment- A term in matrimony that means the marriage was invalid or never existed
Purpose of Marriage- Unity- the marriage must be unifying meaning the consent comes from both persons and if a child is born the child will learn who God is through male and female perspectives. Procreation- Sex in marriage must be open to creation and procreative meaning nothing can obstruct the reproductive organs such as contraception or should the organs be used in other ways such as oral or anal penetration.
Scriptural Basis of Marriage- Genesis 1:22, “be fruitful and multiply”-Procreation
1602 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."(Revelation 19:7, 9)
85 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.86 (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Rites for celebrating marriage-
1621 In the Latin Rite the celebration of marriage between two Catholic faithful normally takes place during Holy Mass, because of the connection of all the sacraments with the Paschal mystery of Christ. [Cf. SC 61] 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. [Cf. LG 6] 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. [Cf. 1 Cor 10:17]
1622 "…It is therefore appropriate for the bride and groom to prepare themselves for the celebration of their marriage by receiving the sacrament of penance.
1623 In the Latin Church, it is ordinarily understood that the spouses, as ministers of Christ's grace, mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their consent before the Church. In the Eastern liturgies the minister of this sacrament (which is called "Crowning") is the priest or bishop who, after receiving the mutual consent of the spouses, successively crowns the bridegroom and the bride as a sign of the marriage covenant.
1624 The various liturgies abound in prayers of blessing and epiclesis asking God's grace and blessing on the new couple, especially the bride. In the epiclesis of this sacrament the spouses receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church. [Cf. Eph 5:32] The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their love and the strength to renew their fidelity. (Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Grace-
“Since the sacrament of Matrimony is to be a reflection of the
selfless love of Christ for His Church, the principal grace of this sacrament
is the gift of selfless love.
Christ our Lord has abundantly blessed this
love, which is rich in its various features, coming as it does from the spring
of divine love and modeled on Christ’s own union with the Church. 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 Marriage. He abides in them in order that by their mutual
self-giving, spouses will love each other with enduring fidelity, as He loved
the Church and delivered Himself for her….
Marriage and married love are, by nature,
ordered to the procreation and education of children . . . true married love
and the whole structure of family life which results from it is directed to
disposing the spouses to cooperate valiantly with the love of the Creator and
Savior, who through them will increase and enrich His family from day to day (The
Church in the Modern World, 50).
The Church has summarized the graces of the sacrament of Marriage
in two terms: “procreative love” and
“unitive love.”
By the grace of unitive love, married spouses are given
supernatural light and strength to remain united and grow in their mutual
charity all the days of their lives. But they also receive the grace to share
their very being with others, who are not yet conceived or born. Their love is,
therefore, also procreative, going outside themselves to the children that God
wants to send them. After the children are brought into the world, the
sacrament further enables father and mother to provide for the bodily and
spiritual needs of their offspring. (The Real Presence)
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