Section One - Conjugal Society
Chapter 3
Christian marriage is a sacrament
1102. Conjugal society between individuals who belong to the perfect theocratic society is divinised by the divine Head of this society and receives the nature of a sacrament (cf. 752, 906-907, 1089, 1091-1092).
The love of Jesus Christ for his Church is communicated to Christians when they unite in marriage. It perfects their natural love, as the Council of Trent says.
1103. The love which Christ bears towards his disciples affects the union between spouses and renders it purer, fuller and more indissoluble. This is the grace of the sacrament.
The Council states:
| Christ himself, who instituted and put into effect these venerated sacraments, merited for us with his passion the grace which PERFECTED THAT NATURAL LOVE, confirmed its indissoluble unity and sanctified the spouses. St. Paul refers to this when he says: `Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her', and adds immediately `This mystery [sacrament] is a profound one, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the Church.'(51) |
Marriage, therefore, acquires a new and greater kind of indissolubility. The sacramental union is formed by God himself,and human beings, as we said, cannot impede or weaken divine operations, nor impede or annul their effect.(52)
Notes
(51) Sess. 24.
(52) St. Alphonus Liguori explains this teaching in the following way: `St. Augustine (L. de Bono Conjug., c. 24) shows that marriages are ratified because they are sacraments where he says: "For the pagans the good of marriage lies in the way it leads to generation; for the people of God its good lies in the way it leads to holiness." Again (c. 8): "In our marriage, the holiness of the sacrament is of greater worth than fertility of the womb." "This," as he says in c. 7, "explains the indissoluble bond. Marriage amongst the faithful would not have such firmness if the notion of sacrament were not included. I do not think it could be of such worth without reference to some kind of sacrament. Nor, indeed, except in the city of our God, is there such relationship (namely the indissolubility of the sacrament) with one's wife." This is shown more clearly in c. 4, De divort. where Innocent III says: "Even though true marriage exists amongst the pagans, it is not ratified. Amongst the faithful, marriage is both true and ratified because the sacrament of faith, which is admitted once, is never lost but makes the sacrament of marriage ratified (note) so that marriage lasts in the spouses as long as the sacrament lasts".' (Tract. de Matrim. c. 2, dub. 1).