ARTICLE 7 - THE SACRAMENT OF
MATRIMONY
1601 "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."[84]
I. MARRIAGE IN GOD'S PLAN
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."[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]
Marriage in the order of creation
1603 "The intimate community of life and love which constitutes the married state has
been established by the Creator and endowed by him with its own proper laws.... God
himself is the author of marriage."[87] The vocation to marriage is written in the very
nature of man and woman as they came from the hand of the Creator. Marriage is not a
purely human institution despite the many variations it may have undergone through the
centuries in different cultures, social structures, and spiritual attitudes. These differences
should not cause us to forget its common and permanent characteristics. Although the
dignity of this institution is not transparent everywhere with the same clarity,[88] some
sense of the greatness of the matrimonial union exists in all cultures. "The well-being of
the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with
the healthy state of conjugal and family life."[89]
1604 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.[90] 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.'"[91]
1605 Holy Scripture affirms that man and woman were created for one another: "It is
not good that the man should be alone."[92] The woman, "flesh of his flesh," his equal,
his nearest in all things, is given to him by God as a "helpmate"; she thus represents God
from whom comes our help.[93] "Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and
cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh."[94] The Lord himself shows that this
signifies an unbreakable union of their two lives by recalling what the plan of the Creator
had been "in the beginning": "So they are no longer two, but one flesh."[95]
Marriage under the regime of sin
1606 Every man experiences evil around him and within himself. This experience makes
itself felt in the relationships between man and woman. Their union has always been
threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can
escalate into hatred and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely,
and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and
individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character.
1607 According to faith the disorder we notice so painfully does not stem from the
nature of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from sin. As a
break with God, the first sin had for its first consequence the rupture of the original
communion between man and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual
recriminations;[96] their mutual attraction, the Creator's own gift, changed into a
relationship of domination and lust;[97] and the beautiful vocation of man and woman
to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth was burdened by the pain of childbirth and
the toil of work.[98]
1608 Nevertheless, the order of creation persists, though seriously disturbed. To heal the
wounds of sin, man and woman need the help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy
never refuses them.[99] Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of
their lives for which God created them "in the beginning."
Marriage under the pedagogy of the Law
1609 In his mercy God has not forsaken sinful man. The punishments consequent upon
sin, "pain in childbearing" and toil "in the sweat of your brow,"[100] also embody
remedies that limit the damaging effects of sin. After the fall, marriage helps to
overcome self-absorption, egoism, pursuit of one's own pleasure, and to open oneself to
the other, to mutual aid and to self-giving.
1610 Moral conscience concerning the unity and indissolubility of marriage developed
under the pedagogy of the old law. In the Old Testament the polygamy of patriarchs and
kings is not yet explicitly rejected. Nevertheless, the law given to Moses aims at
protecting the wife from arbitrary domination by the husband, even though according to
the Lord's words it still carries traces of man's "hardness of heart" which was the reason
Moses permitted men to divorce their wives.[101]
1611 Seeing God's covenant with Israel in the image of exclusive and faithful married
love, the prophets prepared the Chosen People's conscience for a deepened
understanding of the unity and indissolubility of marriage.[102] The books of Ruth and
Tobit bear moving witness to an elevated sense of marriage and to the fidelity and
tenderness of spouses. Tradition has always seen in the Song of Solomon a unique
expression of human love, insofar as it is a reflection of God's love - a love "strong as
death" that "many waters cannot quench."[103]
Marriage in the Lord
1612 The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for
the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate and
giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus
preparing for "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."[104]
1613 On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign - at his mother's
request - during a wedding feast.[105] The Church attaches great importance to Jesus'
presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of
marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of
Christ's presence.
1614 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.[106] 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."[107]
1615 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.[108] 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.[109] This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's cross,
the source of all Christian life.
1616 This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: "Husbands, love your
wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify
her," adding at once: "'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. This is a great mystery, and I mean in
reference to Christ and the Church."[110]
1617 The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the
Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so
to speak the nuptial bath[111] which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist.
Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant
of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between
baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.[112]
Virginity for the sake of the Kingdom
1618 Christ is the center of all Christian life. The bond with him takes precedence over
all other bonds, familial or social.[113] From the very beginning of the Church there
have been men and women who have renounced the great good of marriage to follow
the Lamb wherever he goes, to be intent on the things of the Lord, to seek to please
him, and to go out to meet the Bridegroom who is coming.[114] Christ himself has
invited certain persons to follow him in this way of life, of which he remains the model:
"For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have
been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs
for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to receive this, let him receive
it."[115]
1619 Virginity for the sake of the kingdom of heaven is an unfolding of baptismal grace,
a powerful sign of the supremacy of the bond with Christ and of the ardent expectation
of his return, a sign which also recalls that marriage is a reality of this present age which
is passing away.[116]
1620 Both the sacrament of Matrimony and virginity for the Kingdom of God come
from the Lord himself. It is he who gives them meaning and grants them the grace
which is indispensable for living them out in conformity with his will.[117] Esteem of
virginity for the sake of the kingdom[118] and the Christian understanding of marriage
are inseparable, and they reinforce each other:
Whoever denigrates marriage also diminishes the glory of virginity. Whoever praises it
makes virginity more admirable and resplendent. What appears good only in
comparison with evil would not be truly good. The most excellent good is something
even better than what is admitted to be good.[119]
II. THE CELEBRATION OF 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.[120] 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.[121] 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.[122]
1622 "Inasmuch as it is a sacramental action of sanctification, the liturgical celebration of
marriage . . . must be, per se, valid, worthy, and fruitful."[123] 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 According to the Latin tradition, 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 traditions of the Eastern Churches, the priests (bishops or presbyters)
are witnesses to the mutual consent given by the spouses,[NT1] but for the validity of
the sacrament their blessing is also necessary.[NT 2]
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.[124] The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of
their love and the strength to renew their fidelity.
III. MATRIMONIAL CONSENT
1625 The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized man and woman, free to contract
marriage, who freely express their consent; "to be free" means:
- not being under constraint;
- not impeded by any natural or ecclesiastical law.
1626 The Church holds the exchange of consent between the spouses to be the
indispensable element that "makes the marriage."[125] 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."[126] This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds its fulfillment in
the two "becoming one flesh."[127]
1628 The consent must be an act of the will of each of the contracting parties, free of
coercion or grave external fear.[128] No human power can substitute for this
consent.[129] 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.[130] In this
case the contracting parties are free to marry, provided the natural obligations of a
previous union are discharged.[131]
1630 The priest (or deacon) who assists at the celebration of a marriage receives the
consent of the spouses in the name of the Church and gives the blessing of the Church.
The presence of the Church's minister (and also of the witnesses) visibly expresses the
fact that marriage is an ecclesial reality.
1631 This is the reason why the Church normally requires that the faithful contract
marriage according to the ecclesiastical form. Several reasons converge to explain this
requirement:[132]
- Sacramental marriage is a liturgical act. It is therefore appropriate that it should be
celebrated in the public liturgy of the Church;
- Marriage introduces one into an ecclesial order, and creates rights and duties in the
Church between the spouses and towards their children; - Since marriage is a state of
life in the Church, certainty about it is necessary (hence the obligation to have
witnesses);
- The public character of the consent protects the "I do" once given and helps the
spouses remain faithful to it.
1632 So that the "I do" of the spouses may be a free and responsible act and so that the
marriage covenant may have solid and lasting human and Christian foundations,
preparation for marriage is of prime importance.
The example and teaching given by parents and families remain the special form of this
preparation.
The role of pastors and of the Christian community as the "family of God" is
indispensable for the transmission of the human and Christian values of marriage and
family,[133] and much more so in our era when many young people experience broken
homes which no longer sufficiently assure this initiation:
It is imperative to give suitable and timely instruction to young people, above all in the
heart of their own families, about the dignity of married love, its role and its exercise, so
that, having learned the value of chastity, they will be able at a suitable age to engage in
honorable courtship and enter upon a marriage of their own.[134]
Mixed marriages and disparity of cult
1633 In many countries the situation of a mixed marriage (marriage between a Catholic
and a baptized non-Catholic) often arises. It requires particular attention on the part of
couples and their pastors. A case of marriage with disparity of cult (between a Catholic
and a nonbaptized person) requires even greater circumspection.
1634 Difference of confession between the spouses does not constitute an
insurmountable obstacle for marriage, when they succeed in placing in common what
they have received from their respective communities, and learn from each other the
way in which each lives in fidelity to Christ. But the difficulties of mixed marriages must
not be underestimated. They arise from the fact that the separation of Christians has not
yet been overcome. The spouses risk experiencing the tragedy of Christian disunity even
in the heart of their own home. Disparity of cult can further aggravate these difficulties.
Differences about faith and the very notion of marriage, but also different religious
mentalities, can become sources of tension in marriage, especially as regards the
education of children. The temptation to religious indifference can then arise.
1635 According to the law in force in the Latin Church, a mixed marriage needs for
liceity the express permission of ecclesiastical authority.[135] In case of disparity of cult
an express dispensation from this impediment is required for the validity of the
marriage.[136] This permission or dispensation presupposes that both parties know and
do not exclude the essential ends and properties of marriage ; and furthermore that the
Catholic party confirms the obligations, which have been made known to the non-
Catholic party, of preserving his or her own faith and ensuring the baptism and
education of the children in the Catholic Church.[137]
1636 Through ecumenical dialogue Christian communities in many regions have been
able to put into effect a common pastoral practice for mixed marriages. Its task is to help
such couples live out their particular situation in the light of faith, overcome the tensions
between the couple's obligations to each other and towards their ecclesial communities,
and encourage the flowering of what is common to them in faith and respect for what
separates them.
1637 In marriages with disparity of cult the Catholic spouse has a particular task: "For
the unbelieving husband is consecrated through his wife, and the unbelieving wife is
consecrated through her husband."[138] It is a great joy for the Christian spouse and for
the Church if this "consecration" should lead to the free conversion of the other spouse
to the Christian faith.[139] Sincere married love, the humble and patient practice of the
family virtues, and perseverance in prayer can prepare the non-believing spouse to
accept the grace of conversion.
IV. THE EFFECTS OF THE SACRAMENT OF
MATRIMONY
1638 "From a valid marriage arises a bond between the spouses which by its very nature
is perpetual and exclusive; furthermore, in a Christian marriage the spouses are
strengthened and, as it were, consecrated for the duties and the dignity of their state by a
special sacrament."[140]
The marriage bond
1639 The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed
by God himself.[141] From their covenant arises "an institution, confirmed by the divine
law, . . . even in the eyes of society."[142] The covenant between the spouses is
integrated into God's covenant with man: "Authentic married love is caught up into
divine love."[143]
1640 Thus the marriage bond has been established by God himself in such a way that a
marriage concluded and consummated between baptized persons can never be
dissolved. This bond, which results from the free human act of the spouses and their
consummation of the marriage, is a reality, henceforth irrevocable, and gives rise to a
covenant guaranteed by God's fidelity. The Church does not have the power to
contravene this disposition of divine wisdom.[144]
The grace of the sacrament of Matrimony
1641 "By reason of their state in life and of their order, [Christian spouses] have their
own special gifts in the People of God."[145] This grace proper to the sacrament of
Matrimony is intended to perfect the couple's love and to strengthen their indissoluble
unity. By this grace they "help one another to attain holiness in their married life and in
welcoming and educating their children."[146]
1642 Christ is the source of this grace. "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 Matrimony."[147] Christ dwells with them,
gives them the strength to take up their crosses and so follow him, to rise again after
they have fallen, to forgive one another, to bear one another's burdens, to "be subject to
one another out of reverence for Christ,"[148] and to love one another with
supernatural, tender, and fruitful love. In the joys of their love and family life he gives
them here on earth a foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb:
How can I ever express the happiness of a marriage joined by the Church, strengthened
by an offering, sealed by a blessing, announced by angels, and ratified by the Father? . . .
How wonderful the bond between two believers, now one in hope, one in desire, one
in discipline, one in the same service! They are both children of one Father and servants
of the same Master, undivided in spirit and flesh, truly two in one flesh. Where the flesh
is one, one also is the spirit.[149]
V. THE GOODS AND REQUIREMENTS OF
CONJUGAL LOVE
1643 "Conjugal love involves a totality, in which all the elements of the person enter -
appeal of the body and instinct, power of feeling and affectivity, aspiration of the spirit
and of will. It aims at a deeply personal unity, a unity that, beyond union in one flesh,
leads to forming one heart and soul; it demands indissolubility and faithfulness in
definitive mutual giving; and it is open to fertility. In a word it is a question of the
normal characteristics of all natural conjugal love, but with a new significance which not
only purifies and strengthens them, but raises them to the extent of making them the
expression of specifically Christian values."[150]
The unity and indissolubility of marriage
1644 The love of the spouses requires, of its very nature, the unity and indissolubility of
the spouses' community of persons, which embraces their entire life: "so they are no
longer two, but one flesh."[151] They "are called to grow continually in their
communion through day-to-day fidelity to their marriage promise of total mutual selfgiving."[
152] This human communion is confirmed, purified, and completed by
communion in Jesus Christ, given through the sacrament of Matrimony. It is deepened
by lives of the common faith and by the Eucharist received together.
1645 "The unity of marriage, distinctly recognized by our Lord, is made clear in the
equal personal dignity which must be accorded to man and wife in mutual and
unreserved affection."[153] Polygamy is contrary to conjugal love which is undivided
and exclusive.[154]
The fidelity of conjugal love
1646 By its very nature conjugal love requires the inviolable fidelity of the spouses. This
is the consequence of the gift of themselves which they make to each other. Love seeks
to be definitive; it cannot be an arrangement "until further notice." The "intimate union
of marriage, as a mutual giving of two persons, and the good of the children, demand
total fidelity from the spouses and require an unbreakable union between them."[155]
1647 The deepest reason is found in the fidelity of God to his covenant, in that of Christ
to his Church. Through the sacrament of Matrimony the spouses are enabled to
represent this fidelity and witness to it. Through the sacrament, the indissolubility of
marriage receives a new and deeper meaning.
1648 It can seem difficult, even impossible, to bind oneself for life to another human
being. This makes it all the more important to proclaim the Good News that God loves
us with a definitive and irrevocable love, that married couples share in this love, that it
supports and sustains them, and that by their own faithfulness they can be witnesses to
God's faithful love. Spouses who with God's grace give this witness, often in very
difficult conditions, deserve the gratitude and support of the ecclesial community.[156]
1649 Yet there are some situations in which living together becomes practically
impossible for a variety of reasons. In such cases the Church permits the physical
separation of the couple and their living apart. The spouses do not cease to be husband
and wife before God and so are not free to contract a new union. In this difficult
situation, the best solution would be, if possible, reconciliation. The Christian
community is called to help these persons live out their situation in a Christian manner
and in fidelity to their marriage bond which remains indissoluble.[157]
1650 Today there are numerous Catholics in many countries who have recourse to civil
divorce and contract new civil unions. In fidelity to the words of Jesus Christ -
"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another, commits adultery against her; and if
she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery"[158] the Church
maintains that a new union cannot be recognized as valid, if the first marriage was. If the
divorced are remarried civilly, they find themselves in a situation that objectively
contravenes God's law. Consequently, they cannot receive Eucharistic communion as
long as this situation persists. For the same reason, they cannot exercise certain ecclesial
responsibilities. Reconciliation through the sacrament of Penance can be granted only to
those who have repented for having violated the sign of the covenant and of fidelity to
Christ, and who are committed to living in complete continence.
1651 Toward Christians who live in this situation, and who often keep the faith and
desire to bring up their children in a Christian manner, priests and the whole community
must manifest an attentive solicitude, so that they do not consider themselves separated
from the Church, in whose life they can and must participate as baptized persons:
They should be encouraged to listen to the Word of God, to attend the Sacrifice of the
Mass, to persevere in prayer, to contribute to works of charity and to community
efforts for justice, to bring up their children in the Christian faith, to cultivate the spirit
and practice of penance and thus implore, day by day, God's grace.[159]
The openness to fertility
1652 "By its very nature the institution of marriage and married love is ordered to the
procreation and education of the offspring and it is in them that it finds its crowning
glory."[160]
Children are the supreme gift of marriage and contribute greatly to the good of the
parents themselves. God himself said: "It is not good that man should be alone," and
"from the beginning [he] made them male and female"; wishing to associate them in a
special way in his own creative work, God blessed man and woman with the words: "Be
fruitful and multiply." Hence, true married love and the whole structure of family life
which results from it, without diminishment of the other ends of marriage, are 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.[161]
1653 The fruitfulness of conjugal love extends to the fruits of the moral, spiritual, and
supernatural life that parents hand on to their children by education. Parents are the
principal and first educators of their children.[162] In this sense the fundamental task of
marriage and family is to be at the service of life.[163]
1654 Spouses to whom God has not granted children can nevertheless have a conjugal
life full of meaning, in both human and Christian terms. Their marriage can radiate a
fruitfulness of charity, of hospitality, and of sacrifice.
VI. THE DOMESTIC CHURCH
1655 Christ chose to be born and grow up in the bosom of the holy family of Joseph
and Mary. The Church is nothing other than "the family of God." From the beginning,
the core of the Church was often constituted by those who had become believers
"together with all [their] household."[164] When they were converted, they desired that
"their whole household" should also be saved.[165] These families who became
believers were islands of Christian life in an unbelieving world.
1656 In our own time, in a world often alien and even hostile to faith, believing families
are of primary importance as centers of living, radiant faith. For this reason the Second
Vatican Council, using an ancient expression, calls the family the Ecclesia
domestica.[166] It is in the bosom of the family that parents are "by word and example .
. . the first heralds of the faith with regard to their children. They should encourage them
in the vocation which is proper to each child, fostering with special care any religious
vocation."[167]
1657 It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the
family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way "by the reception of
the sacraments, prayer and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and
active charity."[168] Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and "a school for
human enrichment."[169] Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love,
generous - even repeated - forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the
offering of one's life.
1658 We must also remember the great number of single persons who, because of the
particular circumstances in which they have to live - often not of their choosing - are
especially close to Jesus' heart and therefore deserve the special affection and active
solicitude of the Church, especially of pastors. Many remain without a human family
often due to conditions of poverty. Some live their situation in the spirit of the
Beatitudes, serving God and neighbor in exemplary fashion. The doors of homes, the
"domestic churches," and of the great family which is the Church must be open to all of
them. "No one is without a family in this world: the Church is a home and family for
everyone, especially those who 'labor and are heavy laden.'"[170]
IN BRIEF
1659 St. Paul said: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church.... This is a
great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church" (Eph 5:25, 32).
1660 The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an
intimate communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own
special laws by the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as
well as to the generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage
between the baptized to the dignity of a sacrament (cf. CIC, can. 1055 # 1; cf. GS 48 #
1).
1661 The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It gives
spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has loved his
Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of the spouses,
strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the way to eternal life (cf.
Council of Trent: DS 1799).
1662 Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their will to
give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order to live a covenant
of faithful and fruitful love.
1663 Since marriage establishes the couple in a public state of life in the Church, it is
fitting that its celebration be public, in the framework of a liturgical celebration, before
the priest (or a witness authorized by the Church), the witnesses, and the assembly of the
faithful.
1664 Unity, indissolubility, and openness to fertility are essential to marriage. Polygamy
is incompatible with the unity of marriage; divorce separates what God has joined
together; the refusal of fertility turns married life away from its "supreme gift," the child
(GS 50 # 1).
1665 The remarriage of persons divorced from a living, lawful spouse contravenes the
plan and law of God as taught by Christ. They are not separated from the Church, but
they cannot receive Eucharistic communion. They will lead Christian lives especially by
educating their children in the faith.
1666 The Christian home is the place where children receive the first proclamation of
the faith. For this reason the family home is rightly called "the domestic church," a
community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity.
CHAPTER FOUR
OTHER LITURGICAL CELEBRATIONS
ARTICLE 1 - SACRAMENTALS
1667 "Holy Mother Church has, moreover, instituted sacramentals. These are sacred
signs which bear a resemblance to the sacraments. They signify effects, particularly of a
spiritual nature, which are obtained through the intercession of the Church. By them
men are disposed to receive the chief effect of the sacraments, and various occasions in
life are rendered holy."[171]
The characteristics of sacramentals
1668 Sacramentals are instituted for the sanctification of certain ministries of the
Church, certain states of life, a great variety of circumstances in Christian life, and the
use of many things helpful to man. In accordance with bishops' pastoral decisions, they
can also respond to the needs, culture, and special history of the Christian people of a
particular region or time. They always include a prayer, often accompanied by a specific
sign, such as the laying on of hands, the sign of the cross, or the sprinkling of holy water
(which recalls Baptism).
1669 Sacramentals derive from the baptismal priesthood: every baptized person is called
to be a "blessing," and to bless.[172] Hence lay people may preside at certain blessings;
the more a blessing concerns ecclesial and sacramental life, the more is its administration
reserved to the ordained ministry (bishops, priests, or deacons).[173]
1670 Sacramentals do not confer the grace of the Holy Spirit in the way that the
sacraments do, but by the Church's prayer, they prepare us to receive grace and dispose
us to cooperate with it. "For well-disposed members of the faithful, the liturgy of the
sacraments and sacramentals sanctifies almost every event of their lives with the divine
grace which flows from the Paschal mystery of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of
Christ. From this source all sacraments and sacramentals draw their power. There is
scarcely any proper use of material things which cannot be thus directed toward the
sanctification of men and the praise of God."[174]
Various forms of sacramentals
1671 Among sacramentals blessings (of persons, meals, objects, and places) come first.
Every blessing praises God and prays for his gifts. In Christ, Christians are blessed by
God the Father "with every spiritual blessing."[175] This is why the Church imparts
blessings by invoking the name of Jesus, usually while making the holy sign of the cross
of Christ.
1672 Certain blessings have a lasting importance because they consecrate persons to
God, or reserve objects and places for liturgical use. Among those blessings which are
intended for persons - not to be confused with sacramental ordination - are the blessing
of the abbot or abbess of a monastery, the consecration of virgins and widows, the rite
of religious profession and the blessing of certain ministries of the Church (readers,
acolytes, catechists, etc.). The dedication or blessing of a church or an altar, the blessing
of holy oils, vessels, and vestments, bells, etc., can be mentioned as examples of
blessings that concern objects.
1673 When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that
a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from
his dominion, it is called exorcism. Jesus performed exorcisms and from him the Church
has received the power and office of exorcizing.[176] In a simple form, exorcism is
performed at the celebration of Baptism. The solemn exorcism, called "a major
exorcism," can be performed only by a priest and with the permission of the bishop. The
priest must proceed with prudence, strictly observing the rules established by the
Church. Exorcism is directed at the expulsion of demons or to the liberation from
demonic possession through the spiritual authority which Jesus entrusted to his Church.
Illness, especially psychological illness, is a very different matter; treating this is the
concern of medical science. Therefore, before an exorcism is performed, it is important
to ascertain that one is dealing with the presence of the Evil One, and not an
illness.[177]
Popular piety
1674 Besides sacramental liturgy and sacramentals, catechesis must take into account the
forms of piety and popular devotions among the faithful. The religious sense of the
Christian people has always found expression in various forms of piety surrounding the
Church's sacramental life, such as the veneration of relics, visits to sanctuaries,
pilgrimages, processions, the stations of the cross, religious dances, the rosary,
medals,[178] etc.
1675 These expressions of piety extend the liturgical life of the Church, but do not
replace it. They "should be so drawn up that they harmonize with the liturgical seasons,
accord with the sacred liturgy, are in some way derived from it and lead the people to it,
since in fact the liturgy by its very nature is far superior to any of them."[179]
1676 Pastoral discernment is needed to sustain and support popular piety and, if
necessary, to purify and correct the religious sense which underlies these devotions so
that the faithful may advance in knowledge of the mystery of Christ.[180] Their exercise
is subject to the care and judgment of the bishops and to the general norms of the
Church.
At its core the piety of the people is a storehouse of values that offers answers of
Christian wisdom to the great questions of life. The Catholic wisdom of the people is
capable of fashioning a vital synthesis.... It creatively combines the divine and the
human, Christ and Mary, spirit and body, communion and institution, person and
community, faith and homeland, intelligence and emotion. This wisdom is a Christian
humanism that radically affirms the dignity of every person as a child of God,
establishes a basic fraternity, teaches people to encounter nature and understand work,
provides reasons for joy and humor even in the midst of a very hard life. For the people
this wisdom is also a principle of discernment and an evangelical instinct through which
they spontaneously sense when the Gospel is served in the Church and when it is
emptied of its content and stifled by other interests.[181]
IN BRIEF
1677 Sacramentals are sacred signs instituted by the Church. They prepare men to
receive the fruit of the sacraments and sanctify different circumstances of life.
1678 Among the sacramentals blessings occupy an important place. They include both
praise of God for his works and gifts, and the Church's intercession for men that they
may be able to use God's gifts according to the spirit of the Gospel.
1679 In addition to the liturgy, Christian life is nourished by various forms of popular
piety, rooted in the different cultures. While carefully clarifying them in the light of faith,
the Church fosters the forms of popular piety that express an evangelical instinct and a
human wisdom and that enrich Christian life.
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