What does the Catholic Church teach about the nature of Christian marriage?
The matrimonial covenant, by which a baptised man and a baptised woman establish between themselves a lifelong partnership, was created by God and raised by Christ to the dignity of a sacrament.
Christian marriage has two essential and inseparable purposes: the good of the spouses (mutual love and unitive partnership) and the procreation and education of offspring. By its very nature, marital love demands total fidelity, emotional exclusivity, and lifelong permanence.
In Holy Matrimony, the bride and bridegroom are themselves the ministers of the sacrament; they mutually confer the sacrament upon each other by expressing their free and unconditional marital consent before God and the Church. Their union reflects the unbreakable covenant between Christ and the Church.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1601
- Mark 10:6-9
- Ephesians 5:31-32
Awaiting review by the chaplaincy. Written in our own words; the Church's own texts are the authority.