Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the 20th Sunday of Ordinary time.
My dear Parishioners,
Peace! The sacrament of Holy Marriage is treated by the Catechism of the Catholic Church in eight (8) In Brief passages. The following is a reflection on article 1660.
In referring to Holy Marriage as a “matrimonial alliance” or “covenant” the Catechism is calling our attention to the sacredness and significance of Holy Marriage. Recall the various covenants throughout sacred history: Noah (cf. Genesis 8:15–9:17), Abraham (cf. Genesis 17:5–14), Moses (cf. Exodus 34:27–28). The bride, the groom, and God enter into a sacred contract, Holy Marriage, upon which they stake their lives. Christ the Lord, bridegroom of Mother Church, has already laid down His life for us. He was faithful even to His last breath and last drop of blood. He calls husbands and wives to the same faithfulness.
There was a time when the Church’s teaching regarding Holy Marriage being a sacred contract (or covenant or alliance) between one man and one woman was not entirely counter cultural, in our days, defense of this aspect of Holy Marriage allows the faithful to share in the prophetic task. The Church’s teaching identifying Holy Marriage as existing only between one man and one woman was a challenge to polygamy, which allowed for multiple wives.
When considering the intimacy and the communion of life and love proper to Holy Marriage at least three (3) things should be remembered: intimacy is not limited to lacey undergarments or the nuptial embrace but also includes the sharing of hopes and dreams, joys and sorrows…; communion of life includes but is not limited to actually living together in harmony; communion of love includes but is not limited to willing the good for the other.
It was “in the beginning” that Holy Marriage was founded by the Creator, in creating us male and female and directing fruitfulness and multiplication (cf. Genesis 1:28). The use of the term “Creator” here is intentional, because this teaching is true for all of humanity, not just pious Jews or Christians.
Holy Marriage has been endowed by the Creator with certain properties which include mutual help and support, not only of the spouses for each other, but also for their children.
The proper laws of the Creator regarding Holy Marriage include but are not limited to unity (forsaking all others), indissolubility (life long), fecundity (openness to fertility which implies heterosexuality),
There are two (2) goals or ends of Holy Marriage: The good of the spouses and the generation and education of children. The good of the spouses includes not only temporal goods such as a roof over the head and clothes on the back and food in our stomachs but also the eternal good which is Heaven. Husband and wife are to help each other, with God’s grace, get to Heaven.
The Lord Jesus Christ elevated Holy Marriage among the Baptized to the dignity of a sacrament. The presence of Jesus at Canna, shows His special love for Marriage (cf. John 2:1–11).
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr