An Apologetical Explanation of the

Sacrament of Matrimony

Why is Matrimony considered a Sacrament?

“From the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’  So they are no longer two but one flesh.  What therefore God has joined together, let not man put asunder.”  (Mk 10:6-9)

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her.  (Eph 5:25)

Sacred Scripture and the Sacred Tradition of the Church teach that Christian marriage is a lifelong, exclusive, and fruitful covenant between a man and a woman that reflects the bond between Christ and his Church.

The Sacrament of Matrimony joins a baptized man and a baptized woman in a covenant for life.  It is by God’s own design that marriage is permanent and exclusive, for the Book of Genesis describes how our first parents were created in the state of marriage.  Christ cited Genesis to affirm that marriage is meant to be a lifelong and faithful union, and he raised natural marriage to the dignity of a Sacrament between a baptized man and woman (cf. CIC 1055 § 1; cf. GS 48).  (Cf. CCC 1303, 1611, 1638)

In the Western Church the man and woman themselves are considered the ministers of the Sacrament of Matrimony.  In giving their mutual consent with the Church—represent by her minister, a deacon, priest, or bishop—as their witness, they confer the sacramental graces upon their union.  These graces enable them to share the same self-sacrificing love of Christ and his Bride, the Church, an image described by St. Paul.  Specifically, matrimonial grace strengthens the couple for the for the challenges of marital life, especially regarding the education and formation of children.  Moreover, Matrimony confers graces to grow in holiness and charity in a spirit of forgiveness, patience, and service.  (Cf. CCC 1603, 1617, 1620, 1642)

Marriage is ordered toward the good of the people.  A husband and wife in a Christian marriage are to help sanctify one another so each many one day receive eternal life.  It is also ordered to the begetting and formation of children, the fruits of marriage.  Sexual intimacy, which must always be reserved for the bond of marriage, serves to express and unify the love of the couple and must remain open to the conception of children, “the supreme gift of marriage.”  (Cf. CCC 1652, 2201, 2225)

A valid sacramental marriage cannot be dissolved.  Only when an investigation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal that validity was lacking can the Church declare a marriage null; this annulment is not akin to divorce, which claims to end a marriage, but rather a statement that a valid union never existed.  (Cf. CCC 1629, 2382-2386)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 1660.

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