Church Marriage

Asuncion, Bautista, R. Bautista, D. Cerda, Maranan, Rey, Shi

Matrimony is a sacrament and as such it is a sign to the world of the invisible God living in our midst - the living God who bears fruit in the lives of two people. - Eternal Word Television Network, Inc. (EWTN)

Significance of Marriage

According to Alexander (2001), the purpose of marriage is for the couple to help one another and complement one another. The main purpose of human life is the salvation of the soul, the couples must encourage one another to live a Christian way of life. Then God's blessing will remain on the married couple; their marriage will be happy and will serve as a comfort and joy to them.

Marriage as an Institution of God

"It is not good for man to be alone," said the Lord, after He created man. Referring to the Scriptures regarding the union between man and woman, the Lord reinforced the principle of indissoluble marriage in definite terms: "Thus they (man and woman) are no longer two, but one flesh. And thus whom God has joined together, let no man separate."

Moreover , Alexander (2001) said that marriage is a great shrine and saving state of a person's life when it is properly regarded. Marriage is the foundation of a family, and a family is a small church of Christ. It is the family that is the meaning and purpose of marriage. Presentday fear of having a family with children is the result of faintheartedness, a source of both dissatisfaction and anguish in marriage. Christian upbringing of children is the goal and joy of the family; it gives meaning and justification to marriage.

Yet even if the spouses are childless, the marriage does not lose its meaning. This makes it easier for the spouses by mutual love and mutual help to live a Christian life.

THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY

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. 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

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. 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."149 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

Actual Case in the Philippines

References

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catech ism/p2s2c3a7.htm http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/marriage/marriage 1.htm http://www.fatheralexander.org/booklets/english/marr iage.htm#_Toc518828317