346. What are the effects of the sacrament of Matrimony? (part 2 continuation)
(Comp
346 repetition) The
sacrament of Matrimony establishes a perpetual and exclusive bond between the
spouses. God himself seals the consent of the spouses. Therefore, a marriage
which is ratified and consummated between baptized persons can never be
dissolved. Furthermore, this sacrament bestows upon the spouses the grace
necessary to attain holiness in their married life and to accept responsibly
the gift of children and provide for their education.
“In brief”
(CCC 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" (Cf. CIC, can. 1134). 1638
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1641) "By reason of their state in life and of
their order, [Christian spouses] have their own special gifts in the People of
God" (LG 11 § 2). 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" (LG 11 § 2;
cf. LG 41).
Reflection
(CCC 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" (GS
48 § 2). 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" (Eph 5:21; cf. Gal 6:2), 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 (Tertullian, Ad uxorem. 2,
8, 6-7: PL 1, 1412-1413; cf. FC 13). [END]
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