marriage as a sacrament

Question 1

according to the ccc what is a sacrament?

Answer 1

“sacraments are efficacious signs of grace, instituted by christ and entrusted to the church by which divine life is dispensed to us (CCC 1131)

Question 2

through the sacraments….

Answer 2

• thought the sacraments adherents of religion have earthly connections to gods grace

Question 3

how do sacraments help us to meet jesus?

Answer 3

• sacraments help us to meet the incarnate jesus, who comes to us through the vows lovingly exchanged in marriage

Question 4

marriage is a sacrament of..

Answer 4

• marriage is a sacrament of service and a vocation ordained by a priest

Question 5

marriage is a reflection and manifestation of?

Answer 5

• it is a reflection of gods love and a manifestation of his love in the world

Question 6

the keys features of marriage have been revealed to catholics to be:

Answer 6

• a covenant between the married couple and god
• the indissoluble nature of marriage
• the procreation and education of children
• the sacramental nature of marriage

Question 7

a sacramental marriage requires?

Answer 7

• the consent of two adults, male and female

- it is a life long union that requires fidelity, openness to life, and a capacity to love and be loved

Question 8

where is the purpose of marriage revealed, and what is marriage like in the old testament?

Answer 8

• the purpose of marriage is revealed in the book of genesis
• man and woman are created in the likeness of god,as a part of the created natural order
• marriage is inherently good and pleasing to god, it is part of his original plan for man kind
• sexuality is fulfilled in a unique way through the communication of marriage and the conception of children
• the personal focus of love between married people mirrors the love of god for every individual

Question 9

provide a quote about procreation and explain it.

Answer 9

• “be fruitful and multiply” (genesis 1:28)
• this introduces procreation of offspring as a key part of gods intentions for married couples, encouraging them to create and raise children in a religion family

Question 10

provide a quote about the indissoluble nature of marriage and explain it

Answer 10

• “a man leaves his mother and father and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (genesis 2:24)
• this introduces the notion of marriage as an indissoluble bond, and is also reflective of the sexual union between a man and a woman as they become one flesh. in this a man and. woman are unified, both in gods love as a couple and sexually, with each other

Question 11

provide one quote about marriage as a covenant and explain it

Answer 11

• “and i will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly fruitful” (genesis 17:2)
• marriage is introduced as a covenant in the old testament, a binding agreement with god and the baptised couple.

Question 12

when did jesus raise marriage to the dignity of a sacrament?

Answer 12

• in the new testament marriage was raised by jesus to the dignity of a sacrament

Question 13

what happened at the wedding of cana?

Answer 13

• there was no wine at the wedding, and as wine was culturally necessary 
for the celebration, god allowed the couple to celebrate the marriage.
• this was the first miracle of john’s Gospel, a visible sign of god’s invisible grace, and a sign of divine love in human life. As christ celebrates with them, this is a manifestation of divine presence.

Question 14

provide a quote for the wedding of cana

Answer 14

• “this, the first of his signs, jesus did at galilee, and manifested his glory, and the disciples believed in him,” (john 2:11)

Question 15

explain the wedding of cana and how it contributed to the development of marriage

Answer 15

• christ, by performing a miracle at the feast, allowed the marriage to be celebrated by all with wine, and can therefore bestow god’s grace and approval upon the couple. jesus’ miracle was a visible sign of god’s invisible grace, in the same way that a sacrament is.
• jesus reveals himself as the son of god, and initiates marriage as a sacrament, as god intended.

Question 16

what happened to the interpretation of marriage in the middle ages?

Answer 16

• in these times, corruption in the church has skewed interpretations of god’s intention for marriage, so the notion of an indissoluble procreative bond was not properly understood.

Question 17

who is st augustine of hippo? and what was his contribution towards the development of marriage?

Answer 17

• a 4th century theologian, who wrote on the sacrament of marriage and the 3 goods of marriage: fidelity, offspring and sacrament.
• “the good of marriage in every nation and for all mankind lies in the purpose of procreation and chaste fidelity”
• this highlights the purpose of marriage, to be procreative, educate offspring, and to be sexually unified as a couple. chaste fidelity means to be sexually pure before marriage, and then in marriage, be faithful to one’s partner and to god.

Question 18

what happened at the council of lyons II?

Answer 18

• at lyons II (1274), the first proposal that marriage should be a sacrament was put forward.

Question 19

what happened at the council of trent?

Answer 19

• at the council of trent, (1545-1563), such matters were discussed, and marriage was considered permanent and an indissoluble bond, and was made a sacrament by law.
• trent established a number of canons (laws).
• e.g) marriage was only considered to be valid if performed in from of an “ordained minister”, 
thus reinforcing the sacramental element of it. the priest was a channel of god’s grace 
bestowed upon the couple.

Question 20

how were concubines condemned?

Answer 20

• at this ecumenical council, concubines were also condemned
• “it is a grievous sin for a 
married man to live with a concubine… but it is a most grievous sin for a married man to live in this state of damnation.”
• this revealed the importance of indissolubility and procreation in the marriage, as men with concubines did not live by god’s intentions for marriage.
• this redirected the focus back to what was put forward in the scripture; a monogamous relationship that was indissoluble, procreative, and shared with god.

Question 21

what theology was developed in vatican II?

Answer 21

• vatican II was the most recent ecumenical council, held in 1962 - 1965. developed a fuller theology in this council it was said that both procreation and sexual union has equal importance in a marriage rather than procreation alone as was previously thought

Question 22

marriage was said to be… (in vatican II)

Answer 22

• marriage was said to be “a lifelong relationship of life and love”, thus showing that life - procreation, and love - sexual union and covenant with god - were equally important in this indissoluble relationship

Question 23

what does the CCC say today?

Answer 23

• today the CCC, essentially a culmination of all past factors, comprises a modern definition of marriage
• “the matrimonial covenant”, which is “ordered toward the good of the species and the procreation of offspring”, “for the whole of life” , which “by christ the lord has been raised to the dignity of a sacrament” (CCC 1601)
• this furthermore demonstrates the primary beliefs of marriage - the matrimonial covenant between between god and a married couple, the procreative nature of their relationship, and the indissolubility of their lifelong bond, all of which are beliefs contained in the sacrament of marriage - raised to this dignity by christ himself.

Question 24

how has marriage developed throughout time?

Answer 24

• throughout time marriage has developed, from its origins in genesis to our modern understanding in the catechism of the catholic church.

Question 25

what role does the magisterium play in marriage?

Answer 25

- the magisterium exists to preserve church teachings, as well as god’s original intentions put 
forward in the scriptures, and so has employed processes such as ecumenical councils to ensure that the catholic understanding of marriage is aligned with god’s intentions, and that it is properly celebrated.

Question 26

what is the importance of ressourcement?

Answer 26

- the process of ressourcement, i.e. a return to the sources, was key in this development, as although corruption skewed the meaning of marriage away from what god intended, the magisterium reiterated what was written in genesis, and refined teachings. this also incorporated marriage being raised to the dignity of a sacrament by jesus, a manifestation of god’s love in human form, whose presence was a gift of god’s benevolent grace.

Question 27

a sacrament is a visible sign of..

Answer 27

- a sacrament is a visible sign of god’s invisible grace, and thus god’s love manifested in human flesh, was delivered to us by jesus. marriage is a vocation ordained by god, and so through celebrating marriage we live out god’s intentions for humankind.

Question 28

how has the magisterium worked throughout history to redirect the idea of marriage?

Answer 28

throughout history, the magisterium has worked to return the focus of marriage to what the scripture defines it to be, and thus this belief has developed, due to factors such as Jesus’ teachings in the new testament, processes such as ecumenical councils to deal with issues arising from misunderstanding, and also ressourcement.

Question 29

how has dealing with the issues associated with marriage helped the church to grow?

Answer 29

- through dealing with issues associated with marriage and by reflecting upon these matters, the church has gradually deepened its own understanding of marriage. in particular the process has enabled the church to recognise and develop its teachings concerning the sacramentality of marriage