339. How does sin threaten marriage?
(Comp
339) Because of original sin, which caused a rupture in the God-given
communion between man and woman, the union of marriage is very often threatened
by discord and infidelity. However, God in his infinite mercy gives to man and
woman the grace to bring the union of their lives into accord with the original
divine plan.
“In brief”
(CCC 1606) Every man experiences evil around him and within
himself. This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and
woman. Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of
domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred
and separation. This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can
be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and
individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1607) According to faith the disorder we notice so
painfully does not stem from the nature
of man and woman, nor from the nature of their relations, but from sin. As a break with God, the first sin
had for its first consequence the rupture of the original communion between man
and woman. Their relations were distorted by mutual recriminations (Cf. Gen
3:12); their mutual attraction, the Creator's own gift, changed into a
relationship of domination and lust (Cf. Gen 2:22; 3:16b); and the beautiful
vocation of man and woman to be fruitful, multiply, and subdue the earth was
burdened by the pain of childbirth and the toil of work (Cf. Gen 1:28;
3:16-19).
Reflection
(CCC 1608) Nevertheless, the order of creation persists,
though seriously disturbed. To heal the wounds of sin, man and woman need the
help of the grace that God in his infinite mercy never refuses them (Cf. Gen
3:21). Without his help man and woman cannot achieve the union of their lives
for which God created them "in the beginning."
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