341. What new element did Christ give to Matrimony? (part 1)
(Comp 341) Christ not only restored the original order of matrimony but raised it to the dignity of a sacrament, giving spouses a special grace to live out their marriage as a symbol of Christ’s love for his bride the Church: “Husbands, love your wives as Christ loves the Church” (Ephesians 5:25).
“In brief”
(CCC 1661)
The sacrament of Matrimony signifies the union of Christ and the Church. It
gives spouses the grace to love each other with the love with which Christ has
loved his Church; the grace of the sacrament thus perfects the human love of
the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble unity, and sanctifies them on the
way to eternal life (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1799).
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1612) The nuptial covenant between God and his people
Israel had prepared the way for the new and everlasting covenant in which the
Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in
a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for "the
wedding-feast of the Lamb" (Rev 19:7, 9; cf. GS 22).
(CCC 1613) On the threshold of his public life Jesus
performs his first sign - at his mother's request - during a wedding feast (Cf.
Jn 2:1-11). The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the
wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage
and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of
Christ's presence.
Reflection
(CCC 1614) In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the
original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from
the beginning: permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession
to the hardness of hearts (Cf. Mt 19:8). The matrimonial union of man and woman
is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has
joined together, let no man put asunder" (Mt 19:6). [IT CONTINUES]
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