344. What is matrimonial consent? (part 1)
(Comp
344) Matrimonial consent is given when a man and a woman manifest the
will to give themselves to each other irrevocably in order to live a covenant
of faithful and fruitful love. Since consent constitutes Matrimony, it is
indispensable and irreplaceable. For a valid marriage the consent must have as
its object true Matrimony, and be a human act which is conscious and free and
not determined by duress or coercion.
“In brief”
(CCC 1662)
Marriage is based on the consent of the contracting parties, that is, on their
will to give themselves, each to the other, mutually and definitively, in order
to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love.
To deepen and explain
(CCC 1625) The parties to a marriage covenant are a baptized
man and woman, free to contract marriage, who freely express their consent;
"to be free" means: - not being under constraint; - not impeded by
any natural or ecclesiastical law. (CCC 1626) The Church holds the exchange of
consent between the spouses to be the indispensable element that "makes
the marriage" (CIC, can. 1057 § 1). If consent is lacking there is no
marriage. (CCC 1627) The consent consists in a "human act by which the
partners mutually give themselves to each other": "I take you to be
my wife" - "I take you to be my husband" (GS 48 § 1; OCM 45; cf.
CIC, can. 1057 § 2). This consent that binds the spouses to each other finds
its fulfillment in the two "becoming one flesh" (Gen 2:24; cf. Mt
10:8; Eph 5:31).
Reflection
(CCC 1628) The consent must be an act of the will of each of
the contracting parties, free of coercion or grave external fear (Cf. CIC, can.
1103). No human power can substitute for this consent (Cf. CIC, can. 1057 § 1).
If this freedom is lacking the marriage is invalid. (CCC 1629) For this reason
(or for other reasons that render the marriage null and void) the Church, after
an examination of the situation by the competent ecclesiastical tribunal, can
declare the nullity of a marriage, i.e., that the marriage never existed (Cf.
CIC, cann. 1095-1107). In this case the contracting parties are free to marry,
provided the natural obligations of a previous union are discharged (Cf. CIC,
can. 1071). [IT CONTINUES]
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