Sarah Mitchell
The Catholic Church views marriage as a sacred covenant between a man and a woman, reflecting God's love and establishing an intimate communion of life. This covenant is intended to endure for life, mirroring God's eternal faithfulness. The Church emphasizes the importance of committed relationships, where vulnerability and authenticity foster a deeper connection with God and each other. While procreation was once considered the primary purpose of marriage, the Second Vatican Council elevated the union of spouses to equal significance, recognizing the inherent dignity of matrimony. Catholics value marriage as a symbol of God's relationship with humanity, reflecting divine love and sacrifice. This perspective extends beyond romantic relationships, encompassing familial bonds and friendships that enrich our capacity for love and communion.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Communion with God | Faithfulness, trustfulness, responsibility, forgiveness, mercy, and generosity |
| Communion with others | Friendship, community, and love |
| Marriage | A covenantal relationship, a partnership for life, a sacrament, a communion of life and love, a union of spouses, procreation, and education of children |
| Commitment | Vulnerability, authenticity, and freedom |
| Love | Selfless, sacrificial, noble, and pure |
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What You'll Learn
Marriage as a sacrament
According to Catholic teaching, marriage is a sacrament. It is more than a contract, but a covenant by which a man and woman establish a partnership of their whole lives, for their benefit and the procreation and education of children. The Catholic Church teaches that marriage between two baptised persons is a sacrament, expressing the unbreakable bond of love between Christ and his people. Marriage is one of the seven sacraments of the Church, and like the others, it is a symbol that reveals the Lord Jesus and through which his divine life and love are communicated.
Marriage is a unique communion of persons, a covenantal relationship, designed for the well-being of husband and wife. It is a spiritual and sacrificial union, combining friendship and erotic passion, enduring beyond the initial emotions and passion. The sacrament of Christian marriage involves the couple's entire life as they journey through the ups and downs, giving and receiving from each other. Their life becomes sacramental as they cooperate with God's action in their life, seeing themselves as living "in Christ".
The grace of this sacrament helps the spouses be faithful and be good parents, as well as serve others beyond their family. It shows the community that a loving and lasting marriage is desirable and possible. God's love is present in the total union of the spouses and flows through them to their family and community. Their permanent, faithful and exclusive giving to each other, symbolised in sexual intercourse, reveals something of God's unconditional love.
The Catholic Church recognises marriages between baptised non-Catholic Christians, as well as marriages between non-Catholic Christians and Catholic Christians, as sacramental. However, in the latter case, consent from the diocesan bishop is required. Marriages between two non-Christians or a Catholic Christian and a non-Christian are not considered sacramental, and permission from a bishop is needed for the latter.
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Procreation vs love
Catholicism is by nature communal, and Catholics believe that God loves them in and through other people. The Church teaches that marriage is a fundamentally unique relationship, a covenantal relationship designed for the well-being of husband and wife and the procreation and education of children.
The Second Vatican Council described marriage as "an intimate communion of life and love", treating procreation and the union of spouses as equally important purposes of marriage. This was a shift from previous Catholic doctrine, which named procreation as the primary purpose of marriage.
Today, many young adult Catholics see love as the primary purpose of marriage and sex, and most want children but have them before marrying. They value intimacy and have found it outside of marriage in cohabitation, same-sex unions, and committed relationships of all kinds.
Catholics believe that God is love, and that he created all people in his image—male and female—to share his love and reflect his love in the world. Human sexuality is woven into the fabric of each man and woman, carrying within it the powers of love and life and the capacity to be united with others in friendship and community. Marriage is a unique communion of persons, a spiritual and sacrificial affective union that combines the warmth of friendship and erotic passion.
Marriage in the Catholic Church, or holy matrimony, is a "covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, which is ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring". It is a free mutual agreement or contract in which the spouses commit themselves totally to one another until death, reflecting the love of God.
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Intimacy and commitment
The Second Vatican Council emphasised the equality of procreation and the union of spouses as the purposes of marriage, describing it as "an intimate communion of life and love." This intimacy involves a deep level of vulnerability and trust, which is only appropriate within committed relationships. Commitments allow individuals to safely enter into deeper levels of intimacy, creating a joyful paradox where binding oneself to another leads to freedom in love.
Catholics view marriage as a unique communion of persons, combining the warmth of friendship with erotic passion, enduring beyond the initial emotions and passion. This conjugal love is a spiritual and sacrificial union, reflecting the nature of God's love. It involves a total self-giving, mirroring God's unconditional love for humanity.
The commitment in marriage is also seen as noble and sacrificial, surpassing even the love for one's country or friends. It is a mutual relationship where both spouses bring different gifts to enrich each other's lives. This commitment extends beyond the couple, impacting their well-being and the broader Christian society.
Furthermore, marriage in Catholicism is not merely about the relationship between the spouses but also about their unity in friendship and community. It is through these relationships that Catholics believe they experience God's love and reflect it to the world. Thus, intimacy and commitment in relationships are vital for Catholics to fulfil their calling to love like God, with faithfulness, trust, responsibility, forgiveness, mercy, and generosity.
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Sexuality and love
The Catholic Church's teachings on love and sexuality are founded on the belief that God, who is love, created all people in his image—male and female—to share his love and reflect it in their lives. Human sexuality is integral to who we are as men and women, and it is through it that we can love one another and unite in friendship and community.
The Church teaches that marriage is a unique communion of life and love, established by God, and is a fundamentally unique relationship. It is a covenantal relationship designed for the well-being of husband and wife and the procreation and education of children. Marriage is a lifelong commitment, and spouses mutually give and accept each other totally until death.
The Second Vatican Council described marriage as "an intimate communion of life and love," treating procreation and the union of spouses as equally important. While the Church teaches that marriage is ordered towards the procreation and education of offspring, it also recognizes that love is the primary purpose of marriage for many young adult Catholics today.
The Catholic Church emphasizes the importance of authentic, vulnerable, and committed relationships. While facing the challenges of widespread sexual promiscuity and negativity toward official Catholic teaching, the Church calls its members to sexual relationships that are rooted in commitment and vulnerability. This commitment allows spouses to safely enter more deeply into their relationship, reflecting the joyful paradox of being bound to another in love.
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Relationships with non-Catholics
The Catholic Church teaches that God, who is love, created all people in his image—male and female—to share his love and reflect it in their lives. Marriage is a "covenant by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life". It is a union of spouses and procreation, with the latter not being the primary purpose. Marriage is also a unique communion of persons, a covenantal relationship designed for the well-being of husband and wife and the "begetting and educating of children".
Catholics are allowed to date non-Catholics and even marry them. However, the Church only tolerates, but does not encourage, mixed marriages. If a Catholic intends to marry a non-Catholic, the Church requires that the couple be married "in the Church", meaning with the Catholic Church's blessing, and that the Catholic spouse promises to do everything in their power to raise the children as Catholics. The non-Catholic spouse must be informed of this promise. Both parties must also be prepared to accept children and bring them up in the Church, foregoing divorce and contraception.
Before getting into a serious relationship with a non-Catholic, a Catholic should consider whether they would be willing to marry this person as they are, with their religious differences. If not, the relationship will either have to end or the non-Catholic spouse will have to convert. In the latter case, it is important to ensure that the conversion is sincere and not due to manipulation.
While the Church does not encourage mixed marriages, it is worth noting that many people have converted to Catholicism through dating relationships. Additionally, some Catholics have shared their positive experiences of being in a mixed marriage, including attending marriage preparation classes and having their children baptised in the Church.
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Frequently asked questions
The purpose of relationships for Catholics is to reflect God's love in the world and in their lives. God is love, and by binding ourselves to another, we become free to love. Marriage is the fundamentally unique relationship, a covenantal relationship designed for the well-being of both spouses and the procreation and education of children.
Marriage is a covenant by which a man and a woman establish a partnership of the whole of life, ordered by its nature to the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring. It is a lifelong commitment, with spouses committing themselves totally to one another until death.
Intimacy is an important aspect of Catholic relationships, but it is only appropriate in committed relationships. Commitments free us to safely enter more deeply into relationships. Intimacy in marriage includes both erotic passion and the warmth of friendship, enduring long after emotions and passion subside.
