1. Realities of Marriage.pdf

Basic Realities of Marriage Marriage: A Profound Reality

• Do you have an adequate knowledge of this state of life? • What is your perception of marriage? • Is marriage a human institution or a divine institution? • Marriage is a love covenant between man and woman. What is your view about this? • Is marriage a private affair between the husband and wife?

Basic Realities of Marriage • • • • •

A Secular and Sacred Reality A Human and Divine Institution A State and an Event A Contract and Covenant A Personal Affair and a Social Institution

A Secular and Sacred Reality • A Secular reality but linked with the divine (Schillebeeckx) • Marriage is celebrated within a sacred ritual revealing perception that is not exclusively a human affair. • A secular reality = it is a reality of creation but that reveals its sacred character.

A Secular and Sacred Reality • Early Christians = “mysterion”, a sacrament: a sign of higher and a sacred reality • Perception finds its full development when Church declared that marriage is one of the seven sacraments

A Human and Divine Institution • Marriage in Theological tradition is considered as a “duty of nature” = it is ordained to the task of procreation • Marriage is naturally human because out of their own free wills man and woman enter into a union of life and love. • CCC: it is not purely a human institution = it is the work of God Himself – to correct misconception that married couples are on their own.

A Human and Divine Institution • Casti Conubii (Pius XI): If one has contracted matrimony he/she is subject to it divinely made laws and essential properties. • Gaudium et Spes: God himself is the author of matrimony and gave it with various benefits and purposes. • “It demands that not only two to make it happen, but three… God, male and female who are all in love with one another.”

A State and an Event • CFC: Being and also a becoming in that state = to become implies a life-long process which only began on their wedding day, of gradual transformation of an ‘I’ and a ‘Thou’ into a ‘We’ (1886) • Marriage is in fact a lifetime project of the couple to bring about the many realities and values of married life (matrimonium in facto esse) • Marriage can also be an event (matrimonium in fieri) • A full blossoming of that togetherness cannot be definitely achieved on wedding day but demands continuous nurturing of love.

A Contract and Covenant • Contract = mutual agreement of two persons with all legal nuances which may not fully capture the rich meaning of marital life. • Covenant = expresses the rationale why the couple decide to bring their lives together. It is love that seeks their union and in turn seeks to fulfill the lovecovenant.

A Contract and Covenant • Pag-Iisang Dibdib vs. Pag-Aasawa • Love-covenant in marriage – takes place only between man and a woman; – in the complementarity of their sexuality; – ordained towards union and procreation.

A Personal Affair and a Social Institution • Marriage cannot be sought in terms of a personal matter like sexual life, relationship between husband and wife; • Other factors that determine marriage and family: education, economics, property, social security, public morals etc..

A Personal Affair and a Social Institution • Marriage needs the support of the community. Community laws protect the rights and privileges of individuals within marriage. • It is in the midst of such threats that the couple needs a source of strength and grace that can be channeled to them by the believing community, the Church.

Now are you ready to face the complexities of human reality? Marriage is not a magic solution to falling in love Be open-minded Reflect on what God tells us about marriage

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