25. Marriage is a Sacrament

 

We read in the Book of Genesis: “Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall be two in one flesh.” God, in giving this injunction to Adam and Eve, instituted marriage. It is apparent to all reasonable men how important the union of husband and wife is to the welfare of the human race. It was instituted by God in the beginning. Jesus Christ, the Son of God further dignifies it; he pours His grace over it; He puts the seal of His Church upon it; He raises it to the dignity of a Sacrament. “This is a great Sacrament,” says St. Paul, “but I speak in Christ and in the Church.” (Eph. 5.32)

The bonds of matrimony are holy then because they have the touch of God upon them. If you are a parent, you may have thought that the little child in your home was your creation. It is yours but it is also God’s. Or rather it is God’s and yours for, in begetting your child, you were cooperating with God in the further production of the human race. You were cooperating with God in bringing into the world another human being stamped in His image, a little child it is true, but a child possessed of an immortal soul. Because of that immortal soul, your child is of immeasurable value and dignity. He is a creature of God destined to live out the span of his earthly life in this world, but destined likewise to live with God for all eternity. It is in keeping with God’s great plan then that He should raise marriage to the dignity of a sacrament. By means of this Sacrament God confirms the natural right of the child to the love and care of both parents, of father and mother. By it he confirms and strengthens the love and care of the parents for one another, giving them special graces that they may live together in a holy and permanent union. It is in the one, true Church that the Sacrament of Matrimony stays a Sacrament, a holy and permanent union.