The Sacrament of Marriage
The first effect of the Sacrament of Matrimony is the gift of the bond between the spouses. ‘The consent by which the spouses mutually give and receive one another is sealed by God himself’ (CCC, no.1639)
The grace of this Sacrament perfects the love of husband and wife, binds them together in fidelity and helps them welcome and care for children. Christ is the source of this grace and he dwells with the spouses to strengthen their covenant promises, to bear each other’s burdens with forgiveness and kindness and to experience ahead of time the ‘wedding feast of the Lamb’ ( Rv 19:9)
The Christian home is the place where the children receive the first proclamation of the faith. For this reason the family is rightly called “the domestic church” a community of grace and prayer, a school of human virtues and of Christian charity’ (CCC, no. 1666)
Copyright © Irish Episcopal Conference 2014 Further reading: Chapter 21 (pp. 309 – 325) Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults
When receiving the Sacrament of Marriage, a man and a woman are joined together in a loving covenant with God. Husband and wife, united in marriage, should grow together in love, fidelity and trust.
The grace of the Sacrament is intended to perfect the couple’s love and to sanctify them. The loving union of husband and wife promotes family values and also God’s values of love and unity.