The Sacrament of Marriage

UNIT 5 , L E SSON 5

Learning Goals Connection to the

ӹӹ Marriage is the primordial sacrament Catechism of the
in which the union of one man and one
woman reveals an integral part of human
Catholic Church
nature that has been inscribed in our very ӹӹ CCC 1601-1617
bodies. ӹӹ CCC 1640
ӹӹ The unitive and procreative purposes of ӹӹ CCC 1643-1655
marriage are essential for a marriage to be ӹӹ CCC 1660
a marriage.
ӹӹ God’s love for us has four components: it
Vocabulary
is free, total and self-giving, faithful, and
fruitful. ӹӹ The Sacrament of Holy
Matrimony (Marriage)
ӹӹ The love shared between spouses in
marriage, or marital love, is a reflection of ӹӹ Covenant
how God loves. ӹӹ The Purposes of Marriage
ӹӹ The Goods of Marriage

B IB L ICAL TOUCHSTONES

“Everyone serves good wine first, and then when
people have drunk freely, an inferior one; but you
have kept the good wine until now.” Jesus did this
as the beginning of his signs in Cana in Galilee
and so revealed his glory, and his disciples began
to believe in him.
J OH N 2 : 1 0 -11
“Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory.
For the wedding day of the Lamb has come, his
bride has made herself ready. She was allowed
to wear a bright, clean linen garment.” (The linen
represents the righteous deeds of the holy ones.)
Then the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed
are those who have been called to the wedding
feast of the Lamb.”

R EVEL AT I ON 19:7-9

721
 Lesson Plan

ӹӹ The Story of Holy Matrimony ӹӹ God’s Love and the Goods of

Materials
ӹӹ The Purposes of Marriage Marriage

ӹӹ Sophia Sketchpad video on the ӹӹ Colored pencils/markers/paper

Sacrament of Marriage found at
SophiaSketchpad.org

Note: The student readings and some of the activities from this lesson are taken directly from the 7th
grade lesson on the Sacrament of Marriage (unit 3, lesson 13). This is intentionally meant to be a review
of the Sacrament of Marriage and to prepare your students for the rest of the lessons in this unit.

DAY ONE
Warm-Up
A. Ask your students, by a show of hands, who has been to a wedding. Then have your students,
with a neighbor, brainstorm as many important parts of a wedding as they can think of and keep
a list on a piece of paper. After a few minutes, ask for volunteers from each pair to share their
answers. Keep a list on the board. Answers might include a white dress, a veil, flowers, a priest,
the Wedding March or other wedding music such as Canon in D, tuxedos, the best man and maid
of honor, and so forth.
B. Then, ask your students why they think we place such importance on weddings and celebrate
them in such a spectacular way. Answers will vary. Help students begin to understand that there
is something essential about marriage to human nature and, whether we understand it or not,
we somehow automatically recognize this fundamental truth in our celebrations of marriage. We
celebrate the coming together of a man and woman to cooperate with God’s grace and begin a
new family as a sign for His love for us. Explain to your students that marriage is the primordial
sacrament, or the first and fundamental sacrament. In other words, as we have been learning, the
union of one man and one woman in a free, faithful, fruitful, and indissoluble union is an integral
part of human nature that has been inscribed in the complementarity of the male and female
bodies and the human soul from our origins.

722 © S OP H IA IN S TITU TE FOR TE A C HERS

 LESSON PLAN

Activity
The Story of Holy Matrimony
Have your students turn to The Story of Holy
Matrimony (page 373). Have them work
Directions:flesh.”Read
Man the
andessay,
woman then answer
become “one thebody,”
focus and reflof ection questions.
the wedding feast of the Lamb every time
and cling to one another united in marriage we receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood
to fulfill God’s command to fruitfulness. The of Jesus Christ.

I t is not just a coincidence that the written

foundation of marriage, both as natural law

individually to read about Holy Matrimony and

record of salvation, the Bible, begins with Not only does the Bible begin with a wedding
and a sacramental 4. covenant,
Where did is found in the His first public miracle, revealing Himself to be the Messiah?
Jesus perform
the first marriage and ends with the wedding and end with a wedding feast, but Jesus
very beginnings of the creation of man and
feast of the lamb in the book of ___Revelation.
______________________________ _______
began ____
His _______ministry
public __________ _____a__miracle
with _________ ___
at a___________________
woman and is an integral part of what it
The story of salvation communicates the wedding. This is no coincidence! Jesus is first
means to be human.

then answer the focus and reflection questions.

greater relationship that God desires to have revealed to the public as the Messiah, the Son
with us. Jesus begins His public ministry with of God and Savior, in the midst of a wedding.
Reflection Questions
a miracleJesus Elevates
at the Wedding Marriage
at Cana, to a
lifting the By doing so, Jesus announced that the time
primordial Sacrament (primordial 5. Jesus
means is fiitrst revealed to the hadpublic
comeasforthe Messiah,
God’s the Sonwith
relationship of God
Hisand Savior,
Sacrament
has existed since the beginning ofintime) the midst
to a of a wedding.people Why would
to be arestored.
weddingThe be the perfect of
Catechism setting
the for this
The story of salvation, having begun with the
announcement?
Sacrament of the Church. Catholic Church no. 1613 states: “The Church
first marriage of the original man and woman,
____________________________attaches
__________great
______importance
______________ to
__Jesus’
_______presence
_______________________
ends with a vision of Heaven in the book of
at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the
Marriage and Human
Revelation. Nature
This vision shows
______us___that
_____Heaven
______________confi
______ _________ ___ ____ ___________ ___ __________ ________________

Formative Assessment
rmation of the goodness of marriage and
Marriageisisthe weddingpart
an integral celebration
of what it ofmeans
the Lamb,
the proclamation that thenceforth marriage
Jesus, ___eternity
_______________________________________________________________________________________
to be human. Towho is united
be made for all
in God’s image andwith His will be an efficacious [effective] sign of
Bride, us, His Church. We
likeness is, in part, to be male and female, recognize in Holy
Christ’s presence.” It is for this reason that
Matrimony
carry out aGod’s
sign of Jesus’
6. Can union with His
you think of any waysthe
that married love and
in order to one command in Church places suchdivine love
a great are similar?
importance
Church,
the beginning: to which is consummated
be fertile and multiply every time
________and____________________on the Sacrament
____________of Matrimony
____________and
_____defends

When your students have completed the questions

____ ____ ___ ______________________
we receive
fill the earth. GenesisHim in the
2 more Eucharist.
fully describes We are truly
the union of one man and one woman so
blessed
the creation as Christians
of woman and theto be
____
unity invited
________
shared to partake
___ _____________vigorously.
______________________________________________________________
between the sexes. God tells Adam that
__________________________________________________________________________________________

from The Story of Holy Matrimony, review and

it is not good that he is alone, so He will
create a helper
1. Whyforishim. God brings
marriage ___all
called __of
the
_ the
primordial
___ Sacrament?
_________________________________________________________________________________
animals to Adam in search of a companion, ©Basilica of the National Shrine of the
_________________________________________________ ____________
Immaculate ____________Washington,
Conception, _____________D.C.
_____________
not because God thought any of the animals Photograph courtesy of the National Shrine.

discuss the correct answers.

was a suitable__mate
______for
____Adam,
_______but
_____rather
_______so_______________________Photographer:
_______________Geraldine
__________M.
___Rohling.
_________________
that Adam would recognize the he is unique
out of all creation. While sharing certain
2. How do we know men and women areWhen equalAdam meets his wife for the first time,
in dignity?
characteristics with the animals, man is also she causes him to speak in verse, bringing
undeniably and____ ______________different
substantially __________from
______all
_____________
forth ____
the _____of
best ________in
man ___ _____________
recognition ___
of ________________
the
of them. Only then does God create woman beauty before him. Adam proclaims that
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
from Adam’s side. Rather than the popular at last there is one like him, a person who
notion that woman was made somehow less is unique out of all creation, but shared in
than man,3.man
What
andiswoman
the vision
are of
in Heaven in in
fact equal the book of Revelation, and how does it connect to
the same dignity and vocation to love and
marriage?
dignity and close to one another’s hearts. holiness as he, “bone of my bones, flesh of my
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

373
___________________________________________________________________________________________________

374

375

DAY TWO
Warm-Up
A. Project Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1660 and have a student stand and read it aloud:
The marriage covenant, by which a man and a woman form with each other an intimate
communion of life and love, has been founded and endowed with its own special laws by
the Creator. By its very nature it is ordered to the good of the couple, as well as to the
generation and education of children. Christ the Lord raised marriage between the baptized
to the dignity of a sacrament.
B. Ask your students the following questions:
ӹӹ Marriage is described as a covenant. What is a covenant? A permanent bond of family
relationship.
ӹӹ Who forms the marriage covenant? A man and a woman by an intimate communion of life
and of love.
ӹӹ Who founded the marriage covenant and gave to it its own special laws? God, the Creator.
ӹӹ What are the two purposes of marriage? The good of the couple and the generation and
education of children.
ӹӹ What did Christ do with marriage between a baptized man and woman? He raised it to the
dignity of a sacrament, an efficacious sign of God’s grace.

Unit 5, lesson 5 723

 LESSON PLAN

 ave students turn to The Purposes of

C. H
The Purposes of Marriage Marriage (page 376) in their workbooks. Then
write on the board: “Two Purposes of Marriage.”
The Purposes of Marriage

Unitive Procreative Underneath that heading, write “1. Unitive” and

“2. Procreative.” Ask your students to define
Definition: Definition:

each purpose using the Catechism no. 1660.

Write their answers on the board, then have
List at least three pieces of supporting List at least three pieces of supporting
evidence from the video: evidence from the video:

students write the correct definitions on their

worksheet:
ӹӹ Unitive Purpose — The good of the couple.
ӹӹ Procreative Purpose — The generation
(procreation) and education of children.
D. E
 xplain to your students that the two purposes
of marriage are essential for a marriage to be
376
a marriage. In fact, anything that prevents or
diminishes these purposes is contrary to God’s
plan for marriage.

Activity
Show the Sophia Sketchpad video on the Sacrament of Marriage, found at SophiaSketchpad.org.
While your students view the video, have them take note of at least three pieces of supporting
evidence for each purpose of marriage, unitive and procreative, using the space provided on The
Purposes of Marriage.

Formative Assessment
After viewing the video and completing The Purposes of Marriage, have students, on their own
paper, respond to the following prompts in writing, citing specific things they have learned from
the discussion and the video:
ӹӹ I would explain the unitive purpose of marriage as…
ӹӹ I would explain the procreative purpose of marriage as…

724 © S OP H IA IN S TITU TE FOR TE A C HERS

 LESSON PLAN

DAY THREE
Warm-Up
A. Project and pray together with your students the following prayer in defense of marriage, taken
from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ website, USCCB.org:
God our Father, we give you thanks
for the gift of marriage: the bond of life and love,
and the font of the family.

The love of husband and wife enriches your Church with children,
fills the world with a multitude of spiritual fruitfulness and service,
and is the sign of the love of your Son, Jesus Christ, for his Church.

The grace of Jesus flowed forth at Cana at the

request of the Blessed Mother. May your Son,
through the intercession of Mary, pour out upon us
a new measure of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
as we join with all people of good will
to promote and protect the unique beauty of marriage.

May your Holy Spirit enlighten our society

to treasure the heroic love of husband and wife,
and guide our leaders to sustain and protect
the singular place of mothers and fathers
in the lives of their children.

Father, we ask that our prayers

be joined to those of the Virgin Mary,
that your Word may transform our service
so as to safeguard the incomparable splendor of marriage.
We ask all these things through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

B. Explain to your students that God’s love for us has four components, or parts: it is free, total
and self-giving, faithful, and fruitful. Human love, particularly the love shared between spouses
in marriage, or marital love, is a reflection of how God loves. There is no love apart from God.
1 John 4:8 tells us, “Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love.” The opposite
of this statement is true as well: “Whoever knows love knows God, for God is love.” In today’s
lesson, we will compare the characteristics of God’s love with those of marital love. The
characteristics of marital love are also known as the “Goods of Marriage.”

Unit 5, lesson 5 725

 LESSON PLAN

Activity and Assessment

A. Arrange your students into eight groups. Assign each group one of the “goods of marriage.”
(There should be two groups assigned to each “good.”) Distribute to each group a large piece
of drawing or construction paper, or a piece of poster board and make markers and/or colored
pencils available.
 ave your students turn to God’s Love and the
B. H
God’s Love and the Goods of Marriage Goods of Marriage (page 377). First, have
the blessing of the
union. This is why
Marriage
God
Church on
Catholic
asthe
is love.weddings
anmarital
Icon of the Total
At His heart, takeGod is three
Trinity
God’sPersons
Self-Giving is good
Love for the other. When Jesus’ side was
pierced on the Cross (John 19:34), blood and
love is total and self-giving. God gives
each group read the first two sections of the
place in a church, water flowed out. The Fathers of the Church
inbefore thewhoassembly, andshare their

essay together. Then, have each group read

one God eternally all oflove for to us. He holds nothing back. He
Himself
within a liturgicaleach celebration suchall aseternity
the teach that the blood and water signify the
other. From the Father
loved us pours
so much that He assumed a human
Fruitful Mass.
Love Blessed Trinity. In Sacramentsarms of Eucharist and Baptism, the
out all He is in generating the Son, who in
nature in the
the home,
personinoftheirJesus Christ andand gave
Sacraments that create the Church. In a way,
God’s love is fruitful. God turnsis the pours
Creator out allHe is under
ofall in lovetheir
toward loving,
all that the Hewatchful
had, His eyes, husband
very life, for us on the
Faithful Love we can saychildren
that out of Jesus’ side is formed

about their assigned “good of marriage.”

things, and He holds all things Father. in The and wifeproceeds
Holy Spirit eternally
continued create
Cross. These the first world
Scripture their
passages attest to
will ever know. The His Bride,
Catechism puts the
it Church, just as Eve was formed
this
God’s love is faithful.
from
existence solely because He loves us. He God
the does
Father not
and withdraw
the Son. With the
God’s total self-giving love:
out of the side of Adam. Jesus is married to
His and
is love itself, love the
from us Father
Holy at any eternally
Spirit time
and the for Son
any He isway:
reason. one “And this love
and equal. This
Philippians 2:7-8 the Church.
— Rather,Marriedhe emptiedlove reflects and reveals
proceedsEvenfromthough we exchange
the Father are
andlessthe thanSon faithful
of love
and to Him
between the Divine
which Persons
God blesses is taking
intended
himself, theto
divine be fruitful
love.
form God’s
of lovecoming
a slave, is freely given, faithful,
is one and when
equalwe sin,them.
with He is remains
These near
perfect and to
Scripture us andwithout beginning or
eternal, and to be realized in human in the common
likeness; and work
total self-giving,
found of and
human fruitful. The love shared
passages showers
attest to us
C. N
 ext, have each group create an informative
withfruitful
God’s His grace.
end. love:These
Divine Scripture
love shows us that loveover creates
watching in creation...”
appearance, (CCC
between 1604).
he humbled a manThe and a woman in marriage is a
himself,
passages attest to God’s faithful
communion andlove:
always generates life. called the “Domestic Church”
John 1:3-5 — All things came to be through Christian home, becoming obedient reflection of the even
to death, love of God.
death
him, and Romans
without 8:37-39
him nothing — No,came in allto these
be. things is where children first learn about Jesus and
on a cross.
Divinethe Catholic Faith. Their parents raise them

poster about their assigned “good.” Their

What came wetoconquer
be throughMarriage
him wasand
overwhelmingly life,through Love
him
who loved convinced thatwith love, showing them what
John 3:16 — For The God Goods
so loved
virtue ofthe
means, Marriage
world
and this life was theus.
light ForofI the
am human
The Lord created man and woman in that love.he Wegave his only Son, so that
race; the neither death,
light shines in nor
the life, nor angels,
darkness, norteaching them to pray, and Love
doingFreelyall theyGiven
are made in the and divine image, so, in imitation everyone whocooperate believes in him might not
principalities,
the darkness nor present
has not overcome it. things, norcan to help their children God’s with
loveeternal
is a free gift to us. We do nothing
of the Blessed Trinity, we too are called to but might have
perish watch over,life.

poster should include the following

future things, nor powers, nor height,God’s nor grace. Father and mother to earn His love, and there is nothing we can
Genesis 1:31 — God looked love at totally and completely, following the
everything
depth, nor any other creature will be support, able provide
Marital love for, and shepherd
is also total and
do to lose His
their
self-giving.
love. These TheScripture passages
he had made, and found pattern
it veryofgood.Trinitarian love.
to separate us from the love of God inchildren to bond prepare
of love them
givenforand
adult life andin marriage
received
attest to God’s free gift of love:
Evening came, and morning In Holy followed—the
Matrimony, Christ’s an eternity ceinon
sacrificannot heaven. Therefore, anything
Christ Jesus our Lord. be broken. The Blessed Trinity reveals

information:
sixth day. the Cross is made visiblethat that love means to give oneself to others. wages of sin is
intentionally
in human love. interrupts Romans
or prevents 6:23 —
this For the
Deuteronomy 7:9 — Know, then, that death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Jesus, on
Marital love must also be fruitful. The sexual the night before natural
He fruit
died, of
freely marriage is contrary
But we also know that sin has harmed our to God’s
the LORD, your God, is God: the faithful
union of male and female,gave His Body towith
in cooperation His bride, design and
the Church, is seriously
ability in So, toChrist
to love. sinful. Some
love trulyJesus inour
spouses thisLord.
fallen
God who keeps covenant mercy to the
God’s divine plan, results in thethe Eucharist.
procreation The next day are He
unable
sacrifi toced
world have
willchildren, but
involve sacrifi this
1 John does
ce.4:19 — not
It willWeinvolve
love because he first
thousandth generation toward those who
Himself for ofher mean that
by embracing His working their marriage
Cross. against our loved cannot be fruitful.

ӹӹ
of children. This is the natural result the tendency us. to be selfish

How the assigned “good” describes God’s love.

love him and keep his commandments.
love shared between spouses. Original Sin damaged
A husband and our They are and
called
understanding toofbear fruit
unfaithful. in their
Because of ourunionsinfulness,
Married loveworld,
is faithful,
what constant,
love is and dependable,in other ways,
We such Marital
as through love must
adoption, orbe freely given. The
wife create a special in imitation of our
the ability to love. loving tend
will also mean forgiving and asking for
and trustworthy.to Marriage is a think
total gift
love devoting their lives towhen consent
serving of the spouses is the fundamental
mistakenly is just a “feeling”
forgiveness we others.
do wrong. It involves
of self, body and we soul,can tofall
another
in andofout theof, rather than a free requirement for marriage. In fact, in
both spouses sharing every aspect of their
sacramental marriage, the ministers of the

ӹӹ
opposite, complementary
choice wesex. make It cannot
every day. be We also tend to each other. Because it is a total

 ow the assigned “good” describes married

H
lives with
a total gift of selfbe if something
selfish and is held The
sinful. backgood news sacrament are the spouses who give their
giftisofthatself, the bond of marriage is therefore
or reserved for another.
Jesus restoredLove’s fithe delity
trueormeaning of love to us and consent
indissoluble
to one another and exchange vows
permanent. As Jesus
faithfulness is expressed
by His Cross in the andfact that
Resurrection and revealed“what God of lifelong commitment before God and His
explains, has joined together, no
Church. The priest or deacon serves as the

marriage can be to between
us the Trinitarian
one woman. Moreover, He showed
doesn’t start and then stop. It is a relationship
“until death do us part.”
378
love.
only one man
lifeand
of love. On humanthe Cross,
being must separate” (Matthew 19:6;
this relationship
us that love means doing what official witness of this exchange and offers
Mark 10:9). Everything that God creates is
good, including the union of man and woman
in marriage.
377
D. A
 fter each group has had a sufficient amount of
time to create their posters, have each group
379
stand and present their posters to the class.
Have your students take notes on their own
regarding the goods of marriage they did not
study.

726 © S OP H IA IN S TITU TE FOR TE A C HERS

 The Story of Holy Matrimony

Directions: Read the essay, then answer the focus and reflection questions.

I t is not just a coincidence that the written

record of salvation, the Bible, begins with
the first marriage and ends with the wedding
feast of the lamb in the book of Revelation.
The story of salvation communicates the
greater relationship that God desires to have
with us. Jesus begins His public ministry with
a miracle at the Wedding at Cana, lifting the
primordial Sacrament (primordial means it
has existed since the beginning of time) to a
Sacrament of the Church.

Marriage and Human Nature

Marriage is an integral part of what it means
to be human. To be made in God’s image and
likeness is, in part, to be male and female,
in order to carry out God’s one command in
the beginning: to be fertile and multiply and
fill the earth. Genesis 2 more fully describes
the creation of woman and the unity shared
between the sexes. God tells Adam that
it is not good that he is alone, so He will
create a helper for him. God brings all of the
animals to Adam in search of a companion, ©Basilica of the National Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.
not because God thought any of the animals Photograph courtesy of the National Shrine.
was a suitable mate for Adam, but rather so Photographer: Geraldine M. Rohling.
that Adam would recognize the he is unique
out of all creation. While sharing certain When Adam meets his wife for the first time,
characteristics with the animals, man is also she causes him to speak in verse, bringing
undeniably and substantially different from all forth the best of man in recognition of the
of them. Only then does God create woman beauty before him. Adam proclaims that
from Adam’s side. Rather than the popular at last there is one like him, a person who
notion that woman was made somehow less is unique out of all creation, but shared in
than man, man and woman are in fact equal in the same dignity and vocation to love and
dignity and close to one another’s hearts. holiness as he, “bone of my bones, flesh of my

373

Unit 5, lesson 5 727

 Answer Key
1. Because it has
existed since the flesh.” Man and woman become “one body,” of the wedding feast of the Lamb every time
beginning of time; and cling to one another united in marriage we receive the Eucharist, the Body and Blood
to fulfill God’s command to fruitfulness. The of Jesus Christ.
it is in our human foundation of marriage, both as natural law
Not only does the Bible begin with a wedding
and a sacramental covenant, is found in the
nature. very beginnings of the creation of man and
and end with a wedding feast, but Jesus
began His public ministry with a miracle at a
woman and is an integral part of what it
wedding. This is no coincidence! Jesus is first
2. They were means to be human.
revealed to the public as the Messiah, the Son
of God and Savior, in the midst of a wedding.
both created in
Jesus Elevates Marriage to a By doing so, Jesus announced that the time
the image and Sacrament had come for God’s relationship with His
people to be restored. The Catechism of the
likeness of God, The story of salvation, having begun with the
Catholic Church no. 1613 states: “The Church
first marriage of the original man and woman,
attaches great importance to Jesus’ presence
close to each ends with a vision of Heaven in the book of
at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the
Revelation. This vision shows us that Heaven
other’s hearts. is the wedding celebration of the Lamb,
confirmation of the goodness of marriage and
the proclamation that thenceforth marriage
Jesus, who is united for all eternity with His
will be an efficacious [effective] sign of
3. The Wedding Bride, us, His Church. We recognize in Holy
Christ’s presence.” It is for this reason that
Matrimony a sign of Jesus’ union with His
the Church places such a great importance
Feast of the Church, which is consummated every time
on the Sacrament of Matrimony and defends
we receive Him in the Eucharist. We are truly
Lamb — it is blessed as Christians to be invited to partake
the union of one man and one woman so
vigorously.
the eternal
celebration of 1. Why is marriage called the primordial Sacrament?
Christ united to ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

His bride, the ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Church.
2. How do we know men and women are equal in dignity?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What is the vision of Heaven in the book of Revelation, and how does it connect to
marriage?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

374

728 © S OP H IA IN S TITU TE FOR TE A C HERS

Answer Key
4. At a wedding.
4. Where did Jesus perform His first public miracle, revealing Himself to be the Messiah?

___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reflection Questions:

5. At a wedding, Reflection Questions

husband and wife 5. Jesus is first revealed to the public as the Messiah, the Son of God and Savior,
in the midst of a wedding. Why would a wedding be the perfect setting for this
become one flesh. announcement?

It is a perfect __________________________________________________________________________________________

setting for Jesus __________________________________________________________________________________________

to announce __________________________________________________________________________________________

that the time has 6. Can you think of any ways that married love and divine love are similar?

come for God’s __________________________________________________________________________________________

relationship with __________________________________________________________________________________________

His people to be __________________________________________________________________________________________

restored. __________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Accept reasoned
answers.

375

Unit 5, lesson 5 729

 The Purposes of Marriage

The Purposes of Marriage

Unitive Procreative

Definition: Definition:

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 God’s Love and the Goods of Marriage
Marriage as an Icon of the Trinity
God is love. At His heart, God is three Persons
in one God who eternally share their love for
each other. From all eternity the Father pours
out all He is in generating the Son, who in
turns pours out all He is in love toward the
Father. The Holy Spirit eternally proceeds
from the Father and the Son. With the
Father and the Son He is one and equal. This
exchange of love between the Divine Persons
is perfect and eternal, without beginning or
end. Divine love shows us that love creates
communion and always generates life.
Marriage and Divine Love
The Lord created man and woman in love. We
are made in the divine image, so, in imitation
of the Blessed Trinity, we too are called to
love totally and completely, following the
pattern of Trinitarian love.
In Holy Matrimony, Christ’s sacrifice on
the Cross is made visible in human love.
Jesus, on the night before He died, freely
gave His Body to His bride, the Church, in
the Eucharist. The next day He sacrificed
Himself for her by embracing His Cross.
Original Sin damaged our understanding of
what love is and our ability to love. We tend
to mistakenly think love is just a “feeling”
we can fall in and out of, rather than a free
choice we make every day. We also tend to
be selfish and sinful. The good news is that
Jesus restored the true meaning of love to us
by His Cross and Resurrection and revealed
to us the Trinitarian life of love. On the Cross,
He showed us that love means doing what
Unit 5, lesson 5
is good for the other. When Jesus’ side was
pierced on the Cross (John 19:34), blood and
water flowed out. The Fathers of the Church
teach that the blood and water signify the
Sacraments of Eucharist and Baptism, the
Sacraments that create the Church. In a way,
we can say that out of Jesus’ side is formed
His Bride, the Church, just as Eve was formed
out of the side of Adam. Jesus is married to
the Church. Married love reflects and reveals
divine love. God’s love is freely given, faithful,
total self-giving, and fruitful. The love shared
between a man and a woman in marriage is a
reflection of the love of God.
The Goods of Marriage
Love Freely Given
God’s love is a free gift to us. We do nothing
to earn His love, and there is nothing we can
do to lose His love. These Scripture passages
attest to God’s free gift of love:
Romans 6:23 — For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 4:19 — We love because he first
loved us.
Marital love must be freely given. The
consent of the spouses is the fundamental
requirement for marriage. In fact, in
sacramental marriage, the ministers of the
sacrament are the spouses who give their
consent to one another and exchange vows
of lifelong commitment before God and His
Church. The priest or deacon serves as the
official witness of this exchange and offers
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 the blessing of the Church on the marital
union. This is why Catholic weddings take
place in a church, before the assembly, and
within a liturgical celebration such as the
Mass.
Faithful Love
God’s love is faithful. God does not withdraw
His love from us at any time for any reason.
Even though we are less than faithful to Him
when we sin, He remains near to us and
showers us with His grace. These Scripture
passages attest to God’s faithful love:
Romans 8:37-39 — No, in all these things
we conquer overwhelmingly through him
who loved us. For I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor present things, nor
future things, nor powers, nor height, nor
depth, nor any other creature will be able
to separate us from the love of God in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Deuteronomy 7:9 — Know, then, that
the LORD, your God, is God: the faithful
God who keeps covenant mercy to the
thousandth generation toward those who
love him and keep his commandments.
Married love is faithful, constant, dependable,
and trustworthy. Marriage is a total gift
of self, body and soul, to another of the
opposite, complementary sex. It cannot be
a total gift of self if something is held back
or reserved for another. Love’s fidelity or
faithfulness is expressed in the fact that
marriage can be between only one man and
one woman. Moreover, this relationship
doesn’t start and then stop. It is a relationship
“until death do us part.”
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Total Self-Giving Love
God’s love is total and self-giving. God gives
all of Himself to us. He holds nothing back. He
loved us so much that He assumed a human
nature in the person of Jesus Christ and gave
all that He had, His very life, for us on the
Cross. These Scripture passages attest to
God’s total self-giving love:
Philippians 2:7-8 — Rather, he emptied
himself, taking the form of a slave, coming
in human likeness; and found human
in appearance, he humbled himself,
becoming obedient to death, even death
on a cross.
John 3:16 — For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son, so that
everyone who believes in him might not
perish but might have eternal life.
Marital love is also total and self-giving. The
bond of love given and received in marriage
cannot be broken. The Blessed Trinity reveals
that love means to give oneself to others.
But we also know that sin has harmed our
ability to love. So, to love truly in this fallen
world will involve sacrifice. It will involve
working against our tendency to be selfish
and unfaithful. Because of our sinfulness,
loving will also mean forgiving and asking for
forgiveness when we do wrong. It involves
both spouses sharing every aspect of their
lives with each other. Because it is a total
gift of self, the bond of marriage is therefore
indissoluble and permanent. As Jesus
explains, “what God has joined together, no
human being must separate” (Matthew 19:6;
Mark 10:9). Everything that God creates is
good, including the union of man and woman
in marriage.
© S OP H IA IN S TITU TE FOR TE A C HERS
 Fruitful Love
God’s love is fruitful. God is the Creator of all
things, and He holds all things in continued
existence solely because He loves us. He
is love itself, and the Holy Spirit eternally
proceeds from the Father and the Son and
is one and equal with them. These Scripture
passages attest to God’s fruitful love:
John 1:3-5 — All things came to be through
him, and without him nothing came to be.
What came to be through him was life,
and this life was the light of the human
race; the light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it.
Genesis 1:31 — God looked at everything
he had made, and found it very good.
Evening came, and morning followed—the
sixth day.
Marital love must also be fruitful. The sexual
union of male and female, in cooperation with
God’s divine plan, results in the procreation
of children. This is the natural result of the
love shared between spouses. A husband and
wife create a special world, in imitation of the
Unit 5, lesson 5
Blessed Trinity. In the home, in their arms and
under their loving, watchful eyes, husband
and wife create the first world their children
will ever know. The Catechism puts it this
way: “And this love
which God blesses is intended to be fruitful
and to be realized in the common work of
watching over creation...” (CCC 1604). The
Christian home, called the “Domestic Church”
is where children first learn about Jesus and
the Catholic Faith. Their parents raise them
with love, showing them what virtue means,
teaching them to pray, and doing all they
can to help their children cooperate with
God’s grace. Father and mother watch over,
support, provide for, and shepherd their
children to prepare them for adult life and
an eternity in heaven. Therefore, anything
that intentionally interrupts or prevents this
natural fruit of marriage is contrary to God’s
design and is seriously sinful. Some spouses
are unable to have children, but this does not
mean that their marriage cannot be fruitful.
They are called to bear fruit in their union
in other ways, such as through adoption, or
devoting their lives to serving others.
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