NOTRE DAME OF TALISAY CITY

GRADE LEVEL: 9 LESSON: 4th QUARTER

SUBJECT: CHRISTIAN LIVING WEEK: 6
TOPIC: Witnessing to Jesus’ Love--Marriage
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OBJECTIVES: At the end of the lesson, the learners should able to:
1. Discuss the Sacrament of Matrimony.
2. Investigate the element of a lasting marriage.
3. Observe the Sacrament of Marrige.
Witnessing to Jesus’ Love--Marriage
The Sacrament of Matrimony, one of the seven sacraments celebrates and binds the commitment of a baptized man and woman to a lifelong
mutual giving and fidelity to each other. It purifies the couple and gives them the grace to generate and educate responsibly their children, the fruit
of their love.
Marriage, Image of the Covenant
The quotes at the beginning of the lesson present
several important aspects of marriage. One quote
emphasizes the importance of friendship in marriage,
another considers passion as an indispensable
ingredient for a happy marriage while another argues
that kindness should always be present if marriage is
to last. Finally, one quote considers keeping the
promises one made as the key to a lasting marriage.
Not one among the quote mentions God when the
truth is that marriages are able to endure all trials if
God is at the center of a couple’s relationship.
Marriage, a union of a man and a woman in the
Sacrament of Matrimony is more than a contract
signed on a piece of paper. Rather, it is a covenant of love between a man and a woman. The marriage covenant is
rooted in God’s plan at the very moment of creation. By creating man and woman He called them to an intimate
communion of life and love in marriage,” so that they are no longer two, but one flesh” (Mt 19:6).
In the New Testament, this marriage covenant is seen as an image of the covenant between Christ and the
Church. Jesus did not only restore the original order of matrimony but gave the spouses a special grace to live out their
marriage as a symbol of Christ’s love for his bride, the Church (CFC 1893).
As Christ loves His people, the Church, and gives Himself up for her (cf. Eph 5:25), the couples in the Sacrament
of Matrimony are given a new heart to be able to share in the full love of Jesus, the new and eternal covenant made
flesh. The grace of the sacrament of Matrimony enables the couple to love each other just as Christ loves His Church
(CFC 1890-91; CCC 1661).
Hence, husbands and wives should love and act toward each other as Christ loves and treats us, His Church. The couples
are commanded: “each one of you should love his wife as himself, the wife for her part showing respect for her husband
(Eph 5:33)” (Compendium of CCC 341).

The marriage covenant in the sacrament of Matrimony seals the love of husband and wife and reflects God’s divine plan of love. It is a
foreshadowing of the covenant Between Christ and the Church (of CFC 1892, 1895).

Marriage as a Sacrament
The Sacrament of Matrimony is one of the seven sacraments of the Church. Through the sacrament of marriage, the love
of man and woman is made holy and becomes a reflection of God’s love (cf. CFC 1897).
As a sacrament, marriage is when a man and a woman stand before God and their fellow men and women, and
freely and publicly declare, in one form or another, to be “of one heart and one soul, from this day forward, for better,
for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do us part.” Hence, the couple publicly vow to
make their love union exclusive and permanent, which can never be dissolved. Through it, they become an efficacious
sign of Christ’s redemptive love to each other, their offspring, and their community (cf. CFC 1898).
The grace of the sacrament of Matrimony perfects the human love of the spouses, strengthens their indissoluble
union and sanctifies them. The grace of the sacrament also helps them attain holiness in their married life, accept
responsibility the gift of children, and provide for their education (Compendium of CCC 347).
 We see now the value of getting married in the Church in these days when there is a big temptation to enter
into trial marriages or free unions or living in which attack the intrinsic dignity of the person and the truth of their
relationship in the community. Marriage then must not be simply seen as a wedding ceremony. It is, rather, the solemn
entry of the spouses into a binding commitment before God and the Christian community. Also, it is not just a
celebration but an ongoing life of the married couple. It then is not an end but a beginning, not a state but a process.
Marriage is the sacrament through which Christ gives Himself to the couple in and through their ongoing mutual
self-giving love. Through it, Jesus abides with the spouses so they will love each other with enduring fidelity
(cf. CFC 1899;1901-02).
Through the sacrament of matrimony, the couple bind their commitment of love to each other, before God and the Christians
community and are blessed through, with and in Christ the Lord (of, CFC 2000).

The Goods of Marriage

Marriage is based on the consent of contracting parties, that is, on their will to give themselves to each other, mutually
and definitely, in order to live a covenant of faithful and fruitful love (CCC 1662).
This means that first, conjugal or married love entails indissolubility and faithfulness. The love of the spouses
requires that their union which embraces their life: ‘so they are no longer two, but one flesh.’ They are called to grow
continually through their everyday fidelity to their marriage promise of mutual self-giving. The intimate union of the
couple and the good of the children require total fidelity and an unbreakable union between the spouses
(cf.CCC 1643-46). Hence, according to the divine plan this conjugal union is indissoluble, as Jesus affirmed: “Therefore
what God has joined together, no human being must separate” (Mk 10:9).
Indissolubility does not mean that the Church will force the couple to live together even if they no longer agree
peaceably. The Church may declare a separation of a validly married couple when there is a grave cause like adultery,
threats on the life, etc. The separation declared by the Church through does not cut the valid marital bond and neither
of the parties can remarry until the death of the other party. The Church only allows annulment for valid grounds,
hence, one must take into account seriously the responsibilities and demands of matrimony before entering into it.
Further, if God calls us for married life, we must enter into it with the blessing of God and the Church.
Second, conjugal love entails openness to life or fertility. This means that marriage and married love is ordered
to the procreation and education of children as God blessed man and woman with the words: ‘be fertile and multiply’
(cf. Gen 1:28). The fruitfulness of this conjugal love extends to children, as parents are the principal and first education
of their children. Spouses who are not granted children though can still meaningfully share their conjugal life through
charity, hospitality and sacrifice (cf. CCC 1652-54). Marriage does not lose its value if couples are not able to have
offspring’s.
Authentic married love should be marked by total permanent fidelity “till death do us part,” and is ordained for the procreation and
education of children (of CFC 2007-2008).
The stable union of man and woman in marriage is born of their love, as a sign and presence of God’s own love, and of
the acknowledgment and acceptance of the goodness of sexual differentiation, whereby spouses can become one flesh
and are enabled to give birth to a new life, a manifestation of the Creator’s goodness, wisdom and loving plan.
Grounded in this love, a man and a woman can promise each other mutual love in a gesture which engages their entire
lives and mirrors many features of faith. Promising love for ever is possible when we perceive a plan bigger than our own
ideas and undertakings, a plan which sustains us and enables us to surrender our future entirely to the one we love.
cf. LF 52
ACTIVITY: In what way is marriage a:
 Sacrament?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
 Covenant?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
ASSESSMENT: Write the word true if the statement is correct and the word false if incorrect. Write your name, week,
and Quarter.
1.Marriage is an agreement between two baptized persons.
2.In marriage, God calls man and woman to a communion of life and love.
3.The Sacrament of Matrimony seals the love of the man and woman.
4.In marriage, the husband is superior to the wife, who is his subordinate.
5.Matrimony is a private exchange of vows between couples.
6.The marriage union is temporary and can be dissolved.
7.Marriage purities the couples and prepares them for family life.
8.Trial marriages or free union are better and more meaningful than Church weddings.
9.Marriage signifies the end or culmination of the love of the man and woman.
10. Marriage is simply a ceremony and rite.
ASSIGNMENT: Answer the following.
1. What is the common message of the quotes on marriage?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Do you agree with the quotes? Why/Why not?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What do you think is the secret to or element of a lasting marriage?
____________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________

Reference: We celebrate God’s Love CL9

 Apolinario A. BocarRodel M. Aguire
 Maria Lowella I. CalderonPillar I. Romero, Ph.D. Author-Editor