PT3 - Unit 1 - Marriage Vocation

What’s the three qualities of Christian marriage?

1. Faithful: Spouses stay committed to each other, incs. avoiding betrayal, actively enjoying, appreciating, and celebrating each other

2. Permanent: Marriage’s intended to last forever, reflects perma. relationship b.t. Jesus and the Church

3. Exclusive: Spouses share unique relationship w/ each other. Their commitment + intimacy different from every other relationship

Just… absorb this:

1. Spouses become ministers of God’s love + grace to each other

The five ways God communicates with other people?

1. Nature and creation: Creation reflects its creator. Ppl can experience God via beauty + wonders of nature (Moses’ burning bush, Elijah seeing God through gentle breeze)

2. Human love and friendship: Ppl can show God’s love via kindness, healing, teaching, caring for others. Human relationships can reveal God’s grace.

3. Jesus: The incarnation of God, God became human through Jesus. J’s also ex. of how to love God and other ppl

4. The Church: Church began at Pentecost when HS filled the disciples. It continues Jesus’ work via worship, service, care, teaching. It’s called the Ppl of God and the Body of Christ

5. The seven sacraments: rituals through which Christians experience Jesus’ work; helps ppl understand important life experiences through faith

What’s a sacrament?

Sign, ritual, symbol that makes God’s presence and love more tangible and helps people respond to God.

Two parts of it: God acts and offers grace via sacrament, ppl respond to God’s presence through faith and friendship.

**The Seven Sacraments: Sacraments of Initiation?

1. Baptism

   1. Welcomes someone into the Church, symbolizes forgiveness of sins and new life as Christian

   2. Water poured over someone’s head 3x, or immersed in water.

2. Confirmation

   1. Person gets gifts of HS, strengthens faith + commitment to the Church

   2. Bishop/priest anoints forehead with chrism oil

**The Seven Sacraments: Baptism and Confirmation are sacraments of…

Initiation

**The Seven Sacraments: Sacraments of belonging?

3. Eucharist

   1. During Mass, bread and wine’s blessed (as body and blood of Christ), then ppl receive Communion

   2. To receive Christ and remember Jesus’ Last Supper

4. Marriage

   1. Couple exchange vows and consent to marriage in front of Church; rings exchanged as signs of commitment

   2. Couple makes lifelong commitment to love + support each other and form a family

5. Holy Orders

   1. Ordains ppl to serve Church as deacons, priests, or bishops

   2. Bishop lays hands on person’s head and prays a prayer of ordination

**The Seven Sacraments: Eucharist, Marriage, and Holy Orders are sacraments of…

Belonging

**The Seven Sacraments: Sacraments of healing?

6. Reconciliation/Confession

   1. Person confesses sins to priest, expresses repentance, receives absolution (declaration of God’s forgiveness)

   2. Forgives sins, restores relationship w/ God and the Church

7. Anointing of the Sick

   1. Priest prays over the person and anoints their forehead + hands with oil of the sick

   2. Gives spiritual strength, comfort, healing to ppl facing serious illness or health difficulties

**The Seven Sacraments: Reconciliation/Confession and Anointing of the Sick are sacraments of…

Healing

What makes marriage a sacrament?

It’s an encounter with God through the couple’s relationship and love.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: How is marriage a visible sign of Christ’s love?

The couple’s love reflects Christ’s love for the Church. Both are freely given, faithful, permanent, exclusive.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: How is marriage a means of salvation?

Each spouse helps guide the other toward God, shared faith and prayer can help.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: Marriage is based on real faith and commitment. What do those last three words entail?

1. Real: the decision is free from force, pressure, coercion. Based on more than infatuation.

2. Faith: Belief in God, oneself, one’s spouse, ability to face the future together

3. Commitment: A total giving of oneself to the other person. It’s a decision that goes beyond temporary feelings.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: How is marriage publicly confirmed?

Through vows exchanged in a religious ceremony b4 the Christian community

What makes marriage a sacrament?: How does the community support marriage?

It witnesses the marriage and supports the couple throughout their lives

What makes marriage a sacrament?: Why are vows at the heart of the marriage ceremony?

They’re the words through which the couple gives themselves to each other.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: How is marriage centered on Christ?

The couple builds their relationship with Christ at its centre; God’s presence can sustain them through difficult times.

What makes marriage a sacrament?: What are two ways marriage differs from the other sacraments?

1. The couple are the ministers of the sacrament.

   1. In other sacraments it’s usually the priest or bishop.

   2. In marriage the husband is the minister of the sac. to his wife, and the wife is the minister to her husband

   3. The priest represents the Church community and acts as the official witness; not the minister

   4. So, the sac. continues throughout the couple’s married life

2. The couple themselves are the tangible matter of the sacrament

   1. Other sacs. use physical substance/object to rep. a spiritual reality

   2. In marriage, the union of the couple is itself the physical sign of God’s action

   3. Wedding rings can remind of commitment, but not required for sac.

Marriage is a covenant: Legal contract vs. covenant. Which one is marriage?

-Legal contract: legally recognized agreement that gives spouses certain rights and responsibilities. Can be ended via divorce.

-Covenant: A deeply personal and solemn promise based on love. It’s freely given, faithful, unconditional, intended to be permanent.

Marriage is both! As a covenant it’s modeled on God’s relationship w/ the Israelites and Jesus’ relation. w/ the Church

Marriage is a covenant: God’s covenants and how it’s like marriage?

-God made cov. w/ Abraham and his descendants. He later renewed it with the Israelites through the Law given at Mount Sinai.

-God promised to remain faithful to his people, didn’t abandon even when Israelites’ unfaithful

-The prophets compared God’s love to the faithful love of a spouse who remains committed despite being hurt

-At Last Supper Jesus made new cov. via sacrificing His life.

Marriage and fidelity: Fidelity (faithfulness) includes three things…

1. Sexual faithfulness: spouses reserve their sexual intimacy for each other

2. Constancy: loving each other through the good and bad; they make time for their relationship and continue supporting each other

3. Calling each other to growth: being honest abt. probs. + working through them together

Sometimes marriage ends: How?

1. Death: Surviving spouse experiences grief, often needs support from family, friends, community groups

2. Separation or divorce: couple may separate or legally end marriage due to relationship probs. or other circumstances

3. Annulment: Church declares that a valid marriage was never established bc. something prevented it from being valid from the beginning

**Divorce and Annulments: What’s an annulment? What’s the usual grounds for granting an annulment?

Annulment’s a Church declaration that a valid sac-al. marriage was never established. Grounds: lack of genuine consent, inability to make the required lifelong commitment, serious deception abt. an important part of the marriage.

**Divorce and Annulments: What’s difference b.t. divorce and annulment? If a couple has a legal divorce, do they still have to apply for an annulment? Do they have to divorce before they apply for an annulment?

-Divorce: Legally ends a marriage

-Annulment: Declares a valid marriage never existed due to legal/religious grounds

-A couple generally doesn’t need both. If they have already obtained a legal divorce, they do not normally need a legal annulment as well. Also don’t have to divorce before applying for an annulment. But if seeking a religious annulment, like through the Catholic Church, they may need to obtain a civil divorce first. A civil divorce and religious annulment are two diff. processes.

**Divorce and Annulments: Does the Church consider divorce a sin? What is the Catholic Church’s approach to divorced people?

Not automatically considered a sin. The Church welcomes and supports divorced people. It encourages reconciliation when possible, but recognizes that separation or divorce may be necessary in some situations.

**Divorce and Annulments: If a Catholic is divorced but has not received an annulment and their ex-spouse is still alive, can they remarry in the Catholic Church?

No. Church still considers the first marriage valid unless it’s been declared invalid. The person can’t enter another Catholic marriage while that marriage is still recognized as valid.

**Divorce and Annulments: If a couple who have children get an annulment, are the children “illegitimate”?

No. An annulment doesn’t change the status or legitimacy of children born during the marriage. It’s more focused on the validity of the marriage itself.

**Divorce and Annulments: What is the Marriage Tribunal?

A Church court that investigates whether a marriage was valid according to Catholic Church law. It reviews the circumstances and decides whether an annulment should be granted.