A brief Catechism of Marriage

Marriage is a natural institution that has been written into the very fabric of the created world. Since the beginning of time, marriage has been a common practice to all cultures in all ages. As such, God Himself is the author of marriage. The institution of marriage is foundational to His loving plan of goodness for all men and women. Marriage, however, is not just a natural institution. In the Catholic Church, marriage is also a supernatural institution. Jesus raised marriage to a sacrament at the Wedding feast of Cana (John 2:1-11). Marriage in the Catholic Church, therefore, has a supernatural element as well as a natural one.

God created man and woman in His image and likeness out of His infinite love for us. Since God created man and woman, “their mutual love becomes an image of the absolute and unfailing love with which God loves all men and women” (CCC #1604). The love between husband and wife mirrors the love that God has for His people. The Sacrament of Marriage is an opportunity for the couple to experience the intimate love of God within their own marriage, as well as provides a window into which all people come to glimpse the abundant love of God flowing through the sacramental union of husband and wife.

Just as God loves His people unconditionally without end, so too the love of husband and wife is unconditional and involves their whole life; ‘til death do we part’. It is God who brings man and woman together in the Sacrament of Marriage to be a sign of His great love. As such marriage has four distinct pillars on which it rests. Marriage must be faithful, free, permanent, and fruitful. When a marriage is rooted in these four pillars, it becomes a tangible sign of the great love God has for His people.