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Meaning of Marriage
By Peace | January 27, 2008
The Catholic Marriage Ceremony provides a scenario of married life:
a. A young couple, with the future unknown ahead of them, make an act of faith and trust in each other.
b. They make this act of faith and trust in each other in the presence of God on whom they will rely to live it.
c. They make it in the presence of the Church’s minister and their relatives and friends whose support and prayers will still be necessary long after the ceremony has concluded.
It is always difficult to venture into the unknown, no matter how well prepared. It is not sufficient merely to exchange vows and hope for the best. The mutual act of faith and trust will have to be renewed again and again. The assistance of God will have to be continually sought. The prayers and support of relatives and friends are a necessary factor in the enduring partnership of marriage.
The Marriage Ceremony provided a scenario of married life. It speaks of love, permanent commitment, fidelity, openness to children and perseverance in good times and bad. It is these qualities which make marriage a unique and supreme human relationship. There is no other relationship which requires a total commitment of one person to another. In fact, marriage is more than a relationship, it is a union, a communion, between a husband and wife. Their life together is now different from their lives separately. Once married, everything they do is done with the other in mind. They do not lose their individual identity, but that identity is enriched by sharing and caring for the partner. Their union should be so complete that everything they do, big or small, is geared towards strengthening and deepening their union, their communion. There is no development unless both develop, no happiness unless both are happy, no real love unless it is mutual.
And so their communion grows through their years together. The marriage union can never remain static. It must either grow stronger and deeper day by day, or deteriorate. Once deterioration has set in it is very difficult to arrest. The wedding day, then, happily introduces a couple into the life-long pleasure of increasing their love for each other.
Topics: Church, Teachings, special day |
