CATHOLIC THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE

MCD UNIVERSITY OF DIVINITY

ASSESSMENT TASK 1 – ESSAY

“The Sacrament of Marriage”

CT9102C Liturgical & Sacramental Theology

Master of Arts (Theology)
Lecturer-in-Charge: Rev Dr Joseph Vnuk OP
Student Name: Mr Peter Carl Sheehan
CTC Student ID No.: 201317602
(Word Count: approximately 2,080 words)
12 April 2014
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 2

THE PASCHAL MYSTERY IN MARRIAGE

When we consider the term Paschal Mystery we refer to the death and resurrection

of Jesus as a reality (of mystery) where we as humanity have experienced the

presence and action of God in the world like never before.1

The term ‘Paschal’ comes from the Hebrew word for Passover when the exodus

from Egypt was celebrated. Early Christians saw similarities to Jesus exodus from

death to resurrected life. This same calling of dying to self is for all baptised

believers and Paul in particular singles out the husband and commands him to do

so for his wife. The goal of Christ’s love for the Church is its sanctification. He

desires her to be beautiful not just spiritually (holy) but also in an incarnational

sense beautiful in body. So the husband should recognise and desire his wife’s true

beauty so she ‘blossoms and radiates’ her goodness through her body, just as

Christ desires the Church to do.2

“Be subject to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up

for her, in order to make her holy. … For this reason a man will leave his father

and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.’ 32This is

a great mystery, and I am applying it to Christ and the church.”3

Augustine, in the fifth century said, both the ‘sacred pledge of fidelity’ between

the husband and wife (only ended by death) and the ‘sign of the union between

1
O’Loughlin, Frank. “The Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ,” in Frank O’Loughlin (ed.), The Cross
Our Glory. (Melbourne: Diocesan Liturgical Centre, 1990) 1
2
West, Christopher. “Theology of the Body Explained: A commentary on John Paul II’s “Gospel of
the Body”, (Herefordshire, England: Gracewing, 2003) 332.
3
NRSV Catholic Bible Online, Ephesians 5:1,21,25-26,30-32.
http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=262553274 [accessed 6 April 2014]
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 3

Christ and his church’; were the two ways marriage was a sacrament4. He said the

sacrament operates at three levels and he used the distinction between

sacramentum - meaning ‘oath’ in Latin5 (sign) and res (thing signified and caused).

In marriage the outward ritual is the wedding ceremony (sacramentum tatum);

through which is given a share in Christ’s priesthood - the marriage bond (res et

sacramentum) which further symbolizes the spirit in which the gift is given (res

sacramenti)”6. The conjugal bond of marriage goes beyond a unity of the flesh to

the heart and soul that is faithful, mutually giving and permanent7. The life of a

Christian married couple, sanctifies themselves and their children, builds up the

body of Christ, and becomes a liturgical action that gives glory through Jesus

Christ and his Church to God.8 The general view is that the ‘matter’ of marriage is

contained in the mutual declaration of consent, and the mutual acceptance of the

declaration is the ‘form’9. Joseph Vnuk, says we receive the sacrament of marriage

as a gift from God in order to share in an aspect of Christ’s story, which in

marriage is the unity of God and the love of Christ for his Church. We live in a

new way now, his passion, through our denial of self and giving of our lives for

our spouses’ goodness (purity and holiness) and salvation10.

4
Martos, Op. Cit., 376
5
Hahn, Scott. Gen Ed., Catholic Bible Dictionary. (New York, NY: Doubleday, 2009) 789
6
Vnuk, Joseph. Liturgical and Sacramental Theology, Lecture Notes (Melbourne CTC, 2014),
Week 5, slides 61, 62
7
Pope John-Paul II. “Familiaris Consortio: On the Role of the Christian Family in the Modern
World” Para 13
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-
ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html [Accessed 10 April 2014]
8
Pope John-Paul II. “Op. Cit.”, Para 56
9
New Advent: Catholic Encyclopaedia - M – Sacrament of Marriage
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09707a.htm [accessed 9 April 2014]
10
Vnuk, Op. Cit., Week 6, slides 9, 11, 16.
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THE SYMBOLS AND SYMBOLISM OF MARRIAGE

The symbols (candles, rings, vows, common cup, crowns) and marriage rites of the

Roman and Orthodox churches elucidate the theology of the sacrament in different

ways.

The components of the Roman Marriage Rite in the church service include the

welcome, listening to and reflecting upon scriptures about marriage, prayers, the

exchange of vows, the joining of hands and the exchanging of rings11. In 1983 the

Code of Canon Law was changed so marriage was no longer primarily a contract

but a covenant. It placed the personal relationship of the spouses on equal footing

with the purpose of procreation of children. The ongoing marriage and not (only)

the wedding was where the sacrament was lived out within the concern of the

whole church community12. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994),

regarding the sacrament of marriage states:

“… According to Latin tradition, the spouses as ministers of Christ's grace

mutually confer upon each other the sacrament of Matrimony by expressing their

consent before the Church. … In the epiclesis of this sacrament the spouses

receive the Holy Spirit as the communion of love of Christ and the Church.

The Holy Spirit is the seal of their covenant, the ever available source of their

love and the strength to renew their fidelity.”13

11
Bagot, Jean-Pierre. “How to Understand Marriage”, Trans. John Bowden (London: SCM
Press Ltd, 1987) 75
12
Mick, Lawrence. Understanding the Sacraments Today. rev. ed. (Kindle), (Collegeville, MN:
Liturgical Press, 2006) Loc 1231
13
Catechism, 2nd Ed.,1623 1624
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Consent and Exchange of Vows

This rite takes place before a priest, the witnesses and the assembly of the faithful

ideally within a public liturgical celebration. The spouses come as baptised people

seeking strength and sanctification to help them in their new life as intimate

sacramental marriage partners. They consent to giving themselves to each other in

the following or similar words:

‘I Peter take you Debbie as my wife. I promise to be true … in good times and bad,

sickness and health. I will love and honor you all the days of my life.

They offer their lives to the another to form a oneness; and unite it with the

offering of Christ in the Eucharist for his Church, which expands the union into

the Christ’s body! They exchange their vows to each other, before the church and

the priest then blesses them. The words declared by the spouses, through the Holy

Spirit, effect the grace of the sacrament, which ‘perfects the human love of the

spouses and strengthens their indissoluble unity’14.

Blessing and Exchange of Rings

The blessings used by the priest for the rings state they symbolise their ‘faith

(fidelity) and love’ for each other. The rings will remind them of the others love

and their own commitment of love, and most importantly the perfect love of the

Holy Spirit which unites and empowers them in Christ as a Christian couple to live

their new life together. They then take the rings and place them on each other’s

ring finger and pledge their love and fidelity.15

14
Catechism, 2nd Ed., 1661
15
Catholic Wedding Help, ‘Text of the Rite of Marriage’
http://catholicweddinghelp.com/topics/text-rite-of-marriage-mass.htm [Accessed 6 April 2014]
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 6

2. The Eastern Orthodox Marriage Rite has two main parts that can be

separately done: the ‘Betrothal - Exchange of Rings’ and the ‘Crowning –

Marriage’. They do not exchange vows, rather it their presence before Christ

(represented by the priest and the assembly) that expresses their desire to be

joined and have the Lord in their home.

Betrothal - Exchange of Rings

In this rite rings are similarly a sign of each other’s commitment and devotion.16

The priest first asks the bride if she wishes to marry the groom before asking the

groom. Prayers are said including a prayer about the meaning and importance in

the story of salvation of wearing of rings and the right hand’s role in priestly and

royal roles by Joseph, Daniel, Moses, and the father who puts a ring on his

(prodigal) son. The priest puts the rings (not the couples) - given by the spouses to

the other– on their fingers. The exchange signifies that they complement the others

strengths and weaknesses and perfect each other.

Crowning – Marriage

This rite commences with the priest entering the church with the betrothed couple

holding lit candles. The candles remind us of the five wise maidens awaiting the

bridegroom and symbolize the couples spiritual desire to receive Christ in their

marriage and their hearts. The priest prays a prayer for Christ’s peace and blessing

of the marriage, as was the case at the marriage at Cana where they was blessed by

16
Korrenaya, ‘Orthodox Church Wedding’ http://www.kurskroot.com/orthodox_wedding.html
[accessed 8 April 2014]
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 7

Christs’ presence. There are several beautiful prayers that start with Adam being

alone and Eve being created to help him to govern the animals and earth as a type

of ‘king of creation’. The priest then joins their right hands and asks God to

‘unite them in one mind and one flesh’. They hold hands throughout the entire

ceremony to symbolise their ‘oneness’.

The priest crowns the bridegroom then the bride while saying the prayer. The

crowns are placed on their heads (or held above) and signifying their marriage will

require sacrifice – as the martyrs were crowned through their ultimate self-

sacrifice; so they are to rule and govern their family, as a domestic church and do

their part in revealing the kingdom of God. The crowns symbolise the glory and

honour they receive from God in the Mystery.

The couple then share a Common Cup of wine signifying that all things in the

marriage are to be shared equally, in a better life where joys and sorrows are

shared in harmony. It also reminds us of Christ’s first miracle at the marriage in

Cana when he changed the water into wine.

The priest, representing the Church in the person of Christ, then leads the couple, in

taking their first steps as a couple, in a procession around the sacramental table

upon which the Gospel and the Cross are placed, three times. During this walk they

sing a hymn of the martyrs reminding them again of the demands of married love

which must seek the others good and be willing to sacrifice everything to do so.
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 8

THE IMPACT OF MARRIAGE ON OUR LIFE

The Catechism clarifies how we live this Paschal meaning:

It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that

spouses will be able to "receive" the original meaning of marriage and live it with

the help of Christ.17

The family is a ‘community of life and love’ with the mission to guard, reveal and

communicate, through the sacramental love of the couple, this love for humanity,

for Christ and his Church. Pope John-Paul II, in Familiaris Consortio, identifies it

as having four general tasks:

1) form a community: where members of their family live, grow and perfect

themselves with love as men (husband and father), women, children and the

elderly;

2) to serve life: through procreation of children, and handing on the fruits that is

moral, spiritual and supernatural life; and through education of values of human

life, marriage and the church;

3) to participate in the development of society – through their vocations as lay

people, involvement in community service organisations (e.g. Rotary, Lions),

solidarity with international efforts for truth, freedom, justice, life;

17
Catechism, 2nd ed., 1615
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4) sharing in the life and mission of the Church – by believing and

evangelising, dialogue with God (prayer, worship, discovering image of God in

others, holy spirit18.

Roberts notes that since Vatican II three things emphasised in marriages have been

‘partnership, intimacy and sacramentality’ where there is enjoyment of a deep

friendship with your soul mate and your chief concerns is their salvation (or

getting to heaven) by being a sacrament to one another19. We are called to live our

story in Christ in this new chapter of marriage sacramentally.

For example, in marriage where people become close and vulnerable,

misunderstandings, mistakes and hurt happens. So then the need to admit fault, say

sorry, ask forgiveness and commit to avoiding repeating the offence or wrong. The

family is the place where reconciliation first has to happen and it can be then

formally celebrated in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

In a marriage that is sacramental there needs, not only to be baptised persons, but a

faith in their giving of consent that they are entering into a marriage in the Lord,

and not just doing so for human or social reasons, or because they want a church

marriage, as is more commonly the situation in todays secular society.

18
Pope John Paul II, Op. Cit., Para 17.
19
Roberts, William P., “Towards a Post-Vatican II Spirituality of Marriage”, in Curran, Charles E.
& Rubio, Julie H., Marriage: Readings in Moral Theology No. 15. (Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press,
2009) 117
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 10

Even though the sacrament can be objectively valid in its expression (ex opera

operato), the grace and fruitfulness of the sacrament needs the intention in the

receiver (opus operantis). Otherwise a sacramental marriage will not take place.20

As Vnuk says one cannot receive grace by mere participation ‘without any faith or

engagement on his or her part’21.

Pius XI in Casti Connubi reminds us that we need to cooperate with grace, or else

the marital grace will be like an unused talent hidden in a field and it will not

sanctify or strengthen. Likewise, the blessings of ‘conjugal faith’ will not benefit

us – namely, unity, chastity, charity, honorable noble obedience.22

So the marriage partnership focuses our life story that we share as baptized people

in the story of Christ, by our seeking to grow towards perfect unity and oneness

each day in love, while serving in the Church and the community and pursuing the

good and sanctity of our children23 as outlined in the four family tasks. It demands

a response from the parish and diocese effective family pastoral care, as well as

help from the other members of the church and associations of laity for marriages,

to us to have sacramental marriages.24 We become witnesses to the unity and

fruitfulness of Christ’s love for the Church and signs of our future ‘wedding as the

wife of the Lamb’ when Christ comes again (Rev 21:9-14).

20
Kasper, Walter. “Theology of Christian Marriage”. (London: Search Press Ltd, 1980) 80-82.
21
Vnuk, Op. Cit., Week 6, slide 94.
22
Pope Pius XI, “Casti Connubi – On Christian Marriage” 1930 Para 30 , 41
23
Jeffrey, Peter. “The Mystery of Christian Marriage”, (Mahwah, New Jersey: Gracewing Paulist
Press, 2006) 133
24
Pope John Paul II, Op. Cit., para 70-72
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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anastasis. Crowning http://www.anastasis.org.uk/crowning.htm [accessed 6 April

2014]

Attridge, Harold W. General Editor. The Harper Collins Study Bible, Revised

Edition [Fully Revised and Updated NRSV Version With the

Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books Student Edition]. San Francisco, CA:

HarperOne A Division of HarperCollins Publishers, 2006.

Bagot, Jean-Pierre. “How to Understand Marriage”, Trans. John Bowden London:

SCM Press Ltd, 1987.

Catechism of the Catholic Church, ‘Article 7 The Sacrament of Matrimony’, 2nd

ed., Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls, 2000

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p2s2c3a7.htm

Catholic Wedding Help, ‘Text of the Rite of Marriage’

http://catholicweddinghelp.com/topics/text-rite-of-marriage-mass.htm [Accessed 6

April 2014]

Curran, Charles E. & Rubio, Julie H., Marriage: Readings in Moral Theology No.
15. Mahwah NJ: Paulist Press, 2009
Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 12

Hahn, Scott. Gen Ed., Catholic Bible Dictionary. New York, NY: Doubleday,
2009

Jeffrey, Peter. The Mystery of Christian Marriage, Mahwah, New Jersey:

Gracewing Paulist Press, 2006

Kasper, Walter. Theology of Christian Marriage. London: Search Press Ltd, 1980.

Korrenaya, Orthodox Church Wedding,

http://www.kurskroot.com/orthodox_wedding.html [accessed 8 April 2014]

New Advent: Catholic Encyclopaedia - M – Sacrament of Marriage

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09707a.htm [accessed 9 April 2014]

Martos, Joseph. Doors to the Sacred: A Historical Introduction to Sacraments in

the Catholic Church. expanded edition, San Francisco, Ligouri: Triumph, 1991

Mick, Lawrence. Understanding the Sacraments Today. rev. ed. (Kindle),

Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2006

O’Loughlin, Frank. The Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ, in Frank O’Loughlin

(ed.), The Cross Our Glory. Melbourne: Diocesan Liturgical Centre, 1990

NRSV Catholic Bible Online, Ephesians 5 http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=262553274

[accessed 6 April 2014]

Pope John-Paul II. Familiaris Consortio: On the Role of the Christian Family in

the Modern World

Name: Peter Sheehan ID: 201317602 CT9102C 13

http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_

jp-ii_exh_19811122_familiaris-consortio_en.html [Accessed 10 April 2014]

Vnuk, Joseph. Liturgical and Sacramental Theology, Lecture Notes Melbourne

CTC, 2014

West, Christopher. Theology of the Body Explained: A commentary on John Paul

II’s ‘Gospel of the Body’, Herefordshire, England: Gracewing, 2003