Marriage was created in the earthly paradise where physical life was lived to a much greater spiritual degree than we have today, for Adam saw God face to face. He missed a mate. God created them and united them in marriage.

Even decayed from paradise, there was marriage, which is a natural right, which did not require religious, social, civic, etc. ceremony. Any deal was worth it. If a man came to a woman, saying that he loved her, that he would be faithful to death, and wanted to form a family with her, they would be contracting marriage. Over time, the public ceremony was demanded, because of human weakness, which did not follow the promised commitments. People perceived something sacred there.

The problem, however, is that this marriage, without the interference of Jesus, hindered spiritual development. Looking at the past and the present, we can see how many jealousies, unemployment, time to pray that you do not have, how many diseases of children exist within marriage! We even forgot about holiness. We think that being a simple Catholic who does not sin badly is already good. We push the union with God to celibates, whose hearts must be 100% handed over to Him. Even St. Paul himself, knowing all this, recommends celibacy (I Cor. 7,1). Natural law marriage has become the greatest trap for those who want to have spiritual life.

Marriage as a sacrament

Our Lord came to call everyone to a holy life, united with Him. Among the first Christians there were not so many celibates. These have arisen over time. How did Jesus solve this impasse? He raised the marriage to a sacrament. This being only lawful if contracted by people baptized, because it is in baptism that is the key to make the marriage a sacrament, because when we are baptized we become children of God.

The sacrament is the effective symbol of what it represents. It actually produces what it shows as a symbol! Marriage is the sign that reveals the love between Christ and the Church . “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved his Church and gave himself up for her” (Eph 5:24). Christ added another purpose that was not in the natural contract, transforming it into an effective path of holiness. It is not putting your spouse and children in Jesus’ place, but rather a complete self-abnegation for the sake of the other. It brings focus to the spiritual life . Further! The bosom of a family of deep-rooted faith is the best possible environment for the best Christians to be born! Being a sacrament, marriage brings in itself the supernatural grace for this to be fulfilled.

How good and perfect God is! Against this backdrop, let us adjust our focus.

Sanctification of marriage

Marriage is a contract by which the spouses, a man and a woman, being only one companion of the other, give each other the right over their own bodies, for the use that nature has established, for the procreation and creation of the offspring . Each one owns his own body, but in marriage he is given to acts which, according to the natural order, are those which nature has instituted capable of generating offspring.  Hence, any other form of intercourse are excluded.

Marriage is for the formation of a family with generation of offspring, also for the mutual assistance of the spouses, therefore, it is possible to marry also those who can not bear children. Moreover, marriage is a remedy against concupiscence. If a person does not think about marrying, he does not feel lacking in company, but can not run out of sex, this is contradictory! It’s not good living single. One can not live chaste in today’s world without the help of God’s grace.

By Christian doctrine, the requirement of a public ceremony remains from the necessity of celebration within a Church, before the priest and witnesses, made official in document.

For most people, this is the ordinary path of sanctification. Like it or not, most people are and will be married. For these people, there is no other way of salvation except through the experience of the sacrament of matrimony . However, it remains a double-edged sword: whether one lives as a sacrament or has no sanctification. The sacramentality of marriage presupposes a regulated sex life. If he disarms, he ends up with the only chance of sanctifying himself. You may even be a practicing Catholic, but if you can not live marriage as a sacrament, you will not be able to sanctify yourself.

Hence, one realizes how sexuality has something to do with love of neighbor and sublime love!

Lastly, as far as chastity is concerned, we are here at the moment. But later, we are going to touch on one more fundamental point for singles and married couples to have a chaste life, far beyond what we put in last week’s text and this one. Stay tuned for texts.