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By Theresa Civantos Barber, Aleteia, Sept. 12, 2019
Something real and amazing happens on your wedding day.
What happens when two Catholics get married? The Catechism tells us that something real and amazing happens on your wedding day—and the effects of that sacrament will echo in your marriage for the rest of your life. These are the two ways that a sacramental marriage is set apart as something extraordinary.
A sacramental marriage is not merely a civil contract under human law; rather, it is a covenant under God that permanently unites two persons. As long as the marriage “results from the free human act of the spouses,” it becomes “a covenant guaranteed by God’s fidelity,” something that is “irrevocable” and “can never be dissolved” (CCC 1640). That is, the marriage covenant is for the whole of life, and nothing on earth can tear it apart.
A covenantal marriage is not only permanent, but is also a reflection of and participation in God’s covenant with the Church. A happy, holy marriage is a witness to God’s love: “Authentic married love is caught up into divine love” (1639). The Church goes so far as to say that marriage can be a prefigurement of Heaven, a “foretaste of the wedding feast of the Lamb” (1642), when couples embrace the joy of their love and family life. ….
