Marriage – contract or sacrament?

Marriage – contract or sacrament? 2017-04-19T22:40:45-05:00

“Legislation was passed which did not recognize that either God or Jesus Christ had any rights over marriage—an erroneous view which debased matrimony to the level of a mere civil contract, despite the fact that Jesus Himself had called it a “great sacrament” (Ephesians v, 32) and had made it the holy and sanctifying symbol of that indissoluble union which binds Him to His Church. The high ideals and pure sentiments with which the Church has always surrounded the idea of the family, the germ of all social life, these were lowered, were unappreciated, or became confused in the minds of many. As a consequence, the correct ideals of family government, and with them those of family peace, were destroyed; the stability and unity of the family itself were menaced and undermined, and, worst of all, the very sanctuary of the home was more and more frequently profaned by acts of sinful lust and soul-destroying egotism—all of which could not but result in poisoning and drying up the very sources of domestic and social life.”
– Pope Pius XI (UBI ARCANO DEI CONSILIO)

Sound familiar?


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