What is the Sacrament of Marriage?

The sacrament of Marriage is a celebration of the covenantal relationship between a man and a woman, when they pledge to each other a "partnership of the whole of life", where, by the power of their love, they participate in the divine plan so that the two of them become one.

The beauty of human love, when placed in the context of a promise made in a community, and demonstrated  in the lived example of the couple, has its roots in a divine plan for humans.  God is the author of marriage, and God gives the grace to experience the rewards of love and to face the challenges of a lifelong intimate relationship.  As the author of marriage, God has "written, in the very nature of man and woman" a vocation, a call to live the intimate relationship of Christ and the community of believers, the Body of Christ, the Church.

Women and men are called to celebrate this union because they are made in the image of God, and when a woman and man enjoy true love, they celebrate the divine, for God is love. Indeed, when a man and a woman celebrate and proclaim this life long love, they make our society better. "The well-being of the individual person and of both human and Christian society is closely bound up with the healthy state of conjugal and family life. (Gaudium et Spes, Number 47 paragraph 1)

Indeed, marriage represents the nuptials of God and God's people, described in books of the Bible such as Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Malachi. This nuptial relationship is best described in the Song of Songs. In its purest form, marriage reflects and represents the great love God has for God's people.

In the New Testament, marriage represents the love of Christ, the Groom, for the Church, Christ's Bride. Indeed, the sacrament of marriage demonstrates to us a "domestic Church".

The sacrament of Marriage, as it is lived, gives expression in the life of a family. The man and woman, in faithful love, and their children, show to us in a clear and convincing way, the grace of Christ. "It is here that the father of the family, the mother, children, and all members of the family exercise the priesthood of the baptized in a privileged way 'by the reception of the sacraments, prayer, and thanksgiving, the witness of a holy life, and self-denial and active charity.' Thus the home is the first school of Christian life and 'a school for human enrichment.'  Here one learns endurance and the joy of work, fraternal love, generous -- even repeated -- forgiveness, and above all divine worship in prayer and the offering of one's life." (CCC, paragraph 1657)