Sunday School: On Matrimony

Lesson Twenty-Sixth concludes the discussion of the sacraments in Baltimore Catechism No. 2. Last week, we examined Holy Orders; this week, we take a look at the Sacrament of Matrimony.

Between two Christians, marriage is not only a lifelong bond; it is a sacrament. This is true for all Christians, not just Catholics, which is why any marriage between a baptized man and a baptized woman is assumed to be valid unless determined by the Church not to be.The sacrament sanctifies the love of the spouses and provides them with the grace to bear with each other and to bring their children up in the ways of God.

Because marriage is a sacrament, the Church alone has the authority to define marriage; the state can legislate concerning the effects of marriage, but not concerning the definition. In the past, the Church forbade all marriages to non-Catholics in order to protect the faith of the Catholic spouse and the religious upbringing of the children of such unions. Under current Church law, however, a Catholic can marry a baptized non-Catholic Christian, but he or she must first receive permission from his or her bishop.

Marriages to non-Christians are even more strongly discouraged and require a special dispensation from the bishop. If such a dispensation is granted, the marriage can take place, but it is a natural marriage only, not a sacrament, since the sacrament requires that both spouses be baptized.

In today's world, marriage is often entered into lightly, even by Christians. Since it is a lifelong bond, however, and a sacrament of the Church, Christians should enter into it only after proper preparation, which includes, as the Baltimore Catechism notes, "seeking the advice of their parents and the blessing of their pastors."

Lesson Twenty-Sixth from the Confirmation Catechism has 10 questions. Note that the lesson begins with Question 282, continuing with the numbering from Lesson Twenty-Fifth.

The parallel lesson this week in the First Communion Catechism is Lesson Twenty-Second. It includes 3 questions drawn from Lesson Twenty-Sixth of the Confirmation Catechism.

Check out this week's lesson, and if you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or ask them in the Catholicism Forum!

• Welcome to Sunday School!
• On God and His Perfections
• On the Unity and Trinity of God
• On Creation
• On Our First Parents and the Fall
• On Sin and Its Kinds
• On the Incarnation and Redemption
• On Our Lord's Passion, Death, Resurrection, and Ascension
• On the Holy Ghost and His Descent Upon the Apostles
• On the Effects of the Redemption
• On the Church
• On the Attributes and Marks of the Church
• On the Sacraments in General
• On Baptism
• On Confirmation
• On the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy Ghost
• On the Sacrament of Penance
• On Contrition
• On Confession
• On the Manner of Making a Good Confession
• On Indulgences
• On the Holy Eucharist
• On the Ends for Which the Holy Eucharist Was Instituted
• On the Sacrifice of the Mass
• On Extreme Unction and Holy Orders