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45. Marriage Consent

1. The effecting cause of matrimony is the consent of theparties making the matrimonial contract, which is a sacramentalcontract as well.

2. This essential consent must be manifested outwardly, bywords if possible, or at least by unmistakable signs.

3. The consent must be expressed in the present tense.Expressions of future agreement may make a betrothal or engagement,but not a marriage.

4. The outwardly manifested consent must express a trueinner will and intention. Consent given falsely or jestingly doesnot make a true marriage.

5. Nor can the consent be secret. There must be witnessesto it. Secret consent of parties to a contract can make a truecontract, but not a true and sacramental marriage. According to theinstitution of Christ, sacraments are to be administered by theChurch. The Church cannot make or abrogate a sacrament; but theChurch can, and indeed must, determine the conditions in which asacrament can be received. The laws of the Church concerningsacraments are, on the one hand, a shield against irreverent use ofmost holy things; on the other hand, these laws consult the truegood of the faithful. Therefore, the Church has decreed most wiselythat the secret consent of parties to a marriage (that is,clandestine marriage) cannot constitute the sacrament ofmatrimony.

"Whoever wants to stand alone without the support of a master and guide will be like the tree that stands alone in a field without a proprietor. No matter how much the tree bears, passers-by will pick the fruit before it ripens. "
St John of the Cross, OCD - Doctor of the Church

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"If, devout soul, it is your will to please God and live a life of serenity in this world, unite yourself always and in all things to the divine will. Reflect that all the sins of your past wicked life happened because you wandered from the path of God's will. For the future, embrace God's good pleasure and say to him in every happening: "Yea, Father, for so it hath seemed good in thy sight." "
St Alphonsus de Liguori

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"The name of Jesus, pronounced with reverence and affection, has a kind of power to soften the heart. "
St Philip Neri

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