Part III: Matrimony — Introduction

Part III: Matrimony

Introduction

PART III MATRIMONY INTRODUCTION i. Definition. — Matrimony (marriage) may be taken to denote the action, contract, or formality by which the conjugal union is formed (matrimonium in fieri) or the union itself as an enduring condition (matrimonium in facto esse). The contract is the basis of the married state, as ordination is the basis of the priesthood. Unlike the five other Sacraments, Holy Orders and Matrimony were instituted for the preservation of the race (in the supernatural and the physical sense), rather than for the sanctification of the individual. a) As the Sacrament of Holy Orders consists in ordination, so the Matrimony consists in the contract which effects the marital bond. The latter may be regarded both as res and sacramentum. Matrimony is defined by the Roman Catechism as the conjugal union of man and woman between legitimate persons, which is to last during life.1 l ” Viri et mulieris maritalis use Donovan’s translation. (Cateeoniunctio inter legitimas personas, chism of the Council of Trent, p. individuam vitae consuetudinem re- 292, Dublin 1908). tinens.” (P. II, c 8. qu. 3). We 140 INTRODUCTION 141 This definition comprises three essential elements : o) Marriage is a legitimate contract. Persons who have no right to marry cannot enter into such a contract. Then, again, even between parties who are free to marry each other, not every contract is legitimate. Among baptized Christians the sacramentality of the marriage contract always depends on its legitimacy, and hence the validity of the one is conditioned by the validity of the other. p) Every true marriage is essentially a maritalis coniunctio, i. e. a union of a man and a woman, entered into primarily for the purpose of begetting and rearing children. This object differentiates marriage from every other kind of union between human beings. y) Marriage takes place between rational beings, and hence the conjugal union is crowned and ennobled by a spiritual companionship (” individuae vitae consuetudo ”) which connotes the two essential properties of Matrimony, i. e. unity and indissolubility. b) The objects of Matrimony may be deduced from its nature. They are three, to wit : (1) The begetting and rearing of offspring in compliance with the divine command to “increase and multiply.” 2 (2) Mutual help and assistance, both bodily and spiritual, for God said in creating Eve, “It is not good for man to be alone : let us make him a help like unto himself.” 8 To these two objects has been added since the Fall of our first parents a third, namely, 2 Gen. I, 28: ” Crudt* ct muU z Gen. II, 18: ” Faciamus ex adiutipHcamini.” iormm simile «W.” 142 MATRIMONY (3) The regulation of the sexual instinct in accordance with the dictates of reason. “For fear of fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.” 4 The two last-mentioned objects are, however, entirely secondary and subordinate to the first and primary end of marriage. * From what we have said it does not follow that a marriage between two persons who have resolved to live continently would not be a true marriage. The Blessed Virgin Mary, though living continently with St. Joseph, was nevertheless his true spouse.5 Granted that the third of the objects mentioned above does not appertain to the essence of marriage, and that the second is attainable without conjugal intercourse, the question remains: How can a marriage which excludes the primary purpose of Matrimony, i. e. the begetting of children, be a true marriage? 6 There is a clear-cut distinction between a right (ius) and the use of it (usus iuris). The right to conjugal intercourse is essential for the validity of marriage ; not so, however, the use of it. A man may become the owner of a house without being obliged to occupy it. Similarly, two persons may acquire the right to conjugal intercourse without being obliged to make use of it. ” It 4 1 Cor. VII, 2: “Propter for- and ed., St.. Louis 1916, pp. 87 sqq. nicationem autem unusquisqu* suam 6 J. Freisen (Gesclrichte des kauxorem habeat, et unaquaeque suum nonischen Eherechtes bis sum Vetvirum habeat.” fall der Glossenliteratur, Paderhorn 5Cfr. Pohle-Preuss, Mariohgy, 1888) maintains that it cannot. INTRODUCTION X43 is not the destruction t)f virginity that constitutes Matrimony,” says St. Ambrose, ” but the marital contract.” 7 2. The Blessings of Marriage. — To the three objects of Christian marriage correspond three distinct blessings. By the blessings of marriage we mean those things which make it a source of goodness, thereby rendering it pleasing to God and useful to men. The three blessings of Matrimony are: (1) Offspring brought up and educated for God (bonum prolis) ; (2) Faith or fidelity of husband and wife to each other (bonum fidei) ; (3) The Sacrament, that is, the indissolubility of the marriage tie, which symbolizes the indivisible union of Christ with His Church (bonum sacramenti). The bonum prolis involves three obligations: (a) the procreation of children; (b) their physical care; (c) their mental and religious training. Against these obligations they sin who (1) prevent conception by unlawf ul means, such as contraceptives or abortion; (2) who disown or neglect their children; and (3) who fail to have them baptized and instructed in the Catholic religion. The obligations of the married as regards fidelity (bo1 D* Inst. Virg., c 6, n. 41: Suppl., qu. 48, art 1. — Freisen * Non snim dtHoratio virginitatis fch partially retracted his error in the cit coniugium, ud pactio coniugalis.* Archh fr katkoHschss Kwchenrscht, For a different explanation see Bene- 1892, pp. 369 sqq. He is refuted diet XIV, Dt Syn. Diotcts., XIII, 22, by Pesch, Praelect. Dogma., Vol. 13; cfr. St Thomas, Summa Thiol., VII, 3rd ed.v pp. 365 sqq. num fidei) are to render conjugal rights to each other and to avoid all sins against the sixth and ninth commandments. The blessings of marriage as a Sacrament are peculiar to Christian Matrimony, which supernaturally ennobles and perfects both the procreation of children and their bringing up, as also the fidelity of husband and wife towards each other, and imparts all graces necessary for the prevention of incontinency. At the same time the bonum sacramenti imprints upon the matrimonial contract the supernatural stamp of Christ’s mystic union with His Church, and thereby elevates the two properties of every ideal marriage — i. e. unity and indissolubility — to the supernatural sphere.8 The existence of these blessings proves that marriage is morally licit. This conclusion is confirmed by another consideration. Marriage, being based on the divinely created difference of sex, is a law of nature. It was confirmed by God Himself,9 and hallowed by our Lord Jesus Christ when He participated in the wedding feast at Cana in Galilee. The Catholic Church has an additional reason for regarding marriage as sacred and supernaturally meritorious : in her eyes every true marriage between Christians is a Sacrament.10 St. Augustine and a few other Patristic writers spoke of marriage as though it involved uncleanness and im«Cfr. St Augustine, De Gen en lOCfr. the Caput “Firmiter” of ad Liter., IX, n, 3; Deere turn pro the Fourth Lateran Council: ” Non Armenis, in Denzinger’s Enchiridion solum autem virgines et continents, Symbolorum et Definitionum, xoth verum etiam coniugati per rectom edition revised by O. Bannwart, ftdem et operationem bonam placentes S. J., Freiburg 1908, n. 702. Deo ad aetemam merentur beotitu9 Gen. I, 27 sq. dinem pervenire” (Denzinger-Bann* wart, n. 430). INTRODUCTION 145 morality. But these authors did not mean to deny that Christian marriage is pleasing in the eyes of God. They merely wished to censure inordinate concupiscence, which is an effect of original sin. 3. Division of this Treatise. — Christian marriage is a natural, a moral, and a juridical union, and hence belongs to three separate and distinct theological disciplines, namely, Dogmatic Theology, Moral Theology, and Canon Law. We deal with it here in its dogmatic aspects only. Besides the Church the State is interested in marriage and has the right to regulate its effects so far as they come within the secular sphere. Hence marriage is to a certain extent subject to civil authority, provided the precepts of God and His Church are duly complied with. Moral Theology considers marriage in its ethical relations, showing what is permitted and what is forbidden in regard to matrimonial engagements, the reception of the Sacrament, and the married state. Present-day moralists ought to lay greater stress on the advantages of marriage as a nursery of virtue, — an aspect which has, unfortunately, been somewhat neglected. Canon Law is concerned with Matrimony in as far as it falls under the discipline of the Church. Dogmatic Theology deals with Matrimony as an object of faith. The dogmatic teaching of the Church on Matrimony is summarized by the Council of Trent 11 11 Sew. XXIV, Can. 1-12. in those of its decrees which relate to the sacramental character of Christian marriage, its properties, the power of the Church to set up diriment impediments, and the superiority of virginity over the married state.12 Other important doctrinal questions regarding the minister of the Sacrament and the precise nature of its matter and form, have been left open to debate. General Readings :— Peter Lombard, Sent, IV, dist. 26 sqq.— St Thomas, Summa Theol., SuppL, qu. 41-68. — Bellarmine, De Sancto Matrimonii Sacramento.— P. Ledesma, De Magno Matrimonii Sacramento, Salamanca 1592. — Th. Sanchez, De Sancto Matrimonii Sacramento, Genoa 1602. — B. Pontius, De Sacramento Matrimonii, 1624. — Chr. Schardt, De Matrimonio, 1734. — Tournely, De Sacramento Matrimonii. — H. Klee, Die Ehe; eine dogrmtisch-arch’dologische Abhandlung, 2nd ed., Mayence 1835. — J. Carriere, Praelect. Theol. de Matrimonio, Paris 1837. — Perrone, De Matrimonio Christiano, 3 vols., Rome 1861.— M. Heiss, De Matrimonio, 5th ed., Rome 1861.— B. Rive, SJ., Die Ehe in dogmatischer, moralischer und sozialer Besiehung, Ratisbon 1876.— ■ Palmieri, De Matrimonio Christiano, Prati 1897.— M. Rosset, De Sacramento Matrimonii Tractatus Dogmaticus, Moralis, Canonicus, Liturgicus et Iudicialis, 6 vols., Fribourg 1896. — A. Devine, CP., The Sacraments Explained, 3rd ed., pp. 431-515, London 1005.— W. Humphrey, S.J., The One Mediator, or Sacrifice and Sacraments, pp. 223-237, London 1890.— S. J. Hunter, SJ., Outlines of Dogmatic Theology, Vol. Ill, pp. 403-423.— Wilhelm-Scannell, A Manual of Catholic Theology, Vol. II, 2nd ed., pp. 510-532, London 1901.— A. Lehmkuhl, SJ., art. ” Marriage, Sacrament of ” in Vol. IX of the Catholic Encyclopedia. 12 On the latter point see celibacy, supra, pp. 130 sqq.