Replies

Part 2: The Celebration of the Christian Mystery (1066 - 1690)

Section 2: The Seven Sacraments of the Church (1210 - 1690)

Chapter 3: The Sacraments at the Service of Communion (1533 - 1666)

Article 7: The Sacrament of Matrimony (1601 - 1666)

I. MARRIAGE IN GOD'S PLAN ⇡

Marriage in the Lord ⇡

The nuptial covenant between God and his people Israel had prepared the way for the new and everlasting covenant in which the Son of God, by becoming incarnate and giving his life, has united to himself in a certain way all mankind saved by him, thus preparing for "the wedding-feast of the Lamb."¹⁰⁴

104.

Rev 19:7,9; cf. GS 22.

1613

On the threshold of his public life Jesus performs his first sign — at his mother's request — during a wedding feast.¹⁰⁵ The Church attaches great importance to Jesus' presence at the wedding at Cana. She sees in it the confirmation of the goodness of marriage and the proclamation that thenceforth marriage will be an efficacious sign of Christ's presence.

105.

Cf. Jn 2:1-11.

2336
2382
(all)

1614

In his preaching Jesus unequivocally taught the original meaning of the union of man and woman as the Creator willed it from the beginning permission given by Moses to divorce one's wife was a concession to the hardness of hearts.¹⁰⁶ The matrimonial union of man and woman is indissoluble: God himself has determined it "what therefore God has joined together, let no man put asunder."¹⁰⁷

106.

Cf. Mt 19:8.

107.

Mt 19:6.

1642
2364
(all)

1615

This unequivocal insistence on the indissolubility of the marriage bond may have left some perplexed and could seem to be a demand impossible to realize. However, Jesus has not placed on spouses a burden impossible to bear, or too heavy — heavier than the Law of Moses.¹⁰⁸ By coming to restore the original order of creation disturbed by sin, he himself gives the strength and grace to live marriage in the new dimension of the Reign of God. It is by following Christ, renouncing themselves, and taking up their crosses that spouses will be able to "receive" the original meaning of marriage and live it with the help of Christ.¹⁰⁹ This grace of Christian marriage is a fruit of Christ's cross, the source of all Christian life.

108.

Cf. Mk 8:34; Mt 11:29-30.

109.

Cf. Mt 19:11.

1616

This is what the Apostle Paul makes clear when he says: "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her," adding at once: "'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one. This is a great mystery, and I mean in reference to Christ and the Church."¹¹⁰

110.

Eph 5:25-26,31-32; Cf. Gen 2:24.

796
(all)

1617

The entire Christian life bears the mark of the spousal love of Christ and the Church. Already Baptism, the entry into the People of God, is a nuptial mystery; it is so to speak the nuptial bath.¹¹¹ which precedes the wedding feast, the Eucharist. Christian marriage in its turn becomes an efficacious sign, the sacrament of the covenant of Christ and the Church. Since it signifies and communicates grace, marriage between baptized persons is a true sacrament of the New Covenant.¹¹²

111.

Cf. Eph 5:26-27.

112.

Cf. DS 1800; CIC, Can. 1055 § 2.

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for:June 12, 2014
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, from whom all good things come, grant that we, who call on you in our need, may at your prompting discern what is right, and by your guidance do it. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

o Stuffed Peppers with Rice

ACTIVITIES

o Religion in the Home for Preschool: June

PRAYERS

o June Devotion: The Sacred Heart

LIBRARY

o None

· Ordinary Time: June 12th

· Thursday of the Tenth Week of Ordinary Time

Old Calendar: St. John of San Facundo, confessor; Saints Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius, martyrs

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. John of San Facondo born in 1430 in Spain. He was a canon of the cathedral of Burgos and then entered the Hermits of St. Augustine. He was distinguished for his great devotion to the sacrifice of the Mass and for his forceful preaching. He died in 1479.

Today is also the commemoration of Sts. Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor and Nazarius. These four martyrs have been venerated together at Rome from very early times.

St. John of San Facundo

John came from a wealthy family. During a serious sickness he vowed to embrace an ascetic way of life upon recovery. In fulfillment of his resolve, he gave the better of his two garments to a beggar who went about almost naked, and joined the hermits of St. Augustine at Salamanca (1463); at the time that monastery was universally respected because of its strict rule and discipline. He was often granted the privilege of seeing Christ the Lord at holy Mass and learning the deepest secrets directly from God Himself, the secrets of men's hearts and the secret events of the future. Through his prayers the seven-year-old daughter of his brother was raised to life. His death was probably due to poisoning.

John's special charism was to calm passions and to restore peace. How quickly disputes and quarrels arise! Yet we must practice the beatitude: "Blessed are the peacemakers." Remember that the prayers for peace and the kiss of peace in the Mass should not be empty ceremonies.

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Patron: Salamanca, Spain.

Symbols: A hermit of St. Augustine, walking upon the sea; holding a chalice and host surrounded by rays of light.

Sts. Basilides, Cyrinus, Nabor, and Nazarius

Basilides was a soldier in Rome, Nabor and Nazarius soldiers in Milan. Their bodies were found on the present day by St. Ambrose. All three died as martyrs under Diocletian. Cyrinus or Quirinus was a famous bishop of Siscia. In the church of the Apostles in Milan, St. Ambrose inscribed a number of edifying verses over the tomb of St. Nazarius. The final lines are: "Whom the Cross leads to victory, for him the Cross is the pledge of peace."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch