What is a Catholic Marriage? A Bar Too High? I

  1. Not primarily a discussion of birth control. Some Scholars suggest Eve’s sin was birth control, hence the punishment fitting the crime. Certainly, both the prevention and the eradication of a pregnancy has been part of the human experience since the dawn of time.

Fr. Paul Marx’s, founder of HLI, contention ABC (fail) >> abortion only way to not get caught

A&E were caught, fashion some clothing, superficial cover, consequence sin almost demands it

  1. Define terms, CCC both Baltimore & Modern 4 Fs (2500+ yrs, civilization based on definition, change definition, profound repercussions) Homer’s epic poem Iliad Odysseus & Penelope, tree under bed of Penelope analogy for the long enduring foundation of the institution of marriage for Western Civilization)

Baltimore Catechism (BC)[1]

#1005 What is Sacrament of Matrimony

The Sacrament of Matrimony is the Sacrament which unites a Christian man and woman in lawful marriage.

From the CCC 2nd edition

#1601 “The matrimonial covenant, by which a man and a woman establish between themselves a partnership of the whole of life, is by its nature ordered toward the good of the spouses and the procreation and education of offspring; this covenant between baptized persons has been raised by Christ the Lord to the dignity of a sacrament.”

  1. MARRIAGE IN GOD’S PLAN (my emphasis)

1602 Sacred Scripture begins with the creation of man and woman in the image and likeness of God and concludes with a vision of “the wedding-feast of the Lamb.” Scripture speaks throughout of marriage and its “mystery,” its institution and the meaning God has given it, its origin and its end, its various realizations throughout the history of salvation, the difficulties arising from sin and its renewal “in the Lord” in the New Covenant of Christ and the Church.

Same definition, stated with different view. One from encyclopedia and the other from an eye towards the whole of Salvation. Both/and.

BC 1006. When are persons lawfully married?

  1. Persons are lawfully married when they comply with all the laws of God and of the Church relating to marriage. To marry unlawfully is a mortal sin, and it deprives the souls of the grace of the Sacrament.

Concise clarity of Baltimore Catechism which is relevant to things that attainable or not for our generation. Thinking more words can muddy water unintentionally.

[1] http://www.baltimore-catechism.com/lesson26.htm  accessed July 5, 2022