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THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY 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. 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. |