Marriage, Christian Matrimony, and The nature of Valid marriages

Definition

Marriage is

A covenantal contract  between one man and one woman, both of whom are not presently validly married to people outside of their union, who are capable of reason, having the full understanding of discretion, wherein they understand the essential matrimonial rights, and duties, and the two of whom who have no occult reason, nor physical impediment for not entering into this partnership, nor are direct relatives, both of whom must actively also must consent to this contract, with full intent of carrying it out, until the death of one partner, after which the other partner is free of the contract- whereby the partners gain the right within reasonable consent, to take the actions required to reproduce children, actions, which outside of matrimony are not ever legitimately taken.  If either party does not acknowledge, or plan to allow this right to their fellow, within reason, the right to have children, and not to use contraception, then the marriage is not entered into. Sacramental marriage can never be dissolved, except by death, while marriages which aren’t sacramental, can in circumstances be dissolved.

Sacramental marriage is

The indissolvable (Matthew chapter 19, verse 9) bond of marriage celebrated by two validly baptised persons.

If both partners of a marriage get baptised, it becomes a sacramental marriage.

Annulment is

 Never a degree of dissolving a marriage, but rather a declaration that marriage was never validly contracted.

Jesus on Marriage

Jesus states that 

unlike mosaic law (Gospel of Mark chapter 10 verse 4), when men could, for weakness(verse 5)  issue their wife with a divorce certificate (Verse 4), the sacramental marriage is not dissolvable (Verse 9), he says so, by saying, and only God can dissolve a marriage between the not baptised. Jesus allows, not an exception, but a clarification, stating that what some may render a “common law” “marriage”/cohabitation, or fornication, and what the church reads as an invalid marriage, may be dissolved, as God never combined the two parties.

For this contract of matrimony to be valid (C.f. Canons 834-848), without the correct position in these, an annulment or church blessing on the marriage, and presence of these must be present-

·         A Catholic does not contract marriage validly outside of the consent of the church.

·         Each party of the couple must not currently, validly be married to a spouse, who is physically alive.

o   If a party has been in what is an invalid marriage, a certificate of nullity (Annulment) should be provided to the church, this must come from an authority within the church, recognized by it.

o   If a person is currently a Religious, under the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a document giving permission to go ahead with the marriage should be obtained from the Vatican, a Papal Dispensation that is.

o   A person who is divorced under Pauline Privilege, whereby a spouse who was not validly baptised in the Trinominal rite (“Father, Son and Holy Paraclete (Spirit/Ghost)” must be mentioned by name in the ceremony), with all three names mentioned, with the intention of doing as the church does, and who, not being validly baptised, leaves a believer, the believer may approach the church to dissolve this marriage as invalid. This is as a marriage, in which an unbaptised person rejects his spouse because of their acceptance of God, firstly is not in an indissolvable Sacramental Marriage, and secondly rejects the foundation of marriage, which firstly is unconditional, and secondly based on our Lord’s power.

·         A person, who is physically unable to consummate a marriage, may not validly enter it.

o   The aged, infertile, or otherwise unable to do so, but who are physically capable of the sexual act, and do not exclude this, nor procreation, are permitted to marry.

·         A person who does not acknowledge that marriage is an indissolvable union ordered at the creation of children, who determines to enter into it, with the clear intention of preventing any childbirth, cannot validly marry.

·         If under threat of livelihood, grave fear, force, entered, deceived by malice, whereby a truth about the partner, which will gravely disturb the partnership’s cohabitated life, or if the consent of one party was not freely present, even unintentionally, the marriage was not conducted.

o   Even in these circumstances, while partners do not have to cohabit with each other, the consummated marriage is considered valid so far as adulterous acts are concerned, until such time as it is shown otherwise, except in the case of those below puberty.

·         Adultery, while a valid cause to end cohabitation, and even for a civil divorce, is neither grounds for annulment, unless based on circumstance already present in the marriage, such as lack of intent to truly enter the contract, at the time of entering, nor can marriage be validly.

·         Civil divorce is permitted of Catholics for practical reasons, but does not dissolve a marriage contract.

Polygamy

Polygamy is

•   against the dignity of the human person, on converting to the faith, any man with many wives, must choose only one to remain with, preferably the first.
•    always also portrayed as damaging in the scriptures.