Objective of Session 1, Introduction to Marriage
1) To recognize that marriage is a natural institution as well as a sacrament
2) To see that even outside of the Church, marriage falls under certain principles of natural law
3) To appreciate that all marriage (even non-sacramental marriage) must be freely chosen, permanent, exclusive, and open to life
4) To recognize that the Church accepts the natural marriages of non-baptized persons
5) To recognize that two baptized persons cannot enter into a merely natural marriage, but only a sacramental marriage
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Adult
Faith Formation:
Marriage,
In Scripture and in the Church
Session
1 – Introduction to marriage
I.
Introduction to the course: We will consider marriage both according to natural
law and divine revelation. After discussing the history of the Sacrament of
Matrimony, we will answer various objections to marriage common in the modern
world.
II.
Outline of the Sessions:
1. May 1 – Introduction to
marriage, in nature and in the Church
2. May 8 – Marriage and family
life
[May 15 – NO SESSION]
3. May 22 – Marriage in
Scripture, both the Old Testament and the New
4. May 29 – Matrimonial Consent
and Indissolubility
5. June 5 – Celibacy and Marriage
6. June 12 – Modern objections to
the Church’s teaching, Review
III. The
occasion for this course: 50th Anniversary of Humanae Vitae
A. Overview of the way the
encyclical came together: Minority Report
B. Influence of the encyclical
letter on the Church
C. Contemporary controversy in
Rome over the encyclical
IV.
Marriage – Matrimony: matris,
Becoming a mother
V.
Marriage as a “natural sacrament” – marriage in the order of nature
A. Non-sacramental marriage is
still true marriage
B. The natural order of marriage
and the sacrament
C. Even natural marriage is not
made by man or the state
VI.
Marriage in the Church
A. Two baptized persons cannot
enter into a merely natural marriage
B. Christ elevated marriage to a
sacrament
C. Marriage as a sacrament is a
sign
VII.
Fundamentals about the nature of marriage
A. Open to life
B. Permanent
C. Exclusive
